Frequent Musculoskeletal Disorders and Health Related Quality of Life among Industrial Workers – a Prospective Study

The high percentage of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in various populations underlines the need for distinguishing between severely and mildly affected individuals. To investigate MSD from various body parts reported in 1998 as predictors of health related quality of life reported in 2002, we examined the frequency of MSD on a five-point scale, health related quality of life (SF-36) and sickness absence among 3087 workers in the aluminium industry in Norway. High frequencies of MSD from all body parts were related to lower scores on the SF-36 and increased sickness absence. This relationship was strongest for low back pain. Workers who reported low back pain “very often” had a mean role-physical score equivalent to that of the 18 percentile of the general population. The results show that workers who reported MSD often or very often were severely affected. The five-point scale of the frequency of MSD can be used to distinguish individuals at high risk for reduced health related quality of life and sickness absence.