Occupational neck and shoulder pain among automobile manufacturing workers in Iran.
BACKGROUND
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper extremities are a major problem globally, though most relevant studies have been reported from high income countries.


OBJECTIVE
The prevalence of neck and shoulder pain and its association with work-related physical and psychosocial factors and life style was determined by a cross-sectional survey using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) in the largest Iranian car manufacturing company, with more than 18,000 employees.


RESULTS
A total of 14,384 (79.8%) of all employees completed the questionnaire. Depending on the questions used to measure neck and shoulder symptoms, the prevalence varied widely (from 20.5% to 3.9%). In the multiple logistic regression model, limited to employees with at least 1 year of work experience, risk indicators for disabling pain of the neck and/or shoulder that remained for male were: duration of employment, high visual demands, repetitive work, sitting position at work, awkward working position, no regular exercise, monotonous work, lack of encouraging organizational culture, and anxiety concerning change. For female repetitive work, sitting position at work and no support if there is trouble at work were the only remaining factors.


CONCLUSIONS
The study confirms the effects of physical and psychosocial factors on neck and shoulder symptoms among automobile manufacturing workers in a low to middle income country in spite of the relative youth and job insecurity of the population.
Alipour
Akbar
A
Personal Injury Prevention Section, Clinical Neuroscience Department, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. akbar.alipour@medsci.uu.se
Ghaffari
Mostafa
M
Shariati
Batoul
B
Jensen
Irene
I
Vingard
Eva
E
D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001336:Automobiles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D016272:Occupational Health; D015995:Prevalence; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires