Acute joint pain among adults employed in U.S. green collar jobs: Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey

Background/Purpose:  Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) have well-documented associations with occupational ergonomic stressors such as repetitive motion, heavy lifting, non-neutral postures, and vibration. The introduction of new technologies and job requirements documented in green collar occupations may have introduced new physical stressors contributing to MSDs. In the present study, we estimate and compare the prevalence of self-reported acute joint pain between green and non-green collar workers.

Methods:  Pooled data from the 2004-2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was linked to the Occupational Information Network Database (O*NET) to classify NHIS respondents as green and non-green collar workers. Estimates on acute joint pain (i.e., symptoms of pain, aching, or stiffness in or around a joint in the past 30 days prior to survey administration) were adjusted for the complex survey design and stratified by socio-demographic (i.e., age group, gender, race, ethnicity, and geographic region) and workplace (i.e., number of employees at work) characteristics.

Results/Outcomes:    Compared to non-green collar workers, Green collar workers reporting acute joint were more often likely to use special equipment (57.4% vs 54.6%), be employed in small businesses of 50-99 employees (31.3% vs. 27.9%), and be classified as a state employee (33.5% vs. 29.1%). They less often had visual impairment (43.8% vs. 47.1%) and more than one job (30.5% vs. 33.2%). No significant difference in acute joint was noted between green and non-green collar workers (28.0 vs. 27.5%).

Conclusions:  Disparties in acute musculoskeletal joint pain reported by green collar workers, particularly by sociodemographic and workplace characteristics warrant future surveillance efforts.