Associations between job physical and psychosocial factors in a pooled study

Introduction: There is a growing body of research connecting musculoskeletal diseases to both job physical exposures and psychosocial exposures. Associations between job physical exposures and psychosocial factors have not been well studied or measured. These exploratory analyses evaluate relationships between quantified exposures and psychosocial outcomes. Methods: Personalized measures of duration, repetition, force and composite scores of the Strain Index (SI) and the Threshold Limit Value for Hand Activity Level (TLV for HAL) were compared to 10 psychosocial measures. Associations and predicted probabilities were evaluated using ordered logistic regression. Results and Discussion: Among 1834 study participants there were numerous significant relationships. Overall, as job physical exposures increased, psychosocial measures worsened. However, both general health and mental exhaustion improved with higher job exposures. Depression was most strongly related with higher repetition, while physical exhaustion was most strongly related with higher force. SI and TLV for HAL were significantly related to numerous psychosocial factors. Relationships remained after adjustment for confounders of age, BMI and gender. Conclusion: This study measured multiple associations between job physical exposures and both occupational and non-occupational psychosocial factors. Further research is needed to quantify the impacts on occupational health outcomes.