PROFILE OF WORK-RELATED HEALTH COMPLAINTS AMONG SWEDISH DENTAL LABORATORY TECHNICIANS

The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the prevalence and nature of occupation-related health problems among Swedish dental laboratory technicians. A 4-page questionnaire listing seven groups of health complaints was completed by 489 male and 242 female technician s, representing 56% of the active members of their organization, Simil ar information from 163 males and 160 females with other occupations w as used for comparison, The biannual prevalence of health problems amo ng the technicians was 79%, comprising musculoskeletal (68%), dermal ( 34%), respiratory (31%), neurological (26%), systemic (19%) and eyesig ht/hearing problems (15%). Job-specific ergonomic and stress factors w ere responsible for musculoskeletal and neurological (finger) reaction s, whereas chemical insults, grinding dusts and indoor climate caused dermal, respiratory and systemic reactions. There was no age prevalenc e as regards health complaints, but female technicians consistently sh owed a larger prevalence of musculoskeletal, dermal, systemic and neur ological complaints than their male counterparts (P<0.05, chi(2)). A s imilar sex difference was also present in the control group. A conside rable part of the reactions were perceived to be of minor importance, bringing the total biannual prevalence down to 57%. However, the preva lence of job-related health complaints was still higher among the tech nicians than in the control groups for all indicators except systemic and eyesight/hearing problems. The profile of health complaints among dental laboratory technicians was characterized by musculoskeletal, ne urological and dermal reaction, underlining the importance of job-spec ific ergonomic and chemical hazards. Only a few of the technicians had consulted medical personnel.