An Application of a Job Exposure Profile in Work-related Shoulder Disorders Study

This study aimed at presenting a method that creates an exposure profile for a combined physical exposure of forceful exertions and work postures. Hand/wrist work posture and forceful exertion data were collected simultaneously through observations from recorded videos from a total of 733 subjects from 12 different workplaces. Combined exposures of the forceful hand exertion and hand/wrist postures were grouped into 32 categories (5 types of forceful exertion each with 3 levels and one exertion category of no forceful exertion, and two categories of wrist flexion/extension postures, (i.e. 5x3+1)x2) = 32). Distributions of the combined exposures were then calculated for each of the subjects. An Exposure Profile Index (EPI) was created by assigning different weights on each of the 32 combined exposure categories. Distribution of the EPI for the eligible 716 subjects was calculated. Logistic regression was performed adjusting for age and gender for the EPI to calculate the odds ratios of being a clinical shoulder case. Clinical shoulder cases were determined by workers’ self-reports and physical examinations performed by a physician.