Severe Back Pain Among Farmworker High School Students from Starr County, Texas: Baseline Results

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burau KD ; Cooper SP ; Del Junco DJ ; Delclos GL ; Shipp EM ; Tortolero SR
• Description:
  Purpose: This cohort study is among the first to estimate the prevalence of and examine potential risk factors for severe back pain (resulting in medical care, 4+ hours of time lost, or pain lasting 1+ weeks) among adolescent farmworkers. These youth often perform tasks requiring bent/stooped postures and heavy lifting. Methods: Of 2536 students who participated (response rate across the three public high schools, 61.2% to 83.9%), 410 students were farmworkers (largely Hispanic and migrant). Students completed a self-administered Web-based survey including farm work/nonfarm work and back-pain items relating to a 9-month period. Results: The prevalence of severe back pain was 15.7% among farmworkers and 12.4% among nonworkers. The prevalence increased to 19.1% among farm workers (n = 131) who also did nonfarm work. A multiple logistic regression for farmworkers showed that significantly increased adjusted odds ratios for severe back pain were female sex (4.59); prior accident/back injury (9.04); feeling tense, stressed, or anxious sometimes/often (4.11); lifting/carrying heavy objects not at work (2.98); current tobacco use (2.79); 6+ years involved in migrant farm work (5.02); working with/around knives (3.87); and working on corn crops (3.40). Conclusions: Areas for further research include ergonomic exposure assessments and examining the effects of doing farm work and nonfarm work simultaneously. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Epidemiology Ergonomics Farmers Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Back Pain Farm Workers Musculoskeletal Disorders
• ISSN:
  1047-2797
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  132-141
• Volume:
  17
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031562
• Citation:
  Ann Epidemiol 2007 Feb; 17(2):132-141
• Contact Point Address:
  Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Texas A & M University System Health Science Center, School of Rural Public Health, College Station, TX 77843
• Email:
  emshipp@srph.tamhsc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Center at Tyler
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3b0bf5b69f9819ef6e2ffeb02a0b7044b807a12ba1b3e3af8189b8fd28ca78a08966781b85078ab36c30babeafb65dd9a275546fbef4a84a2a5b394e67f4622e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/185812/cdc_185812_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 140.37 KB ]