title: Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among farmers: A systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among farmers and to establish the most common regional MSDs reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comprehensive electronic searches of Pubmed, Web of Science, CINAHL, SCOPUS, EMBASE, Agris Database, and Cochrane Library were carried out using keywords for MSDs and farmers. Pooled estimates of prevalence with 95% confidence intervals were calculated for overall MSD prevalence and the most common regional MSDs reported.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-four studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were incorporated into this review. From these studies, life-time prevalence of any form of MSD among farmers was 90.6% while 1-year MSD prevalence was 76.9% (95% CI 69.8-82.7). The majority of studies focused on spinal MSDs with low back pain (LBP) the most frequently investigated. Life-time LBP prevalence was 75% (95% CI 67-81.5) while 1-year LBP prevalence was 47.8% (95% CI 40.2-55.5). The next most common regional MSDs reported were upper (range 3.6-71.4%) and lower extremities (range 10.4-41%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The systematic review identified the prevalence of MSDs by body region in farmers and established that LBP was the most common MSD, followed by upper and then lower extremity MSDs. Reported trends suggest that the prevalence of MSDs in farmers is greater than in non-farmer populations. Case-definition uniformity among MSD researchers is warranted. More studies are needed regarding upper and lower extremity MSDs, gender, workplace, and task context of MSDs.
authors: Rural Economy Development Programme, Teagasc, Oak Park, Carlow, Ireland. aoife.osborne@teagasc.ie
authors: Aoife
authors: A
authors: Osborne
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: Blake
authors: Brona M
authors: BM
authors: Fullen
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Meredith
authors: James
authors: J
authors: Phelan
authors: John
authors: J
authors: McNamara
authors: Caitriona
authors: C
authors: Cunningham
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000293:injuries; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016272:Occupational Health; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000293:injuries