title: Prevalence of shoulder and upper-limb disorders among workers in the fish-processing industry.
abstract: A cross-sectional study was conducted among fish-processing workers to evaluate the prevalence of shoulder and upper-limb discomforts and to assess the associated ergonomic risk factors. A prestructured interview, a medical check-up, and job analyses were performed to determine musculoskeletal disorders among 207 workers in eight factories. The results showed shoulder girdle pain (30.9%), epicondylitis (14.5%), and carpal tunnel syndrome (15.0%) as the three most common soft-tissue disorders. The odds ratio of shoulder girdle pain was 1.6 (95% CI 1.1-2.5) among the workers who performed tasks with repetitive movement of their upper limbs, while it was 1.8 (95% CI 1.2-2.5) for the workers who sustained forceful movement of their upper limbs during work. Women taking oral contraceptives had a 2.0 times higher odds ratio for carpal tunnel syndrome than did other women. It would appear that untrained or unskilled workers were prone to suffer from musculoskeletal disorders.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical College, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D012090:Cumulative Trauma Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005396:Fish Products; D005525:Food-Processing Industry; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012782:Shoulder; D000070599:Shoulder Injuries; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013716:Tennis Elbow / Q000453:epidemiology