SummaryObjectives: The purpose of this study was to examine personal, occupational, and psychosocial risk factors affecting prevalence of low back pain in healthcare workers. Methods: Study included total of 1682 participants (1010 female, 672 male) working at Denizli State Hospital. Low back pain section of Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (SNMA) was used to evaluate recent occurrence, pain experienced within previous year, and over lifetime. Perceived Stress Scale and Job Satisfaction Scale were also administered. Results: Prevalence of lifetime low back pain in healthcare workers was determined to be 53% based on SNMA. It was observed that low back pain was most common among medical secretaries (56.9%). Advanced age, female gender, high body mass index (p=0.002), being married (p=0.0001), lack of regular exercise (p=0.009), working for more than 4 hours while standing (p=0.012) or sitting at desk (p=0.021), using computer for more than 4 hours (p=0.0001), greater number of years of service (p=0.001), and low job satisfaction (p=0.001) were found to be factors increasing low back pain risk. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that healthcare workers are among group with high risk of low back pain.Keywords: Healthcare workers; low back pain; prevalence; risk factors. ÖzetAmaç: Sağlık çalışanlarında bel ağrısı prevalansını, etkileyen kişisel, işle ilişkili ve psikososyal risk faktörlerini incelemektir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmamıza Denizli Devlet Hastanesi'nde görev yapan, çalışmaya katılmayı kabul eden 1010 kadın ve 672 erkek toplam 1682 katılımcı dâhil edildi. Nokta ve yıllık prevalansın değerlendirilmesinde Standardize Nordik Muskuloskeletal Anketinin (SNMA) genel bölümünde yer alan bel ağrısı ile ilgili kısım kullanıldı. Psikososyal faktörlerin değerlendirilmesi kapsamında, katılımcıların stres düzeyi 'Algılanan Stres Ölçeği' , iş memnuniyeti 'İş Doyum Ölçeği' kullanılarak gerekli veriler elde edildi. Bulgular: Sağlık çalışanlarında yaşam boyu bel ağrısı prevalansı %53 olarak saptandı. En fazla bel ağrısının tıbbi sekreterlerde (%56,9) olduğu tespit edildi. İleri yaş, kadın cinsiyet, Vücut Kitle İndeksinin (VKİ) yüksek olması (p=0,002), evli olmak ve egzersiz alışkanlığının olmaması (p=0,009), ayakta durarak (p=0,012) ve oturarak 4 saatten fazla çalışma (p=0,021), 4 saatten fazla bilgisayar kullanma (p=0,001), artmış hizmet yılı (p=0,001) ve iş memnuniyetinin az olması (p=0,001) bel ağrısı riskini artıran faktörler olarak saptandı. Sonuç: Çalışmamız sağlık çalışanlarının bel ağrısı açısından yüksek risk grubunda olduğunu göstermiştir.Anahtar sözcükler: Sağlık çalışanları; bel ağrısı; prevalans; risk faktörleri.

Proprioceptive training should be included in physiotherapy programs to improve balance; it decreases the disability level in patients with CNP.

In this paper, a novel amperometric L-glutamate (Glu) biosensor with immobilization of L-glutamate oxidase (L-GlOx) on polypyrrole-polyvinylsulphonate (PPy-PVS) film has been successfully developed. L-GlOx enzyme was immobilized on PPy-PVS film by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde (GA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Determination of Glu was carried out by oxidation of enzymatically produced H2O2 at 0.3 V versus Ag/AgCl. The optimum pH and temperature parameters were found to be 9.0 and 55 °C, respectively. There were three linear parts in the regions between 1.0 × 10(-9) and 1.0 × 10(-8) M (R(2) = 0.847), 5.0 × 10(-8) and 5.0 × 10(-7) M (R(2) = 0.997), 5.0 × 10(-7) and 5.0 × 10(-5) M (R(2) = 0.994). Storage stability, operation stability of the enzyme electrode were also studied.

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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many restrictions that affected Turkey as well as other countries around the world. Restrictions on education, sports activities and social activities affected students physically and psychologically. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on weight gain, physical activity, and mental health among university students. METHODS: The study included students of Pamukkale University aged between 18–25 years. Participants answered the online survey about changes in body composition and physical activity habits during the pandemic. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to assess physical activity levels. Beck Depression Scale (BDS) was used to assess the mental health. RESULTS: 848 (546 females, 302 males) students average aged 20,72±1,63 years were included in the study. When the physical activity times before and during the pandemic were compared, a statistically significant difference was found (p < 0.05). Multivariate analyses showed that higher BDS scores (p = 0.000) were significantly associated with increased weight gain. But there was no significant association with age and changes in physical activity time. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has a negative effect on the physical activity level, weight gain and mental health of university students. Students reported an increase in weight during the pandemic. Also, the increase in depressive symptoms is related to higher levels of weight gain. Therefore, physical activity and mental health programmes should be offered to university students as an educational and health policy.