Disorders of the back and spine in construction workers. Prevalence and prognostic value for disability

A cohort study on back-related morbidity and its impact on early retirement resulting from disability among employees in the construction industry.

To describe the prevalence of back-related morbidity according to different measures in various occupational groups and to assess the prognostic value of these measures for early retirement resulting from disability.

The results of occupational health examinations conducted in 1986-1988 among 4,958 employees of the German construction industry aged 40-64 years were analyzed. Active follow-up evaluation was carried out between October 1992 and July 1994 to ascertain employment status.

Compared with that of white-collar employees, no excess risk for self-reported back pain or sciatica was seen for any of the manual professions. In contrast, the age-adjusted prevalence of clinical findings of the spine was elevated among all employees in manual professions, and the prevalence of a recorded diagnosis related to disorders of the back and spine (ICD-9 position 720-724) was elevated among bricklayers compared with white-collar employees. The relative risk of being granted a disability pension in the follow-up period was 1.6 (95% Confidence Interval [Cl], 1.3-2.1) for persons reporting back pain or sciatica, 1.8 (95% Cl, 1.4-2.2) for persons with an abnormal clinical finding of the spine, and 1.5 (95% Cl, 1.2-1.8) for persons with a recorded medical diagnosis related to disorders of the back or spine (ICD-9 720-724).

Patterns of morbidity varied according to the evaluated morbidity measure. All three measures qualified as significant predictors of disability and helped to identify high-risk occupations and high-risk employees.