M18.1 RELATIONSHIPS OF DEMANDING WORK CONDITIONS WITH FATIGUE AND PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS: A COMMUNITY BASED STUDY

N. Chau, J. F. Ravaud, E. Bourgkard, J. Sanchez, M. Choquet, J. P. Meyer, C. Otero Sierra, J. P. Michaely, B. Legras, F. Guillemin, A. Bhattacherjee, S. Guillaume, A. Dazord, L. Méjean, N. Tubiana-Rufi, Y. Schléret, J. M. Mur.INRS, Département Epidémiologie en Entreprises, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France

Introduction: Continual social pressure and particularly demanding jobs can result in fatigue and psychosomatic disorders.

Objective: To assess the relationship of demanding work conditions with psychotropic drug use (fatigue, headache, sleeplessness, nervousness, and anguish) among employed people.

Methods: The sample included 2826 working subjects randomly selected from the Lorraine area in northeastern France. A postal questionnaire was filled in by the subjects. It included sociodemographic characteristics, living conditions, regular psychotropic drug use for fatigue, headache, sleeplessness, nervousness, and anguish, and highly demanding occupational hazards (use of hammer, screwdriver, hand tools with vibration, and machine tools; shocks; workplace with vibration; incorrect work posture; noise, heat, cold, artificial light, and heat radiation; standing about and walking; tasks at high level, work in adverse climates; handling objects; working on a production line; pace; and physical and mental workload). The data were analysed via adjusted odds ratios.

Results: The prevalence of regular psychotropic drug use was 3.8% for fatigue, 21.5% for headache, 4.3% for sleeplessness, 7.1% for nervousness and anguish, and 30.0% for all disorders combined. The workers subjected to at least one hazard (we only considered the hazards linked with at least one drug use with p<0.10) had increased drug use for fatigue (odds ratio adjusted on age, sex, and job of 1.66; 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 2.69), headache (1.39; 1.12 to 1.73), sleeplessness (2.46; 1.46 to 4.13), nervousness and anguish (2.00; 1.36 to 2.91), and for all disorders combined (1.60; 1.31 to 1.94). A relationship was found between the number of hazards (NH) and the …