BackgroundThis review examines the evidence for an association between computer work and neck and upper extremity disorders (except carpal tunnel syndrome).MethodsA systematic critical review of studies of computer work and musculoskeletal disorders verified by a physical examination was performed.ResultsA total of 22 studies (26 articles) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Results show limited evidence for a causal relationship between computer work per se, computer mouse and keyboard time related to a diagnosis of wrist tendonitis, and for an association between computer mouse time and forearm disorders. Limited evidence was also found for a causal relationship between computer work per se and computer mouse time related to tension neck syndrome, but the evidence for keyboard time was insufficient. Insufficient evidence was found for an association between other musculoskeletal diagnoses of the neck and upper extremities, including shoulder tendonitis and epicondylitis, and any aspect of computer work.ConclusionsThere is limited epidemiological evidence for an association between aspects of computer work and some of the clinical diagnoses studied. None of the evidence was considered as moderate or strong and there is a need for more and better documentation.

This review aimed to identify risk factors for occupational accidents and illnesses among young workers in the Nordic countries and to attain knowledge on specific vulnerable groups within the young working force that may need special attention. We conducted a systematic review from 1994 to 2014 using five online databases. Of the 12,528 retrieved articles, 54 met the review criteria and were quality assessed, in which data were extracted focusing on identifying occupational safety, health risk factors, and vulnerable groups among the young workers. The review shows that mechanical factors such as heavy lifting, psychosocial factors such as low control over work pace, and organizational factors such as safety climate are all associated with increased injury risk for young Nordic workers. Results show that exposures to chemical substances were associated with skin reactions, e.g., hand eczema. Heavy lifting and awkward postures were risk factors for low back pain, and high job demands were risk factors for mental health outcomes. The review identified young unskilled workers including school drop-out workers as particularly vulnerable groups when it comes to occupational accidents. In addition, apprentices and young skilled workers were found to be vulnerable to work-related illnesses. It is essential to avoid stereotyping young Nordic workers into one group using only age as a factor, as young workers are a heterogeneous group and their vulnerabilities to occupational safety and health risks are contextual. Politicians, researchers, and practitioners should account for this complexity in the education, training and organization of work, and workplace health and safety culture.

Mechanical and psychosocial work exposures: the construction and evaluation of a gender-specific job exposure matrix (JEM) by Hanvold TN, Sterud T, Kristensen P, Mehlum IS The constructed job exposure matrix (JEM) considered a large range of mechanical and psychosocial work exposures and used gender-specific estimates. The JEM performed considerably better for mechanical than psychosocial work exposures. Even though it provides crude exposure estimates, the JEM was evaluated as a useful and valuable tool in characterizing exposure in epidemiological studies lacking information on work environment. Hanvold TN, Sterud T, Kristensen P, Mehlum IS. Mechanical and psychosocial work exposures: The construction and evaluation of a gender-specific job exposure matrix (JEM). Scand J Work Environ Health. 2019;45(3):239-247. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3774Objectives The aim of this study was to (i) construct and evaluate a gender-specific job exposure matrix (JEM) for mechanical and psychosocial work exposures and (ii) test its predictive validity for low-back pain.Methods We utilized data from the Norwegian nationwide Survey of Living Conditions on work environment in 2006 and 2009. We classified occupations on a 4-digit level based on the Norwegian version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88). The mechanical and psychosocial exposure information was collected by personal telephone interviews and included exposures that were known risk factors for low-back pain. We evaluated the agreement between the individual-and JEM-based exposure estimates, with kappa, sensitivity and specificity measures. We assessed the JEM's predictive validity by testing the associations between low-back pain and the individual-and JEM-based exposure. ResultsThe results showed an overall fair-to-moderate agreement between the constructed JEM and individual work exposures. The JEM performed considerably better for mechanical work exposures compared with psychosocial work exposures. The predictive validity of the mechanical and psychosocial JEM showed a consistently lower but predominantly reproducible association with low-back pain for both genders. ConclusionsThe mechanical estimates and psychosocial stressors, such as psychological demands, monotonous work and decision latitude in the constructed JEM, may be useful in large epidemiological register studies. The predictive validity of the matrix was evaluated as being overall acceptable;it can thus be an effective and versatile approach to estimate the relationship between work exposures and low-back pain.

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The results indicate that sustained trapezius muscle activity with periods of more than 4 minutes duration for more than half of the working day, increases the rate of neck and shoulder pain in a 2.5-year period. This implicates the importance of reducing the lengths of periods with sustained muscle activity at work.