Intervertebral Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine in Health Personnel with Occupational Exposure to Patient Handling—A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Christofer Schröder and Albert Nienhaus
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Christofer Schröder: Department of Occupational Medicine, Public health and Hazardous Substances, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services, 22089 Hamburg, Germany
Albert Nienhaus: Department of Occupational Medicine, Public health and Hazardous Substances, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services, 22089 Hamburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-20

Abstract: Lifting or carrying loads or working while the trunk is in a bent position are well established risk factors for the development of disc disease of the lumbar spine (LDD). Patient handling is associated with certain hazardous activities, which can result in exposure to heavy loads and high pressure for the discs of the lumbar spine of the nurses performing these tasks. The purpose of this review was to examine the occurrence of work-related LDD among health personnel (HP) with occupational exposure to patient handling activities in comparison to un-exposed workers. A systematic literature search was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science. A meta-analysis of odds ratios (OR) was conducted by stratifying for various factors. Five studies reported a higher prevalence for LDD among nurses and geriatric nurses (11.3–96.3%) compared to all controls (3.78–76.47%). Results of the meta-analysis showed a significantly increased OR for LDD among HP compared to all controls (OR 2.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.41, 4.26). In particular, the results of this review suggest that nurses have a higher probability of developing disc herniation than office workers.

Keywords: Health personnel; occupational exposure; patient handling; intervertebral disc disease; disc degeneration; musculoskeletal disorders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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