Effect of work-related factors on the prevalence of peptic ulcer disease among Korean workers: a nationwide population-based study.
BACKGROUND
Working environment such as psychosocial factors impacts the health of workers. However, few studies have assessed the association of work-related factors with the prevalence of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in large population based study.


METHODS
After exclusion of military personnel, 16,099 wage workers (20 ≤ age ≤ 65 years) from the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2011) were included in this study. Job status was defined as the place of employment of longest duration. To evaluate the working environment, we used a comprehensive work-stressor measure. Univariate and multivariable regression analyses were performed to assess the effect of occupation type on the prevalence of PUD.


RESULTS
Among the subjects, 5540, 3398, and 7161 were white-, pink-, and blue-collar workers, respectively. The prevalence of PUD was highest among blue-collar workers (n = 336, 7.1%), followed by pink-collar (n = 116, 5.1%) and white-collar (n = 180, 4.9%) workers. In the multivariable analysis, work type and uncomfortable gestures were independently associated with the risk of PUD. Compared with office workers, operators in industrial plants and machine operators had a significantly higher prevalence of PUD (odds ratio, 1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-3.3) after adjusting for age, socioeconomic factors, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, daily exercise, sleep duration, and working conditions.


DISCUSSION
In conclusion, work-related factors, particularly blue-collar work and uncomfortable job gestures, are independently associated with the risk of PUD. Therefore, it is important to monitor the development of PUD in workers exposed to these factors.
['Choi|Youn I|YI|', 'Chung|Jun-Won|JW|', 'Kim|Kyoung Oh|KO|', 'Kwon|Kwang An|KA|', 'Kim|Yoon Jae|YJ|', 'Park|Dong Kyun|DK|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2862-6641']
D000328:Adult D006804:Ergonomics D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D066192:Manufacturing Industry D008875:Middle Aged D009790:Occupations D010437:Peptic Ulcer D015995:Prevalence D056910:Republic of Korea
Prevalence Peptic ulcer disease Occupations Health surveys