APPLICATION OF THE CONCISE EXPOSURE INDEX (OCRA) TO TASKS INVOLVING REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS OF THE UPPER LIMBS IN A VARIETY OF MANUFACTURING-INDUSTRIES - PRELIMINARY VALIDATIONS

A summary of eight investigations is presented, which were carried out using standardized methods, for the purpose of quantifying exposure t o tasks involving repetitive movements of the upper limbs, as well as quantifying the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders ( WMSDs) of the upper limbs in groups of exposed workers. A total of 462 exposed workers were examined, and the study also took into account t he data pertaining to a matched reference group comprising 749 workers not exposed to any specific occupational risk. Regarding the quantifi cation of exposure to increased risk, use was made of a concise index (OCRA index), proposed by Occhipinti, in this issue. The data resultin g from the eight investigations were used for the study of measurement s and models of association among the exposure variables (mainly repre sented by the OCRA index) as well as the effect variables represented by the prevalence of the various WMSDs of the upper limbs taken both i ndividually and jointly. Significant associations were reported betwee n the OCRA index and an effect indicator represented by the prevalence of all the WSMDs of the upper limbs, calculated on the number of uppe r limbs at risk. When a logarithmic conversion of the relative exposur e (OCRA) and injury indices was carried out, a simple linear regressio n model resulted that seems to provide a satisfactory predictive perfo rmance of the risk of WMSDs of the upper limbs, based on the exposure index. The study confirmed the efficacy of various other models design ed to predict effects based on multiple linear regression functions, i n which the independent variables are represented by both the OCRA exp osure index and by parameters relative to the breakdown by gender and age of the groups of exposed workers.