title: Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among dentists in teaching hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.
abstract: Work-related musculoskeletal pain is common among healthcare professionals, including dentists. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among dentists. This study was carried out from January to April 2016 at various teaching hospitals of Karachi, and comprised 230 dentists. A self-administered questionnaire, adapted from a validated Nordic questionnaire, was distributed among the participants. Descriptive statistics were computed and associations of interest were analysed using chi-square test. Of the 230 forms, 182(79.11%) were included after leaving out the incomplete ones. The overall prevalence of MSDs was 138(75.8%). The most frequent reasons for MSDs were lack of rest 21(15.2%) and having static postures for more than half-an-hour per procedure 38(27.5%).
authors.affiliation: Operative Dentistry, Section of Dentistry, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Hasan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hameed
authors.affiliation: Operative Dentistry, Section of Dentistry, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Robia
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghafoor
authors.affiliation: Operative Dentistry, Section of Dentistry, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Farhan Raza
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Operative Dentistry, Section of Dentistry, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Sheikh Bilal
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Badar
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003815:Dentists; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010154:Pakistan; D011187:Posture; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Musculoskeletal diseases, Dentist, Posture.