What Personal and Work-Related Characteristics of Dutch Construction Workers With Knee Osteoarthritis Are Associated With Future Work Ability?

Abstract

To assess personal and work-related characteristics of construction workers with knee osteoarthritis (KO) associated with their ability to perform their current profession in the following 2 years. A cross-sectional study was performed among Dutch construction workers diagnosed with KO using data from the Worker Health Surveillance. Logistic regression was used to assess the characteristics associated with future work ability. On the basis of 344 construction workers with KO, being able to perform their current profession in 2 years' time was associated with working weekly 36 to 45 hours (odds ratio [OR], 3.0 to 6.3), performing high-intensity exercises 1 to 2 times weekly (OR, 2.0 to 2.6), being younger than 56 years (OR, 0.2 to 0.3), and not performing strenuous work activities such as lifting and kneeling (OR, 0.4 to 0.5). To keep construction workers with KO at work, intervention studies should evaluate the effects of reducing strenuous work activities and promote leisure-time exercise.