Table 1 Characteristics of the study population, SMASH, 1994–97 (n = 1357).
| Characteristics* | Total population† |
|---|---|
| Men | 69.5 |
| Age (mean (SD))‡ | 35.4 (8.8) |
| Working hours per week (mean (SD))‡ | 38.1 (5.1) |
| Years of employment in current job (mean (SD))‡ | 9.4 (7.6) |
| Type of occupation | |
| Blue‐collar occupations | 61.3 |
| White‐collar occupations | 31.0 |
| Caring occupations | 7.7 |
| Occurrence of low back pain during follow up§ | |
| Follow up 1 | 8.9 |
| Follow up 2 | 10.6 |
| Follow up 3 | 6.9 |
| Occurrence of neck pain during follow up§ | |
| Follow up 1 | 5.8 |
| Follow up 2 | 6.9 |
| Follow up 3 | 3.7 |
| Occurrence of shoulder pain during follow up§ | |
| Follow up 1 | 7.2 |
| Follow up 2 | 6.4 |
| Follow up 3 | 5.8 |
*Unless otherwise indicated, baseline characteristics are given.
†Unless otherwise indicated, values are percentages (%).
‡SD, standard deviation.
§Regular or prolonged pain in the past 12 months and no or sometimes pain in the past 12 months in the previous questionnaire.