[The debate on lower back pain and its relationship to work: a retrospective study of workers on sick leave].

Lower back pain has a high prevalence among the Mexican working population, with extensive social and economic repercussions. Official figures show that lower back pain accounts for 10.0 to 15.

[Objective and subjective working conditions and psychophysical disorders].

The relationship between working conditions, psychophysical disorders, and employees' attitudes towards their jobs were analyzed in a pharmaceutical factory in Mexico. A cross-sectional study was conducted using three instruments: guided observation of job processes, guided evaluation of health and safety conditions, and an epidemiological questionnaire (N = 377). Tasks were found to be automated to a considerable degree, but organization was basically Fordist.