Abstract
The relation between osteoarthritis and occupation was examined in a group of skeletons from the crypt of Christ Church, Spitalfields, in east London used for burial between 1729 and 1869. Of the total of 968 discrete skeletons excavated, 367 had legible coffin plates giving details of name, age, sex, and date of death. Various sources were used to find the occupations of the group for which these details were known. As many of those buried in the crypt were Huguenots interest centred on the relation between weaving and osteoarthritis of the hands but none was found using a case-control study. Further analyses failed to show a relation between occupation and osteoarthritis of the shoulder or osteoarthritis at any site. There was a statistically significant association between non-manual occupations and osteoarthritis of the spine, the reasons for which are not yet clear.
Full text
PDFSelected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Hadler N. M., Gillings D. B., Imbus H. R., Levitin P. M., Makuc D., Utsinger P. D., Yount W. J., Slusser D., Moskovitz N. Hand structure and function in an industrial setting. Arthritis Rheum. 1978 Mar;21(2):210–220. doi: 10.1002/art.1780210206. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hadler N. M. Industrial rheumatology. Clinical investigations into the influence of the pattern of usage of the pattern of regional musculoskeletal disease. Arthritis Rheum. 1977 May;20(4):1019–1025. doi: 10.1002/art.1780200417. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Peyron J. G. Review of the main epidemiologic-etiologic evidence that implies mechanical forces as factors in osteoarthritis. Eng Med. 1986 Apr;15(2):77–79. doi: 10.1243/emed_jour_1986_015_022_02. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]