THE RELATIONS BETWEEN WORK DEMANDS AND HEALTH COMPLAINTS IN LORRY DRIVERS - A MODEL TESTED BY MEANS OF LISREL

In this study, data of a questionnaire study among 439 lorry drivers w ere fitted to a model in which work demands and the worker's decision latitude are related to musculoskeletal complaints and general psychos omatic complaints. Structural analysis with LISREL was used to investi gate the hypothesized relations. Two modifications resulted in a chi(2 ) of overall fit equal to 77.35 with 47 degrees of freedom. The qualit y of model fit was considered to be satisfactory when the sample size was taken into account. The values of the Adjusted Goodness of Fit Ind ex (0.948) and the Root Mean Square Residuals (0.029) indicated the sa me. The standardized solution of LISREL showed that work demands with respect to task contents were significantly related to musculoskeletal complaints as well as to general psychosomatic complaints (0.75 and 0 .34 respectively, both P < 0.001). This conceptual variable was indica ted by physical activities that the drivers had to perform. The relati ons between work-related psycho-social factors and musculoskeletal com plaints were weak. Another significant effect on general psychosomatic complaints was found for work demands with respect to terms of employ ment (0.30, P < 0.001). This conceptual variable was indicated by vari ables concerning working hours and pressure of the work. It is recomme nded that in future occupational epidemiology, bath physical and psych osocial aspects of the working situation be related to health effects, rather than solely a single exposure variable.