Evaluation of the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms, presumptive diagnosis, medical care use, and sick leave among female school meal service workers

Abstract

BackgroundMost of the school meal service workers in Korea are middle-aged individuals. They have high workload, which increases their incidence of musculoskeletal disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of subjective musculoskeletal symptoms, presumptive diagnosis, medical care use, and sick leave among female school meal workers.MethodsWe analyzed the results of musculoskeletal disease screening of 1581 female school meal workers. The screening consisted of self-administered questionnaire, history taking by occupational physicians, and physical examination. The prevalence of subjective musculoskeletal symptoms, presumptive diagnosis after initial examination by occupational physicians, use of medical care for more than 7 days, and sick leave due to musculoskeletal diseases during the past year were evaluated in this study. The relative risk of four outcome indicators of musculoskeletal disorders was compared with respect to potential factors, such as age, subjective physical loading, present illness, injury experience, and type of school, using log-binomial regression.ResultsThe prevalence of subjective musculoskeletal symptom was 79.6%; presumptive diagnosis, 47.6%; hospital visits over 7 days, 36.4%; and sick leave, 7.3%. The relative risk of musculoskeletal symptoms by age (≥50 years vs < 50 years) was 1.04 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.09); presumptive diagnosis of musculoskeletal disease, 1.17 (95% CI: 1.06–1.30); hospital visits over 7 days, 1.26 (95% CI: 0.85–1.85); and sick leave, 1.17 (95% CI: 1.02–1.34). The relative risk of musculoskeletal symptoms due to subjective physical loading (very hard vs low) was 1.45 (95% CI: 1.33–1.58); presumptive diagnosis, 2.92 (95% CI: 2.25); hospital visits over 7 days, 1.91 (95% CI: 1.02–3.59); and sick leave, 2.11 (95% CI: 1.63–2.74).ConclusionsSubjective physical loading was a more important factor in musculoskeletal disorders than the age of female school meal workers.

Shoulder pain prevalence by age and within occupational groups: a systematic review

“… 12 months 23–29 30–39 40–49 50–59 § OR: 1 3.2 (0.9–11.9) 5.1 (1.3–19.6) 6.2 (1.4–26.9) ↗ Armed Forces 2013 [ 29 ] 7 U.S.A Military (NR) Hospital and outpatient medical records Several ICD-9 codes for acute and chronic shoulder conditions. 10 year Incidence a < 20 20–24 25–29 30–34 35–39 40–44 45–49 ≥50 § Acute: 13.5 13.7 13.8 12.9 13.6 14.7 15.9 15.8 Chronic: 15.8 19.2 25.2 29.5 41.6 54.7 65.3 71.0 ↗ Moon 2019 [ 38 ] 6 South Korea Food service workers (1581) KOSHA self-administered questionnaire, history taking by occupational physicians, and physical Rotator-Cuff Syndrome 12 months < 50 (591) ≥50 (990) ¥ 6.6 10.3 * p > 0.05 ↗ Sombatsawat 2019 [ 39 ] 5 Thailand Farm workers (156) Clinician administered Nordic Questionnaire Trouble^ in region of body diagram. 6 months 18–50 (93) 51–65 (63) OR 1 1.49 (0.61–3.67) p = 0.38 ↗ Sekkay 2018 [ 37 ] 6 Canada Truck drivers (123) ESQ98 (Modified Nordic) Trouble^ in shoulder region of body diagram.…”

Association between carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger finger: a clinical and electrophysiological study

“…So, the presence of CTS and TF could be a coincidental condition without the presence of a main direct relationship between both of them except for the similar mechanical predisposing risk factors for both of them [1,5,[34][35][36]39]. This could be the explanation of the concurrent presentation and association between CTS and TF.…”

“…It was reported that the same predisposing factors responsible for the development of both conditions. They were due to overuse of the hand in manual activities, overuse injuries, and overload with occupational activities [1,5,[34][35][36][37][38][39]. The mechanical predisposing risk factors could explain why there was no significant difference between both hands regarding the occurrence of both CTS and TF [9].…”

“…Subsequently, systemic etiology could not be taken into consideration. Excessive overuse and repetitive movement of the hands due to occupational tasks or household activities could be the sole accepted factor for the development of idiopathic CTS and idiopathic TF separately and concomitantly [1,5,[34][35][36]39].…”

Evaluation of Newly Developed Easy-Open Assistive Devices for Pneumatic Tube System Carriers for the Reduction of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

“…Other studies focused on medical staff who experience physical discomfort during surgery [ 20 ] and the wrist or hand pain experienced by hospital-based nurses [ 21 ] using the JSI for the assessment of musculoskeletal risk factors [ 22 ]. Many other studies have used the JSI assessment of musculoskeletal risk factors [ 23 ], and others have analyzed upper limb disease risk [ 24 ] and robotic-assisted surgery for ergonomics in surgery [ 25 ]. These studies echo our original intention to improve the incidence of WRMSD.…”