The following hypothesis are tested in this research; those who smoke daily have more symptoms from the musculoskeletal system than those who do not smoke, those who smoke less often than daily have more symptoms from the musculoskeletal system than those who do not smoke and finally that those who have smoked but have quit smoking have more symptoms from the musculoskeletal system than those who have never smoked. The research is based on data from a questionnaire from the year 2000 administered by the Icelandic Research Centre for Occupational Health & Working Life among those employed in geriatric care facilities in Iceland.
Í þessari rannsókn eru eftirfarandi tilgátur settar fram; þeir sem reykja daglega hafa meiri einkenni frá stoðkerfi en þeir sem reykja ekki, þeir sem reykja sjaldnar en daglega hafa meiri einkenni frá stoðkerfi en þeir sem reykja ekki og loks þeir sem hafa reykt en eru hættir hafa meiri einkenni frá stoðkerfi en þeir sem hafa aldrei reykt Rannsóknin byggir á gögnum sem safnað var á vegum Vinnueftirlits ríkisins vegna rannsóknar á heilsu starfsmanna öldrunardeilda og stofnana á Íslandi með 10 starfsmenn eða fleiri frá árinu 2000.