Symptoms and musculoskeletal diseases in hospital nurses and in a group of university employees: a cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
Most studies have shown that nurses have a higher risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms compared with other occupational groups.


OBJECTIVE
A cross-sectional study was performed to gain more insight into the prevalence rates of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in nurses.


METHODS
The presence of musculoskeletal symptoms was revealed by personal interviews in a sample of 177 hospital nurses and in a reference group of 185 university employees. Musculoskeletal diseases were based on radiological examinations in all subjects.


RESULTS
Lower back pain (61% vs 42.2%) was the most frequently reported symptom, followed by neck pain (48.6% vs 38.4%) and shoulder pain (36.7% vs 25.9%), with a significantly higher prevalence in nurses. Women had about a 2-fold risk of upper limb region and neck pain compared with men. The most common abnormal findings on radiological examinations were disc herniations (n = 40).


CONCLUSIONS
Nurses showed a significantly higher risk of MSDs. Prevalence rates in nurses increased significantly with age. Musculoskeletal symptoms were also common in university employees. This suggests the need for effective intervention strategies involving workers' active participation, in order to improve the process and organization of work and promote a positive psychosocial work environment.
a University of Trieste , Italy.
Flavia
F
D'Agostin
a University of Trieste , Italy.
Corrado
C
Negro
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
individual factors; multiple symptoms; musculoskeletal disorders; nursing personnel; radiological examinations; university employees