Table 1.
Descriptive background characteristics of the study population at baseline (n = 5052) in percentage of study population (categorical variables) or mean and standard deviations (continuous variables)
| n | Mean (SD) or % | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 5052 | 46.0 (9.0) |
| Job seniority | 4979 | 8.6 (7.1) |
| BMI | ||
| Normal | 2842 | 58.8% |
| Overweight | 1415 | 29.3% |
| Obese | 577 | 11.9% |
| Smoking | 1776 | 35.5% |
| Physical workloada | 4917 | 19.4 (9.7) |
| Leisure physical activity | ||
| Sedentary | 183 | 3.7% |
| Light physical activity | 2039 | 41.0% |
| Moderate physical activity | 2535 | 50.9% |
| Vigorous physical activity | 220 | 4.4% |
| Psychosocial work environmentb | ||
| Emotional demands | 5011 | 46.9 (17.9) |
| Influence at work | 5010 | 45.6 (20.0) |
| Role clarity | 5011 | 74.3 (14.2) |
| Leadership quality | 4931 | 57.2 (21.5) |
| Low back pain | ||
| No pain | 1558 | 31.2% |
| Subchronic pain | 2327 | 46.6% |
| Chronic pain | 1113 | 22.3% |
| Neck and shoulder pain | ||
| No pain | 1470 | 29.4% |
| Subchronic pain | 2113 | 42.2% |
| Chronic pain | 1423 | 28.4% |
| Knee pain | ||
| No pain | 3215 | 64.5% |
| Subchronic pain | 1166 | 23.4% |
| Chronic pain | 601 | 12.1% |
a
Physical workload was estimated from the Hollmann Index (scale 0–62).
b
Emotional demands, role conflicts, influence at work and quality of leadership are continuous variables that are scored from 0 to 100. On each variable, a score of 100 indicates a high level of emotional demands, role conflicts, influence at work and quality of leadership.