Job-related stress associated with work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMDs) in municipal waste collectors: the moderation and mediation effect of job support

Ching-Lan Yang; Wei-Ping Huang; Wen-Yu Lin; Po-Chang Tseng; Hsien-Wen Kuo

doi:10.1186/s12891-022-05721-y

Job-related stress associated with work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMDs) in municipal waste collectors: the moderation and mediation effect of job support

BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2022 Aug 10;23(1):762. doi: 10.1186/s12891-022-05721-y.

Authors

Ching-Lan Yang^#¹, Wei-Ping Huang^#², Wen-Yu Lin², Po-Chang Tseng^{2

3}, Hsien-Wen Kuo^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Occupational Medicine Department, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 155, Sec.2, Linong Street, 112, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 155, Sec.2, Linong Street, 112, Taipei, Taiwan. hwkuo@ym.edu.tw.
⁵ Institute of Public Health, National Defense University, Taipei, Taiwan. hwkuo@ym.edu.tw.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Since the policy of "keeping trash off of the ground" in Taiwan, long-term exposure to repetitive motion in waste collection process results in high risk of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMDs). Thus, we assessed the moderation and mediation effects of job-related stress and job support on work-related UEMDs among municipal waste collectors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two cities located at northern Taiwan during 2018-2019. 626 municipal waste collectors voluntarily participated and anonymously filled out a structured questionnaire. The moderation and mediation effects of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and social support on UEMDs were analyzed by Haye's Process Macro Model.

Results: Prevalence of UEMDs in municipal waste collectors were 43.4% for neck, 56.0% for shoulder, 24.1% for upper back, and 33.1% for hand/wrist. There was high prevalence of shoulder (72.2%), neck (48%), and upper back (30%) in female workers compared to male, most significantly in shoulders. In univariate and multivariate analysis, high ERI and low job support were significantly associated with ORs of 3.11 (95% CI:1.58-6.13) for elbow, 2.79 (95% CI:1.39-5.56) for shoulder, 3.39 (95% CI:1.64-7.00) for upper back and 3.83 (95% CI:1.98-7.41) for hand/wrist. Prevalent UEMDs were positively associated with high ERI in municipal waste collectors but negatively with job support. The moderation effects of ERI and job support on UEMDs, of which the measured synergy index exceeded one, were 18.24 for shoulder, 3.32 for elbow, and 2.45 for hand/wrist, but mediation effects were not significant.

Conclusions: This study found municipal waste collectors with work-related upper extremity disorders were significantly associated with work-related psychological risk factors. Therefore, waste collection cannot only to be improved by semi-automatic and automatic processes but immediate intervention programs for the reduction of psychological risk factors is needed promptly.

Keywords: Job support; Job-related stress; Municipal waste collectors; Work-related upper extremity disorders.

MeSH terms

Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Musculoskeletal Diseases* / complications
Musculoskeletal Diseases* / diagnosis
Musculoskeletal Diseases* / epidemiology
Occupational Diseases* / epidemiology
Occupational Diseases* / etiology
Occupational Stress*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Upper Extremity