Gender disparities of chronic musculoskeletal disorder burden in the elderly Ghanaian population: study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE WAVE 1).
BACKGROUND
Traditionally, non-communicable diseases including musculoskeletal disorders have not been a priority in low-and-middle income countries. The main aim of this paper is to assess age and gender specific burden by estimating the current prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and associated risk factors in the elderly Ghanaian population.


METHODS
Between May 2007 and June 2008, the World Health Organization conducted a nationwide study on AGEing (SAGE) and Adult Health in Ghana. The study employed a multistage cluster sampling strategy to identify participants by stratifying the population by age and setting. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. A Poisson regression model was fitted with robust error variance. Prevalence estimates took into account the complex survey design and sampling weights. Statistical significance was considered at p ≤ 0.05 significance level. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA version 11.2.


RESULTS
The prevalence rates of chronic back pain and chronic arthritis/joints pain were higher in women than men. The overall crude prevalence's rates were 28.2 and 10.7% for chronic back pain and chronic arthritis/joints pain respectively. Substantial differences existed between men and women in terms of socio-economic status, education level and occupational status. Women with primary education had a chronic back pain prevalence of 36.2% (95% CI; 29.2, 43.3) and chronic arthritis/joints pain prevalence of 15.8% (95% CI; 11.1, 20.6) while their male counterparts had prevalence rates of 29.0% (95% CI; 23.4, 34.5) and 9.8% (95% CI; 6.4, 13.2) respectively. Residence (rural and urban) did not appear to influence the prevalence of chronic back pain and arthritis/joints pain.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest the existence of sex differences in chronic back pain and chronic arthritis/joint pain in the elderly population in Ghana after adjustment for demographic and socio-economic factors. It indicates the existence of inequalities in health between elderly men and women with women suffering more from chronic back pain and chronic arthritis/joints pain.
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. emmanngh@gmail.com.
Emmanuel Kweku
EK
Nakua
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. easmono@yahoo.com.
Easmon
E
Otupiri
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. vmdzomeku@gmail.com.
Veronica Millicent
VM
Dzomeku
Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. owusudabo@yahoo.com.|Kumasi Collaborative Center for Tropical Research, Kumasi, Ghana. owusudabo@yahoo.com.
Ellis
E
Owusu-Dabo
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. agyeibaffour@yahoo.co.uk.
Peter
P
Agyei-Baffour
Department of Community, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, School of Public Health, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana. aeyawson@yahoo.com.
Alfred Edwin
AE
Yawson
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. GFolson@noguchi.mimcom.org.
Gloria
G
Folson
College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana. sandrahewlett@yahoo.co.uk.
Sandra
S
Hewlett
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D014943:Global Health / Q000639:trends*; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014944:World Health Organization