Risk factors for groin hernia.

Is your occupation a risk factor for groin hernia?

Did you know worldwide, more than 20 million people undergo groin hernia repair annually? A vast majority of these people are male workers of working age. In fact one in three men will potentially get one. A large study in 2020 identified a pattern of risk factors for primary inguinal hernia (groin hernia) among adults which included family history, previous contra-lateral hernia, male sex, age and medical factors like abnormal collagen metabolism, prostatectomy, and low body mass index. The conclusion was that contradictory evidence existed that social class, occupational factors and workload affect the risk of needing an operation to repair a groin hernia and that heavy lifting may predispose to groin hernia formation. The old theory that heavy lifting alone and heavy labour intensive jobs are the culprits for groin hernia formation may be in need of a re-think and some additional studies. If you have groin pain and suspect it is a groin hernia, seek help from your doctor.

Reference: Work-relatedness of inguinal hernia: a systematic review including meta-analysis and GRADE
P. P. F. M. Kuijer,corresponding author D. Hondebrink, C. T. J. Hulshof, and H. F. Van der Molen