Are Difficulties Perceiving and Expressing Emotions Associated with Low-Back Pain? The Relationship Between Lack of Emotional Awareness (Alexithymia) and 12-Month Prevalence of Low-Back Pain in 1180 Urban Public Transit Operators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Krause N ; Mehling WE
• Description:
  To assess the association of alexithymia (deficit in emotional awareness) with 12-month prevalence of low back pain (LBP) cross-sectionally in a cohort study of 1180 San Francisco transit operators. Alexithymia was measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). LBP was assessed in medical histories during drivers relicensing exams. Multivariate logistic regression analyses controlled for demographic, behavioral (smoking, alcohol, coping style), and physical and psychosocial job factors measured by questionnaire and interview. Of all the drivers, 31.4% suffered from LBP. Scoring in the upper quartile of alexithymia summary scores was associated with twofold higher odds of LBP (adjusted odds ratio=2.00, 95% confidence interval: 1.31-3.00). The association was stronger in women (adj. OR=4.35) than in men (adj. OR=1.83). The factor "difficulty identifying feelings" showed the strongest association with LBP (adj. OR=2.23). The results support an association between alexithymia and LBP. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Behavior Demography Epidemiology Mental Health Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sex Characteristics Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Back-injuries Behavior-patterns Demographic-characteristics Drivers Job-analysis Psychological-effects Psychological-factors Questionnaires Risk-analysis Risk-factors Sex-factors Statistical-analysis Worker-health Workers

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• ISSN:
  0022-3999
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  73-81
• Volume:
  58
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028872
• Citation:
  J Psychosom Res 2005 Jan; 58(1):73-81
• Contact Point Address:
  Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, Campus Box 1726, 1701 Divisadero, #150, San Francisco, CA 94143-1726, USA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California - San Francisco, San Francisco, California
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Psychosomatic Research
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4e88753feca2edf5750250d73be874e83ec03a758abd11fc3a26aab4a6764dd6165467c0d8cbec5a70638703d6f97cde161e5d39d4463008f917a91e89e1673b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189968/cdc_189968_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 150.21 KB ]