Table THORM05

Work-related spine/back disorders: estimated number of cases reported by rheumatologists to MOSS and by occupational physicians to OPRA and estimated rates per 100 000 workers per year, by occupation 2004-2006

Occupation(a)	SOC2000		Rheumatologists (MOSS)(p)		Occupational physicians (OPRA)(b)(p)
			Rheumatologists (MOSS)(p)		Occupational physicians (OPRA)(b)(p)
			Annual average estimated cases(c) 2004-2006	Rate per 100 000 workers per year(d)	Annual average estimated cases(c) 2004-2006	Rate per 100 000 workers per year(d)
	Major group	Unit group
	Major group	Unit group
Managers and Senior Officials	1		9	-	33	1
Professional Occupations	2		21	1	17	1
Associate Professional and Technical Occupations	3		42	1	365	9
Nurses		3211	18	4	117	24
Paramedics		3213	4	22	22	121
NCOs and other ranks		3311	-	-	45	82
Police officers (sergeant and below)		3312	4	3	55	35
Prison service officers (below principal officer)		3314	-	-	15	38
Adminstrative and Secretarial Occupations	4		43	1	96	3
Local government clerical officers and assistants		4113	-	-	14	7
Accounts and wages clerks, book-keepers, other financial clerks		4122	7	1	4	1
General office assistants/clerks		4150	4	1	21	3
Skilled Trades Occupations	5		69	2	97	3
Metal working production and maintenance fitters		5223	1	-	23	10
Motor mechanics, auto engineers		5231	9	5	9	5
Personal Service Occupations	6		24	1	220	10
Nursing auxiliaries and assistants		6111	-	-	95	46
Ambulance staff (excluding paramedics)		6112	-	-	48	280
Care assistants and home carers		6115	8	1	45	8
Sales and Customer Service Occupations	7		12	1	29	1
Sales and retail assistants		7111	5	-	21	2
Process, Plant and Machine Operatives	8		51	3	231	11
Food, drink and tobacco process operatives		8111	4	3	39	27
Chemical and related process operatives		8114	1	1	18	36
Metal working machine operatives		8125	8	11	10	13
Assemblers (vehicles and metal goods)		8132	11	21	1	2
Road construction operatives		8142	-	-	7	28
Heavy goods vehicle drivers		8211	8	3	26	9
Elementary Occupations	9		45	1	213	7
Packers, bottlers, canners, fillers		9134	-	-	23	17
Other goods handling and storage occupations n.e.c.		9149	8	2	55	15
Postal workers, mail sorters, messengers, couriers		9211	8	4	7	3
Kitchen and catering assistants		9223	4	1	18	5
Cleaners, domestics		9233	6	1	28	5
Refuse and salvage occupations		9235	-	-	26	96
All occupations			411	2	1301	5

Notes:

(a) All SOC2000 Major Groups are shown, as are SOC2000 Unit Groups with 10 or more actual cases reported to either MOSS or OPRA over the period 2002-2004. Figures are shown in light type if they are based on fewer than 10 actual cases.
(b) Comparisons of rates based on OPRA reports are likely to be misleading because workers in some occupations are much more likely to have access to occupational physicians than those in others.
(c) Some physicians report on a sample basis, for one month in each year. Estimated totals for these are calculated by multiplying the actual number of cases reported by 12.
(d) The rates have been calculated using the average of the Office for National Statistics Annual Population Survey (APS) denominators for the years 2004-2006.
nec Not elsewhere classified.
"-" can mean either zero or rounds to zero.
(p) Provisional.