TY - JOUR
T1 - Occupational recovery of Dutch workers with low back pain
AU - Brus, I.
AU - Speklé, E.
AU - Kuijer, P. P.
AU - Hardenberg, M.
AU - Coenen, P.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.
PY - 2022/10/18
Y1 - 2022/10/18
N2 - BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is a world leading cause of disability and has substantial impact on individuals and society as a whole. The largest part of the societal burden of LBP is caused by indirect costs, including sick leave. AIMS: We aimed to describe occupational recovery and associated costs for workers consulting an occupational physician (OP) with LBP, and to determine to what extent this differs by diagnoses: non-specific favourable LBP, non-specific unfavourable LBP, lumbosacral radicular syndrome (LRS) and specific LBP. METHODS: We analysed longitudinal dynamic cohort data from an occupational health service, representing ~1.2 million workers from various companies and sectors throughout the Netherlands. The OP registered data on sick leave and LBP diagnoses. A survival analysis was performed on sick leave duration to determine recovery and a linear regression analysis on cost per episode, adjusting for sex, age and working hours. RESULTS: We analysed 5951 LBP episodes from 5472 workers who consulted an OP, with a median and mean duration sick leave of 95 and 151 days, respectively. The probability of not recovering was 82% at 30 days and 10% at 1 year. The mean cost per episode was €15 350. Specific LBP (€22 999; beta (95% confidence interval [CI]): 16 278 (13 325-19 165)) and LRS (€20 111; beta (95% CI): 13 589 (12 527-14 659)) had the longest and most costly episodes, compared to non-specific favourable LBP (€6745; reference group). CONCLUSIONS: With LRS and non-specific unfavourable LBP accounting for over 83% of LBP-associated sick leave costs, the work-directed care of workers with these two diagnoses deserves increased attention.
AB - BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is a world leading cause of disability and has substantial impact on individuals and society as a whole. The largest part of the societal burden of LBP is caused by indirect costs, including sick leave. AIMS: We aimed to describe occupational recovery and associated costs for workers consulting an occupational physician (OP) with LBP, and to determine to what extent this differs by diagnoses: non-specific favourable LBP, non-specific unfavourable LBP, lumbosacral radicular syndrome (LRS) and specific LBP. METHODS: We analysed longitudinal dynamic cohort data from an occupational health service, representing ~1.2 million workers from various companies and sectors throughout the Netherlands. The OP registered data on sick leave and LBP diagnoses. A survival analysis was performed on sick leave duration to determine recovery and a linear regression analysis on cost per episode, adjusting for sex, age and working hours. RESULTS: We analysed 5951 LBP episodes from 5472 workers who consulted an OP, with a median and mean duration sick leave of 95 and 151 days, respectively. The probability of not recovering was 82% at 30 days and 10% at 1 year. The mean cost per episode was €15 350. Specific LBP (€22 999; beta (95% confidence interval [CI]): 16 278 (13 325-19 165)) and LRS (€20 111; beta (95% CI): 13 589 (12 527-14 659)) had the longest and most costly episodes, compared to non-specific favourable LBP (€6745; reference group). CONCLUSIONS: With LRS and non-specific unfavourable LBP accounting for over 83% of LBP-associated sick leave costs, the work-directed care of workers with these two diagnoses deserves increased attention.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140275162&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqac067
DO - https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqac067
M3 - Article
C2 - 35866584
SN - 0962-7480
VL - 72
SP - 462
EP - 469
JO - Occupational Medicine
JF - Occupational Medicine
IS - 7
ER -