Zdravotní stav zaměstnanců v automobilovém průmyslu
– pilotní studie

Overview

In Czechia, a general decreasing trend in the incidence of occupational diseases has been observed in the past decades. However, the automotive industry, where the incidence of occupational diseases is by contrast increasing, represents a striking exception. The unfavorable situation in the automotive industry is a challenge to be scientifically addressed. The aim of our pilot study was to compare some health indicators in workers at risk positions in the automotive industry and in workers performing non-hazardous work beyond this branch of economy. This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study based on data from a field survey questionnaire. The exposed group consisted of 90 employees of an automotive factory, a third-tier supplier according to its position in the global production networks. The workers performed risk work of category 2R (local muscular load). The control group was composed of 90 persons performing non-hazardous work beyond the automotive industry. Both groups came from the same geographical region and were comparable with respect to gender and BMI. The exposed group was slightly younger. Members of the control group experienced more frequently bad health in the last month, reported more consultation visits at their doctors, had higher incidence of musculoskeletal disorders, and have been more frequently taken in care by specialized physicians. Accordingly, we may infer that in our study the group of people employed in the automotive industry appeared to be healthier, despite of the fact that there are more regular smokers among them, they spend less time in the leisure outdoor activities, they have lower income and lower education level, which are factors usually associated with worse health. The observed findings may be partly influenced by the slight age difference between the two groups. The worse health of the control group may be related to the fact, that stress situations in work were reported almost twice as frequent in this group. However, we consider as most probable that the “healthy worker effect” has manifested itself in our study. This effect is a type of selection bias influencing the exposed group in such a way that it is eventually becoming healthier in comparison with the general population (selection of more healthy persons for work at hazardous positions, removal from work because of health problems etc.). To verify the hypotheses generated in our study, further research is needed, especially the cohort studies.

KEYWORDS:
occupational diseases – risk factors – incidence – healthy worker effect – automotive industry