Musculoskeletal disorders among professional nurses in mainland China.
Although musculoskeletal disorders represent a significant occupational issue for professional nurses worldwide, few epidemiological studies have been conducted in mainland China. Therefore, we investigated 180 nurses (84.1 percent response rate) from a teaching hospital in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, using a previously validated, self-reporting musculoskeletal disorder survey. The overall prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was 70.0 percent, with individual categories reported as follows: lower back (56.7 percent), neck (42.8 percent), shoulders (38.9 percent) and upper back (38.9 percent). Period pain was shown to increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders 23.8 times (odds ratio [OR] 23.8; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 4.3-189.1; P = .0008). Excessive mental pressure incurred a 10.5-fold risk increase (OR 10.5; 95 percent CI, 2.2-67.5; P = .0058). Interestingly, occasional consumption of alcoholic drinks reduced the risk of musculoskeletal disorders 10-fold (OR 0.1; 95 percent CI, 0.01-0.4; P = .0046), as did working in the gynecology department (OR 0.1; 95 percent CI, 0.01-0.7, P = .0240). Overall, our study showed that musculoskeletal disorders are common among nursing professionals in mainland China and represent an important occupational issue for this Asian demographic.
Smith
Derek R
DR
Department of Hazard Assessment, National Institute of Industrial Health, 6-21-1 Nagao, Tama-Ku, Kawasaki 214-8585, Japan. smith@niih.go.jp
Wei
Ning
N
Kang
Lin
L
Wang
Rui-Sheng
RS
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016272:Occupational Health; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D018582:Sick Leave; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance; D016526:Workload