TY - JOUR
T1 - Work activities and the onset of first-time low back pain among New York city fire fighters
AU - Nuwayhid, Iman A.
AU - Stewart, Walter
AU - Johnson, Jeffrey V.
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by a grant from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), Washington, DC.
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1993/3/1
Y1 - 1993/3/1
N2 - In a prospective study of first-time low back pain among New York City fire fighters, a total of 115 cases and 109 randomly selected controls were Interviewed by telephone between December 1988 and July 1989 to examine the role of recent work activities in the onset of first-time low back pain. After adjusting for known risk factors and off-duty activities, statistically significant high-risk work activities included operating a charged hose inside a building (odds ratio (OR) = 3.26), climbing ladders (OR = 3.18), breaking windows (OR = 4.45), cutting structures (OR = 6.47), looking for hidden fires (OR = 4.32), and lifting objects ≥18 kg (OR = 3.07). Low-risk activities included connecting hydrants to pumpers (OR = 0.36), pulling booster hose (OR = 0.19), and participating in drills (OR = 0.09) or physical training (OR = 0.16). When further adjusted for exposure to smoke (OR = 13.59), a surrogate for severity of alarms, the ORs associated with high-risk activities were no longer significant. This, however, does not diminish the role of activities in the onset of low back pain. instead, it suggests an inseparable role for activities and environmental hazards. To examine this, the risk of low back pain was measured within five work zones sequential in time relative to location and distance from a structural fire. The risk gradually increased as the fire fighter moved away from the firehouse (OR = 0.10) and closer to the site of fire (OR = 3.91).
AB - In a prospective study of first-time low back pain among New York City fire fighters, a total of 115 cases and 109 randomly selected controls were Interviewed by telephone between December 1988 and July 1989 to examine the role of recent work activities in the onset of first-time low back pain. After adjusting for known risk factors and off-duty activities, statistically significant high-risk work activities included operating a charged hose inside a building (odds ratio (OR) = 3.26), climbing ladders (OR = 3.18), breaking windows (OR = 4.45), cutting structures (OR = 6.47), looking for hidden fires (OR = 4.32), and lifting objects ≥18 kg (OR = 3.07). Low-risk activities included connecting hydrants to pumpers (OR = 0.36), pulling booster hose (OR = 0.19), and participating in drills (OR = 0.09) or physical training (OR = 0.16). When further adjusted for exposure to smoke (OR = 13.59), a surrogate for severity of alarms, the ORs associated with high-risk activities were no longer significant. This, however, does not diminish the role of activities in the onset of low back pain. instead, it suggests an inseparable role for activities and environmental hazards. To examine this, the risk of low back pain was measured within five work zones sequential in time relative to location and distance from a structural fire. The risk gradually increased as the fire fighter moved away from the firehouse (OR = 0.10) and closer to the site of fire (OR = 3.91).
KW - Backache
KW - Case-control studies
KW - Fires
KW - Occupations
KW - Risk factors
KW - Work
KW - Wounds and injuries
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U2 - 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116707
DO - 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116707
M3 - Article
C2 - 8465805
AN - SCOPUS:0027529292
SN - 0002-9262
VL - 137
SP - 539
EP - 548
JO - American journal of epidemiology
JF - American journal of epidemiology
IS - 5
ER -