Introduction The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of musculoskeletal pain on IHR (ill-health retirement) among Korean workers.

Methods Data were collected from a sample from the first to fourth phases of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) which conducted in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. IHR were defined as those who retired due to their health problems before their scheduled or regular retirement age in one of the follow-up surveys. Pain during the preceding month in multiple locations was combined into four sites (shoulder, upper extremities, low back, lower extremities). Hazard ratios (HR) of IHR were estimated by Cox regression, after adjusting for age, job category, annual income, history of disease (HTN and DM), BMI and smoking status.

Results The HR of IHR (n=477) was 1.49 (95% confidence interval 1.01–2.20) for any site of pain among male workers, and 1.75 (1.23–2.49) among female workers. Risk of IHR was highest when t workers had upper extremities pain (Male, HR=2.71; Female, HR=1.88). Musculoskeletal pain in the other sites was also predictive of IHR. Subgroup analysis according to socioeconomic status showed that the association between musculoskeletal pain and IHR is greater in white collar worker and high income groups than the others (white collar, HR=2.15; high income, HR=2.93).

Conclusions Musculoskeletal pain independently predicted IHR. Moreover, our results revealed that socioeconomic status modified these effects of musculoskeletal pain on IHR. Employees with musculoskeletal pain may need specific support to maintain their work ability.