Neck–Shoulder Pain and Work Status among Former Sewing Machine Operators: A 14-year Follow-up Study

Abstract

Purpose A total of 243 Danish female sewing machine operators lost their jobs in 1996 because of outsourcing. The aim was to investigate the employment status during follow-up from 1996 to 2008, and to estimate to what extent former neck-shoulder pain had an impact on later work participation. Methods Assessment of neck-shoulder pain was based on questionnaires completed in 1994. The Danish Register-Based Evaluation of Marginalization (DREAM) register was used to describe employment status during the follow-up period. Register data were explored by sequence analyses and graphics, and the association between neck-shoulder pain and work participation was analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Results In all, 987 working years were lost during follow-up, and a sequence index plot revealed interrupted and heterogeneous courses of incomes. The odds ratio between neck and shoulder pain and a work participation score less than 75% was 1.49 (95% CI 0.84-2.67). Conclusions After outsourcing of the textile industry, the former sewing machine operators had decreased work participation and frequent transitions between different income types. Previous neck-shoulder pain tended to be associated with poor work participation. The results suggest that increased attention should be to given to dismissed workers from other industries that become outsourced, especially unskilled workers with similar work-related health limitations. Additionally, we concluded that time-to-event measures in research involving employment status are insufficient because of the many transitions that take place in working life.

Long-term prognosis for neck-shoulder pain and disorders: a 14-year follow-up study

“…For the group with low job exposure, the OR for the association between pain in 1994 and pain in 2008 was slightly higher than for the group with high exposure. However, the highest OR was seen in the group with high exposure when those who had stopped working before 2008 were excluded from subanalysis on the assumption that individuals with the worst prognosis had stopped working20 and would therefore not have accumulated much job exposure. Our interpretation of these results, remembering the very high insecurity of the estimates, was that high job exposure could worsen the prognosis for neck-shoulder pain in the group who were still working.…”

Identifying return-to-work trajectories using sequence analysis in a cohort of workers with work-related musculoskeletal disorders

“…Three other studies (assessing labor market outcomes among patients with low-back pain or neck and shoulder pain) have used sequence analysis in combination with traditional regression analyses. These studies also show the value of sequence analysis in assessing RTW outcomes (9,29,30). Prior to the recent publication of these studies, multistate models were commonly used to investigate multiple states of the RTW process (31).…”

Vitamin C in Stem Cell Biology: Impact on Extracellular Matrix Homeostasis and Epigenetics

“…Also, profibrotic cytokines of the TGF β family stimulate collagen synthesis, especially in wound healing and fibrotic diseases [57]. Interestingly, activation of the TGF β pathway enhances collagen synthesis and reduces collagen degradation in different cell lines, including human mesenchymal stem cells [58], human marrow stromal cell [59], human dermal fibroblasts [60–62], glomerular mesangial cells [63], lung alveolar epithelial cells [64], and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) [65], thus resulting in fibrosis/ECM accumulation. In line with these findings, in human dermal fibroblasts, several collagen-coding genes, including COL1A2 , COL3A1 , COL6A1 , and COL6A3 , have been identified as TGF β /SMAD3 targets in human dermal fibroblasts [66].…”