Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis
Objective Given the high exposure to occupational standing in specific occupations, and recent initiatives to encourage intermittent standing among white-collar workers, a better understanding of the potential health consequences of occupational standing is required. We aimed to review and quantify...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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BMJ Group
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7878 |
| _version_ | 1848745496228659200 |
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| author | Coenen, Pieter Willenberg, L. Parry, Sharon Shi, J. Romero, L. Blackwood, Diana Maher, C. Healy, Genevieve Dunstan, D. Straker, Leon |
| author_facet | Coenen, Pieter Willenberg, L. Parry, Sharon Shi, J. Romero, L. Blackwood, Diana Maher, C. Healy, Genevieve Dunstan, D. Straker, Leon |
| author_sort | Coenen, Pieter |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objective Given the high exposure to occupational standing in specific occupations, and recent initiatives to encourage intermittent standing among white-collar workers, a better understanding of the potential health consequences of occupational standing is required. We aimed to review and quantify the epidemiological evidence on associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms. Design A systematic review was performed. Data from included articles were extracted and described, and meta-analyses conducted when data were sufficiently homogeneous. Data sources Electronic databases were systematically searched. Eligibility criteria Peer-reviewed articles on occupational standing and musculoskeletal symptoms from epidemiological studies were identified. Results Of the 11 750 articles screened, 50 articles reporting 49 studies were included (45 cross-sectional and 5 longitudinal; n=88 158 participants) describing the associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms, including low-back (39 articles), lower extremity (14 articles) and upper extremity (18 articles) symptoms. In the meta-analysis, 'substantial' (>4 hours/workday) occupational standing was associated with the occurrence of low-back symptoms (pooled OR (95% CI) 1.31 (1.10 to 1.56)). Evidence on lower and upper extremity symptoms was too heterogeneous for meta-analyses. The majority of included studies reported statistically significant detrimental associations of occupational standing with lower extremity, but not with upper extremity symptoms. Conclusions The evidence suggests that substantial occupational standing is associated with the occurrence of low-back and (inconclusively) lower extremity symptoms, but there may not be such an association with upper extremity symptoms. However, these conclusions are tentative as only limited evidence was found from high-quality, longitudinal studies with fully adjusted models using objective measures of standing. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:18:17Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-7878 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:18:17Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | BMJ Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-78782019-04-12T03:40:31Z Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis Coenen, Pieter Willenberg, L. Parry, Sharon Shi, J. Romero, L. Blackwood, Diana Maher, C. Healy, Genevieve Dunstan, D. Straker, Leon Objective Given the high exposure to occupational standing in specific occupations, and recent initiatives to encourage intermittent standing among white-collar workers, a better understanding of the potential health consequences of occupational standing is required. We aimed to review and quantify the epidemiological evidence on associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms. Design A systematic review was performed. Data from included articles were extracted and described, and meta-analyses conducted when data were sufficiently homogeneous. Data sources Electronic databases were systematically searched. Eligibility criteria Peer-reviewed articles on occupational standing and musculoskeletal symptoms from epidemiological studies were identified. Results Of the 11 750 articles screened, 50 articles reporting 49 studies were included (45 cross-sectional and 5 longitudinal; n=88 158 participants) describing the associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms, including low-back (39 articles), lower extremity (14 articles) and upper extremity (18 articles) symptoms. In the meta-analysis, 'substantial' (>4 hours/workday) occupational standing was associated with the occurrence of low-back symptoms (pooled OR (95% CI) 1.31 (1.10 to 1.56)). Evidence on lower and upper extremity symptoms was too heterogeneous for meta-analyses. The majority of included studies reported statistically significant detrimental associations of occupational standing with lower extremity, but not with upper extremity symptoms. Conclusions The evidence suggests that substantial occupational standing is associated with the occurrence of low-back and (inconclusively) lower extremity symptoms, but there may not be such an association with upper extremity symptoms. However, these conclusions are tentative as only limited evidence was found from high-quality, longitudinal studies with fully adjusted models using objective measures of standing. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7878 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096795 BMJ Group fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Coenen, Pieter Willenberg, L. Parry, Sharon Shi, J. Romero, L. Blackwood, Diana Maher, C. Healy, Genevieve Dunstan, D. Straker, Leon Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis |
| title | Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis |
| title_full | Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis |
| title_fullStr | Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis |
| title_short | Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis |
| title_sort | associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: a systematic review with meta-analysis |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7878 |