Table 4. Generated odds ratio estimates (95% CIs) for work-organisational factors on neck/shoulder and distal upper extremity pains.
| Variable | Category | Neck/shoulder pain | Distal upper extremity pain | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Univariate | Multivariate * | Number | Univariate | Multivariate * | ||||
| No pain | With pain | OR (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | No | Yes | OR (95% CI) | OR (95% CI) | ||
| Number of machines operated in the past month | 1 | 323 | 108 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 359 | 72 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 2 | 37 | 14 | 1.13 (0.59 to 2.17) | 1.11 (0.53 to 2.31) | 44 | 7 | 0.79 (0.34 to 1.83) | 0.87 (0.35 to 2.14) | |
| 3 and more | 35 | 3 | 0.26 (0.08 to 0.85) | 0.11 (0.01 to 0.89) | 35 | 3 | 0.43 (0.13 to 1.43) | 0.37 (0.08 to 1.73) | |
| ptrend† | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.15 | 0.22 | |||||
| Shop size | Small shops | 135 | 27 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 144 | 18 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Large shops | 260 | 98 | 1.88 (1.17 to 3.03) | 2.42 (1.13 to 5.17) | 294 | 64 | 1.74 (1 to 3.05) | 2.60 (1.1 to 6.17) | |
| Pay method | Small shops | ||||||||
| Hourly rate | 59 | 7 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 62 | 4 | 1.00 | 1.00 | |
| Piece rate | 76 | 20 | 2.22(0.88 to 5.60) | 2.35 (0.66 to 8.30) | 82 | 14 | 2.65 (0.83 to 8.43) | 1.75 (0.45 to 6.73) | |
| Large shops | |||||||||
| Hourly rate | 71 | 36 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 81 | 26 | 1.00 | 1.00 | |
| Piece rate | 189 | 62 | 0.65 (0.40 to 1.06) | 0.54 (0.29 to 1.00) | 213 | 38 | 0.56 (0.32 to 0.97) | 0.63 (0.31 to 1.27) | |
| Work–rest ratio | <9.2 | 160 | 40 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 174 | 26 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 9.2–11.6 | 116 | 52 | 1.79 (1.11 to 2.89) | 1.87 (1.05 to 3.36) | 133 | 35 | 1.76 (1.01 to 3.07) | 1.27 (0.63 to 2.55) | |
| >11.6 | 67 | 25 | 1.49 (0.84 to 2.65) | 2.10 (0.84 to 5.28) | 79 | 13 | 1.10 (0.54 to 2.26) | 1.04 (0.33 to 3.27) | |
| ptrend† | 0.08 | 0.05 | 0.47 | 0.77 | |||||
| Physical exertion | Quartile 1 (<7) | 124 | 18 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 128 | 14 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Quartile 2 (7–7.9) | 102 | 31 | 2.09 (1.11 to 3.96) | 1.95 (0.98 to 3.86) | 115 | 18 | 1.43 (0.68 to 3.01) | 1.38 (0.62 to 3.09) | |
| Quartile 3 (8–8.9) | 95 | 37 | 2.68 (1.44 to 5.00) | 2.15 (1.09 to 4.23) | 106 | 26 | 2.24 (1.11 to 4.51) | 2.08 (0.97 to 4.46) | |
| Quartile 4 (>8.9) | 74 | 39 | 3.63 (1.94 to 6.81) | 3.30 (1.63 to 6.71) | 89 | 24 | 2.47 (1.21 to 5.03) | 2.92 (1.31 to 6.52) | |
| ptrend† | <0.0001 | 0.001 | |||||||
| Physical isometric loads | Quartile 1&2 (<5) | 258 | 63 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 274 | 47 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Quartile 3 (5–5.9) | 113 | 46 | 1.67 (1.07 to 2.59) | 1.82 (1.07 to 3.1) | 132 | 27 | 1.19 (0.71 to 2.00) | 1.45 (0.79 to 2.68) | |
| Quartile 4 (>5.9) | 23 | 16 | 2.85 (1.42 to 5.71) | 3.60 (1.6 to 8.06) | 31 | 8 | 1.51 (0.65 to 3.47) | 1.72 (0.68 to 4.36) | |
| ptrend† | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||||
| Job demands | Quartile 1 (<30) | 111 | 29 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 123 | 17 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Quartile 2 (30–32) | 118 | 30 | 0.97 (0.55 to 1.72) | 1.18 (0.58 to 2.39) | 123 | 25 | 1.47 (0.76 to 2.86) | 1.62 (0.73 to 3.58) | |
| Quartile 3 (32–35) | 83 | 27 | 1.25 (0.69 to 2.26) | 1.64 (0.72 to 3.73) | 96 | 14 | 1.06 (0.50 to 2.25) | 1.15 (0.43 to 3.04) | |
| Quartile 4 (>35) | 83 | 39 | 1.80 (1.03 to 3.14) | 2.77 (1.06 to 7.28) | 96 | 26 | 1.96 (1.01 to 3.82) | 2.67 (0.88 to 8.13) | |
| ptrend† | 0.02 | 0.03 | |||||||
| Job satisfaction | Not satisfied | 10 | 7 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 12 | 5 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Somewhat satisfied | 180 | 54 | 0.43 (0.16 to 1.18) | 0.33 (0.11 to 1.01) | 198 | 36 | 0.44 (0.14 to 1.31) | 0.44 (0.13 to 1.42) | |
| Very satisfied | 205 | 64 | 0.45 (0.16 to 1.22) | 0.34 (0.11 to 1.05) | 228 | 41 | 0.43 (0.14 to 1.29) | 0.31 (0.09 to 1.08) | |
| ptrend† | 0.51 | 0.35 | 0.42 | 0.08 | |||||
* Full model controlled: age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, medical history of MSD, smoking behaviour, shop size, years of employment in garment industry, number of sewing machine operated, number of rest break, job strain, and social support; † p value for trend across categories (Pearson chi-squared test).