TY - JOUR

T1 - Varicose veins in the lower extremities in relation to occupational mechanical exposures

T2 - a longitudinal study

AU - Tabatabaeifar, Sorosh

AU - Frost, Poul

AU - Andersen, Johan Hviid

AU - Jensen, Lone Donbæk

AU - Thomsen, Jane Frølund

AU - Svendsen, Susanne Wulff

N1 - Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

PY - 2015/5

Y1 - 2015/5

N2 - OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if occupational mechanical exposures are associated with an increased risk of surgery for varicose veins (VV) in the lower extremities.METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal study of persons from the Musculoskeletal Research Database at the Danish Ramazzini Centre who were 18-65 years old when they provided baseline questionnaire data during 1993-2004. Exposure estimates were obtained from a job exposure matrix based on expert ratings. The register information on first-time surgery for VV was retrieved. We used Cox regression analyses.RESULTS: During 416,317 person-years of follow-up among 38,036 persons, 851 first-time operations for VV occurred. Using standing/walking <4 h/day and uncommon lifting as references, exposure-response relationships with risk of surgery were found for men. For women, the risk increased too, but without clear exposure-response patterns. The adjusted HRs for ≥6 h/day spent standing/walking were 3.17 (95% CI 2.06 to 4.89) and 2.34 (95% CI 1.72 to 3.19) for men and women, respectively. For high lifting exposures (≥1000 kg/day), the adjusted HRs were 3.95 (95% CI 2.32 to 6.73) for men and 2.54 (95% CI 1.95 to 3.31) for women. Other risk factors were increasing age for men and parity for women. Minimal leisure-time physical activity, a high body mass index and smoking were not associated with increased risk.CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested an increased risk of surgery for VV in relation to prolonged standing/walking and heavy lifting and a preventive potential of more than 60% of all cases in exposed occupations.

AB - OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if occupational mechanical exposures are associated with an increased risk of surgery for varicose veins (VV) in the lower extremities.METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal study of persons from the Musculoskeletal Research Database at the Danish Ramazzini Centre who were 18-65 years old when they provided baseline questionnaire data during 1993-2004. Exposure estimates were obtained from a job exposure matrix based on expert ratings. The register information on first-time surgery for VV was retrieved. We used Cox regression analyses.RESULTS: During 416,317 person-years of follow-up among 38,036 persons, 851 first-time operations for VV occurred. Using standing/walking <4 h/day and uncommon lifting as references, exposure-response relationships with risk of surgery were found for men. For women, the risk increased too, but without clear exposure-response patterns. The adjusted HRs for ≥6 h/day spent standing/walking were 3.17 (95% CI 2.06 to 4.89) and 2.34 (95% CI 1.72 to 3.19) for men and women, respectively. For high lifting exposures (≥1000 kg/day), the adjusted HRs were 3.95 (95% CI 2.32 to 6.73) for men and 2.54 (95% CI 1.95 to 3.31) for women. Other risk factors were increasing age for men and parity for women. Minimal leisure-time physical activity, a high body mass index and smoking were not associated with increased risk.CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested an increased risk of surgery for VV in relation to prolonged standing/walking and heavy lifting and a preventive potential of more than 60% of all cases in exposed occupations.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Adult

KW - Aged

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Lifting

KW - Longitudinal Studies

KW - Lower Extremity

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Occupational Diseases

KW - Occupational Exposure

KW - Posture

KW - Proportional Hazards Models

KW - Risk Factors

KW - Sex Factors

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Varicose Veins

KW - Walking

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1136/oemed-2014-102495

DO - 10.1136/oemed-2014-102495

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25575530

VL - 72

SP - 330

EP - 337

JO - Occupational and Environmental Medicine

JF - Occupational and Environmental Medicine

SN - 1351-0711

IS - 5

ER -