Occupational Diseases among Workers in Lower and Higher Socioeconomic Positions

Henk F. Van der Molen, Sanne De Vries and Judith K. Sluiter
Additional contact information
Henk F. Van der Molen: Amsterdam UMC, Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, PO Box 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Sanne De Vries: Amsterdam UMC, Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, PO Box 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Judith K. Sluiter: Amsterdam UMC, Coronel Institute of Occupational Health, Netherlands Center for Occupational Diseases, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, PO Box 22660, 1100 DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-6

Abstract: Background: To determine differences between workers in lower and higher socioeconomic positions (SEP) in incidences of occupational disease (OD) and incapacity for work due to ODs. Methods: From a Dutch dynamic prospective cohort of occupational physicians (OPs), ODs assessed by OPs were retrieved for lower and higher SEP groups. Results: Among the lower SEP, musculoskeletal disorders, and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) comprised two-thirds of the OD diagnoses. Among the higher SEP, stress/burnout comprised 60% of the OD diagnoses. Temporary and permanent incapacity for work due to work-related lower back disorders and repetitive strain injuries differed significantly between workers in lower compared to higher SEP. Conclusions: Occupational diseases occur at a 2.7 higher incidence rate for workers in lower SEP compared with higher SEP. Incapacity for work varies between the type of OD and the level of SEP.

Keywords: occupational disease; socioeconomic position; incapacity for work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/12/2849/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/12/2849/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:12:p:2849-:d:190362

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().