Correlation between pre-employment screening X-ray finding of spondylolysis and sickness absenteeism due to low back pain among policemen of the Israeli police force

Yoram Weil, Dorit Weil, Milka Donchin, Gideon Mann, Amir Hasharoni*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Study Design. A historical prospective case/control study of the significance and correlation between pre-employment findings of L5-S1 spondylolysis and sickness absenteeism due to low back pain among police officers. Objectives. Examining the importance of pre-employment lumbar spine radiographs as a prediction of work absenteeism. Summary of Background Data. Spondylolysis is a defect in the pars interarticularis. Its etiology remains controversial, it is a common condition among young athletes, and it carries genetic predisposition. Although described mostly as an incidental radiographic finding in the adult population, spondylolysis is implicated as a contributing factor to low back pain, although the cause-and-effect relation is not clear. Methods. One hundred and sixty-nine police officers with L5-S1 spondylolysis were identified out of 3988 examined. Incidence density of sickness absenteeism due to low back pain was calculated for the patients and the controls. The Cox's proportional hazard model was used for comparison between the two groups, controlling for possible confounding variables. Results. Similar incidence of sickness absenteeism due to low back pain was found among the patients and controls. The total duration of sickness absenteeism, however, was 2.7 times higher in the spondylolysis group than the controls. Prevalence of spondylolysis is origin specific, denoting genetic predisposition to this condition. Total sickness absenteeism not related to low back pain was not significantly different between the two study groups. Conclusions. There is low predictive value of pre-employment lumbar spine radiograph as a screening tool predicting sickness absenteeism due to low back pain. Spondylolysis, however, may increase the duration of sickness absenteeism in patients with low back pain.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2168-2172
Number of pages5
JournalSpine
Volume29
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2004
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Compensation
  • Low back pain
  • Pre-employment screening
  • Spondylolysis
  • Work absenteeism

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