BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (Nov 2022)

Shoulder work-related musculoskeletal disorders and related factors of workers in 15 industries of China: a cross-sectional study

  • Jing Liang,
  • Ning Jia,
  • Feiruo Zhang,
  • HuadongZhang,
  • Ruijie Ling,
  • Yimin Liu,
  • Gang Li,
  • Dongxia Li,
  • Yan Yin,
  • Hua Shao,
  • Hengdong Zhang,
  • Bing Qiu,
  • Xinglin Fang,
  • Dayu Wang,
  • Qiang Zeng,
  • Jianchao Chen,
  • Danying Zhang,
  • Liangying Mei,
  • Yongquan Liu,
  • Jixiang Liu,
  • Chengyun Zhang,
  • Tianlai Li,
  • Yu Li,
  • Huaiying Tao,
  • Huan Luo,
  • Rugang Wang,
  • Zhongxu Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-022-05917-2
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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Abstract Background Changes in modern industrial production practices can easily lead to shoulder work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD). The current reports on shoulder WMSD are limited to some industries are less well studied, and the sample size is usually small. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and severity of shoulder WMSD in a large sample of Chinese workers from 15 industries, analyze the possible correlations with sociodemographic and work-related variables, and compare the differences between industries. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 55,749 participants from 252 enterprises in 15 industries throughout China. A Chinese version of the musculoskeletal disease questionnaire was used to collect the demographic factors, shoulder symptoms in past 12 months, and work-related factors including posture-related factors, repetition, vibration, work organization, job control, and environmental factors as independent variables. Descriptive statistics were used, and the binary logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the association between shoulder WMSD and potential demographic and work-related factors. Results Nearly 35.5% of participants reported shoulder pain and discomfort in the previous 12 months. Biopharmaceutical manufacturing (56.2%), medical services (54.4%), and aviation services (50.1%) were the three industries with the highest prevalence of shoulder WMSD. The pain score of aviation services workers was the highest. The related factors for shoulder WMSD varied among the different industries. Conclusion Our study found a relatively high prevalence of shoulder WMSD in China. There were large differences in the prevalence of shoulder WMSD among industries, and the related factors were particular to each industry. Such information is useful to help occupational health practitioners and policymakers conduct preventive programs to reduce shoulder disorders in these working populations.

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