Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck and upper extremity among dentists in China-An epidemiological study of 12-month prevalence
Objectives: Studies from western countries show that dentists are vulnerable to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) of the neck and upper extremities, but knowledge is lacking about WMSDs of Chinese dentists.This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of WMSDs and identify potential risk factors for the occurrence of WMSDs in the dentist profession in China.Methods: A 62-item questionnaire survey was conducted among 304 dentists in China by stratified random sampling.Questions focused on individual characteristics, work-related physical factors and psychosocial status, the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the past 12 months and the need to seek medical care.Logistic regression analysis with odds ratios was adopted to identify relevant risk factors.Results: 88% of the dentists reported at least one musculoskeletal disorder and 83.8% suffered from neck symptom.In terms of work-related factors, working hours per day were associated with the occurrence of neck symptom (OR=1.43).The sizes of small dental instruments was also associated with an increased occurrence of shoulder (OR=2.07) and wrist/hand (OR=2.47) symptoms.As for psychosocial aspects, high job demand was associated with symptoms in the shoulder (OR=1.09), elbow (OR=1.ll) and wrist/hand (OR=1.09).Regular exercise training seemed to be correlated with decreased prevalence of neck symptoms in dentists (OR=0.37).Conclusions: The prevalence of WMSDs among Chinese dentists is alarmingly high.Specifically, long working hours, handling small sizes of tool and high job demand were the most significant risk factors for the dentist occupation in China.
prevalence work-related musculoskeletal symptoms Chinese dentists
Beibei Feng Yuling Wang Qi Liang
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guan Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guan
国内会议
兰州
英文
836-843
2013-08-21（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）