Impact of Upper Limb Function and Employment Status on Return to Work of Blue-Collar Workers after Stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Return to work (RTW) after stroke is the ultimate goal of the working population to achieve economic independence and well-being. Previous studies have reported lower RTW rates of blue-collar workers versus white-collar workers. Thus, investigating predictive factors for RTW of blue-collar workers is meaningful to improve RTW after stroke. Here, we investigate the physical, cognitive, and social factors associated with the RTW of blue-collar workers after stroke. METHODS: Poststroke rehabilitation data for 71 patients aged 15-64 years who had been active blue-collar workers at stroke onset were analyzed from a single-center observational cohort database. Baseline characteristics, social background factors, and quantitative assessments of the upper limb, lower limb, and cognitive functions at discharge were analyzed to identify any association with RTW. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine the optimal cutoff value of continuous valuables with significant associations. RESULTS: Functional upper limb represented by an increasing Simple Test for Evaluating hand Function (STEF) score was independently associated with RTW of blue-collar workers by multivariable logistic regression analysis (odds ratio [OR], 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.14; p = .017). Correlation with self-employment status was also significant compared to that with employee status (OR, 185; 95% CI, 1.05-32400; p = .048). The cutoff value of the 100-point scale STEF to discriminate between RTW and non-RTW was 82. CONCLUSIONS: Functional upper limb and self-employment status were independent predictors for the RTW of blue-collar workers after stroke.

Effects of seat-back angle and accelerometer height at the seat-back on seat-back x axis r.m.s. acceleration in filed experiments according to the ISO2631-1 standard.

The effects of seat-back angle and accelerometer height at the seat-back on seat-back x-axis frequency-weighted root-mean-square (r.m.s.) acceleration have been investigated in field experiments. Experiment 1 investigated the range and variability, of frequency-weighted r.m.s. acceleration at the same measurement position, where the seat-back angle was 24 degrees from vertical on the floor and the accelerometer height was 38 cm up from the seat cushion surface. Experiment 2 investigated ranges of frequency-weighted r.m.s. acceleration between the reference position, which was the position used in experiment 1, and test positions at different seat-back angles, 4 degrees ahead of and 4 degrees behind the reference position. Experiment 3 investigated the range of frequency-weighted r.m.s. acceleration between the reference position which was the same as in experiments 1 and experiment 2, and test positions at different accelerometer heights at the seat-back from a seat cushion surface, 2.5 cm higher, 2.5 cm lower and 5 cm lower than the reference position. This investigation clarifies that different seat-back angles and accelerometer heights at the seat-back affect the frequency-weighted r.m.s. acceleration at these measurement positions, which is beyond the exposure values at which people are able to distinguish different vibration acceleration magnitudes.