Has your work worked you too hard? Physically demanding work and disability in a sample of the older Irish population

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2012-04-24
Authors
McCarthy, Vera J. C.
Perry, Ivan J.
Greiner, Birgit A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer International Publishing AG
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
There is a heightened need for the practitioner to be alert to the determinants of functional limitations and disabilities owing to the ageing workforce. This study investigated the association between work type and disability in older age in both the paid and the previously unexplored, unpaid worker (household labour).Data on demographic factors, physical measurements, work history and functional status were collected on three hundred and fifty seven 57-80-year-olds. Past or present work was identified as either physically demanding or not. Functional limitations and activities of daily living (ADL) disabilities were assessed using validated scales. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the dependent variables and work type (physically demanding work or not physically demanding work).Over half of the sample reported doing physically demanding work. 20 % had complete function (n = 67), 65 % (n = 223) functional limitations and 15 % (n = 53) ADL disability. Physically demanding work was associated with functional limitations [OR 2.52 (1.41, 4.51), p = 0.01] and ADL disability [OR 2.10 (1.06, 4.17), p = 0.03] after adjustment for a measure of obesity and gender. When gender stratified, looking only at females, physically demanding work was associated with ADL disability [OR 2.79 (1.10, 7.07), p = 0.03] adjusted for a measure of obesity and household labour. Physically demanding work was related to functional limitations and ADL disability in older age. This is valuable information to inform practitioners in the treatment of older people with functional limitations and disabilities and in guiding interventions in the prevention of work related disability.
Description
Keywords
Ageing , Physically demanding work , Household labour , Paid work , Disability , Functional limitations , Family demands , Manual work , Life-style , Health , Age , Inequalities , Perspective , Predictors , Capacity
Citation
McCarthy, V.J.C., Perry, I. J. and Greiner, B. A. (2012) 'Has your work worked you too hard? Physically demanding work and disability in a sample of the older Irish population'. Irish Journal of Medical Science, 182(1), pp. 47-55. doi:10.1007/s11845-012-0824-7
Copyright
© 2012, Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11845-012-0824-7