Abstract
In Czechia, a general decreasing trend in the incidence of OD has been observed in the past decades. However, the automotive industry (C29), where the incidence of OD is by contrast increasing, represents a striking exception.
The aim of our pilot study was to compare some health indicators in workers at risk positions in C29 and in workers performing non-hazardous work beyond this branch of economy. This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study based on data from a field survey questionnaire.
The exposed group consisted of 90 employees of C29. The workers performed risk work of category 2R (local muscular load).
The control group was composed of 90 persons performing non-hazardous work beyond C29. Both groups came from the same geographical region and were comparable with respect to gender and BMI.
The exposed group was slightly younger. Members of the control group experienced more frequently bad health in the last month, reported more consultation visits at their doctors, had higher incidence of musculoskeletal disorders, and have been more frequently taken in care by specialized physicians.
Accordingly, we may infer that in our study the group of people employed in C29 appeared to be healthier, despite of the fact that there are more regular smokers among them, they spend less time in the leisure outdoor activities, they have lower income and lower education level, which are factors usually associated with worse health. The observed findings may be partly influenced by the slight age difference between the two groups.
The worse health of the control group may be related to the fact, that stress situations in work were reported almost twice as frequent in this group. However, we consider as most probable that the "healthy worker effect" has manifested itself in our study.
This effect is a type of selection bias influencing the exposed group in such a way that it is eventually becoming healthier in comparison with the general population.