Hagberg M
National Institute of Occupational Health, Division of Work and Environmental Physiology, Solna, Sweden.
Am J Ind Med. 1992;21(1):91-100. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700210111.
The ergonomic field is rather new to epidemiology and ergonomists are usually without knowledge in epidemiology. This review presents exposure variables used in ergonomic epidemiology, especially those that concern mechanical trauma to the musculoskeletal system at the workplace and suggests how to approach exposure definition, exposure assessment, and exposure evaluation. The exposure variables that define the exposure can be divided into five main categories: posture, motion/repetition, material handling, work organization, and external factors. There is no consensus on how different exposure variables should be pooled and interpreted as single estimates of cumulative exposure. For future ergonomic epidemiology, it is suggested that exposure be described by different exposure variables giving an exposure profile and not by a single estimate of the exposure. The possibly short time-response relationship for many work-related musculoskeletal disorders provides a challenge in evaluating different cumulative exposure measures. These measures could easily turn into effective hazard surveillance tools. Large etiological fractions found for some musculoskeletal diseases indicate a great potential for ergonomic interventions.
人体工程学领域对于流行病学来说相对较新，人体工程学专家通常不具备流行病学知识。本综述介绍了人体工程学流行病学中使用的暴露变量，特别是那些与工作场所肌肉骨骼系统机械性创伤有关的变量，并提出了如何进行暴露定义、暴露评估和暴露评价。定义暴露的暴露变量可分为五大类：姿势、动作/重复、物料搬运、工作组织和外部因素。对于如何将不同的暴露变量汇总并解释为累积暴露的单一估计值，目前尚无共识。对于未来的人体工程学流行病学，建议通过给出暴露概况的不同暴露变量来描述暴露，而不是通过单一的暴露估计值。许多与工作相关的肌肉骨骼疾病可能存在的短期时间反应关系，给评估不同的累积暴露测量方法带来了挑战。这些测量方法很容易变成有效的危害监测工具。一些肌肉骨骼疾病发现的较大病因比例表明人体工程学干预具有很大潜力。
