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Aim <p>This study aimed to identify distinct patterns of health complaints among German workers and investigate their associations with socioeconomic factors.</p> Subject and methods <p>Latent class analysis was performed on data from the BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey, which included 19,320 employed respondents aged 15&#xa0;years and above. The analysis considered 21 physical and psychological health complaints, such as headache, back pain, fatigue, irritability, and depressiveness. The identified health complaint classes were compared via sociodemographic indicators, including age, gender, occupation, working hours, and education.</p> Results <p>Four classes of health complaints were identified: “Low Overall Complaints” (low prevalence of all complaints; 40% of the sample), “Physical Complaints” (high prevalence of physical complaints but low prevalence of psychological complaints; 25% of the sample), “Psychological Complaints” (high prevalence of psychological complaints but low prevalence of physical complaints; 20% of the sample), and “High Overall Complaints” (high prevalence of both physical and psychological complaints; 15% of the sample). The classes differed most strongly according to occupational group, gender and education. Participants in high-skilled white-collar occupations were more likely to belong to the Low Overall Complaints and Psychological Complaints classes, while those in blue-collar occupations were more likely to belong to the Physical Complaints and High Overall Complaints classes.</p> Conclusion <p>This study revealed four distinct patterns of health complaints in the German working population, differing in severity (low symptom burden vs. high symptom burden) as well as content (physical vs. psychological symptoms). A substantial proportion of workers experienced multiple physical, psychological, or overall health issues (60%). The differences between the classes were primarily related to occupation, highlighting the importance of occupational health research for public health. As the world of work evolves with an increasing proportion of high-skilled white-collar occupations, a rise in psychological health complaints is anticipated in the future.</p>

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Health patterns in the working population: latent class analysis of physical and psychological complaints in Germany

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年5月6日

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  • Johannes Beller,
  • Batoul Safieddine,
  • Julia Graßhoff,
  • Jelena Epping

摘要

Aim

This study aimed to identify distinct patterns of health complaints among German workers and investigate their associations with socioeconomic factors.

Subject and methods

Latent class analysis was performed on data from the BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey, which included 19,320 employed respondents aged 15 years and above. The analysis considered 21 physical and psychological health complaints, such as headache, back pain, fatigue, irritability, and depressiveness. The identified health complaint classes were compared via sociodemographic indicators, including age, gender, occupation, working hours, and education.

Results

Four classes of health complaints were identified: “Low Overall Complaints” (low prevalence of all complaints; 40% of the sample), “Physical Complaints” (high prevalence of physical complaints but low prevalence of psychological complaints; 25% of the sample), “Psychological Complaints” (high prevalence of psychological complaints but low prevalence of physical complaints; 20% of the sample), and “High Overall Complaints” (high prevalence of both physical and psychological complaints; 15% of the sample). The classes differed most strongly according to occupational group, gender and education. Participants in high-skilled white-collar occupations were more likely to belong to the Low Overall Complaints and Psychological Complaints classes, while those in blue-collar occupations were more likely to belong to the Physical Complaints and High Overall Complaints classes.

Conclusion

This study revealed four distinct patterns of health complaints in the German working population, differing in severity (low symptom burden vs. high symptom burden) as well as content (physical vs. psychological symptoms). A substantial proportion of workers experienced multiple physical, psychological, or overall health issues (60%). The differences between the classes were primarily related to occupation, highlighting the importance of occupational health research for public health. As the world of work evolves with an increasing proportion of high-skilled white-collar occupations, a rise in psychological health complaints is anticipated in the future.