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Mental Ill Health and MSDs Top OH Chart Again

Posted on: Friday, 28 October 2005, 03:01 CDT

By Anonymous

Mental ill health and MSDs are the most common types of work- related ill health in Great Britain according to the latest HSE occupational health statistics.

The statistics identify the contributing factors recorded by specialist doctors in The Health and Occupation Reporting (THOR) network for the first time. Specialist doctors at THOR saw an estimated 23,000 new cases in 2004.

Tasks contributing to MSDs, affecting mainly the back and upper limbs, were guiding or holding tools, followed by heavy lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling and keyboard work. Those with the highest risks of MSDs, based on reports from rheumatologists in 2002-04, were typists, metal plate workers, shipwrights and riveters and road construction operatives - each profession reporting annual average incidence rates around 15 times the average for all occupations.

The highest incidence rates in work-related mental ill health were experienced by NCOs and other ranks in the UK armed forces - 17 times the overall average, followed by medical practitioners, who experienced rates 16 times more than average. A consistent pattern in self-reporting surveys is that professional and managerial groups have the highest rates of work-related stress, anxiety or depression particularly teachers, nurses and other public sector occupations.

The most commonly reported factor in this category was work pressure, mentioned in one quarter of cases, followed by interpersonal difficulties (22 per cent); traumatic events (10 per cent) and bullying or sexual harassment (eight per cent).

Other professions experiencing ill health significantly more than the overall average are bakers, flour confectioners and vehicle spray painters, who have the highest rates of occupational asthma - 90 times the average - and hairdressers and barbers and beauticians and related occupations, who have the highest rates of contact dermatitis at roughly 16 times the average for all occupations.

However, the number of new cases assessed as qualifying for compensation under the Department for Work and Pensions Industrial Injuries scheme dropped to 7080 in 2004 from the previous year's level of 7910. There were falls in cases of chronic bronchitis, vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome, but cases of asbestos-related diseases (mostly mesothelioma and asbestosis) continued to rise.

The statistics can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/ ohsb0405.htm

* Separate research from the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health suggests that people who experience depression and anxiety can be helped to keep their jobs if they are offered short spells of cognitive behavioural therapy. Other findings in the review, carried out for the British Occupational Health Research Foundation include:

* helping staff to manage stress at work is often beneficial, though it may not on its own prevent mental health problems from occurring;

* the most effective ways of preventing mental health problems are those targeted at staff at highest risk;

* organisations where staff feel safe talking about stresses and seeking help when they have problems are the best at keeping staff in work;

* high-quality occupational health support and training for line managers to enable them to support colleagues with mental health problems is vital to help people keep their jobs.

A summary of the research for employers and employees can be obtained by visiting www.bohrf.org.uk/downloads/cmh_emp.pdf

Copyright CMP Information Ltd. Oct 2005

Source: Safety & Health Practitioner, The

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