Occupational differences in disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion: do work-related factors matter?

To identify occupations with a high risk of disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion and to examine the effect of physical and psychosocial work-related factors on occupational differences in disability retirement.

We followed Finnish wage earners aged 30-59 years (n = 1,135,654) from 2005 to 2014 for full disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion. The work-related exposures were assessed with job exposure matrices. We calculated age-adjusted incidence rates and hazard ratios to test for the association between occupation and disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion. We also examined the contribution of work-related exposures to the excess risk of disability retirement.

As compared to professionals, the age-adjusted risk of disability retirement was increased among men in all occupational groups except managers and customer service clerks and among women in several occupational groups. Adjustment for education attenuated the occupational differences considerably, particularly among women. The physical work-related factors fully explained the excess risk of disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion among male finance and sales associate professionals and administrative secretaries as well as among agricultural and fishery workers. In women, the physical work-related factors fully explained the excess risk among construction workers, electricians and plumbers. For both genders, the contribution of psychosocial factors to excess risk of disability retirement was modest and seen for monotonous work only.

A reduction of the level of physical work load factors as well as monotonousness of work has a potential to prevent work disability due to a shoulder lesion.