Impact of physical and psychosocial factors on disability caused by lumbar pain amongst fishing sector workers

Abstract

Functional disability due to lumbar pain should be considered from the biopsychosocial model. There is inconclusive evidence as to whether the key determining factors in this form of disability are psychosocial or physical. Our aim is to identify variables that cause functional disability due to lumbar pain amongst shellfish gatherers in Galicia by means of a cross-sectional survey. Participants (N = 929) completed a self-administered, paper-based questionnaire including sociodemographic and lifestyle issues, as well as the nature of the lumbar pain, the presence of musculoskeletal pain in other regions of the body, the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and SF-36. Univariate examination, ROC curve and logistic regression analyses were performed. Most of these workers are women (98.7 %), with a mean age of 50.6 years. The point-prevalence of lumbar pain stands at 65.5 %. The RMDQ mean was 4.9 (SD = 4.7). In the logistic regression analysis, the variables associated with disability (RMDQ > median) were age (OR = 1.04), physical exercise (OR = 0.57), pain intensity (OR = 1.16), the number of regions of musculoskeletal pain (OR = 1.24) and mental health (SF-36) (OR = -0.95). Functional disability is determined by the physical nature of the pain and mental health attributes, although the former has a greater impact. In decreasing order of importance, functional disability is attributable to the presence of lower back pain, the number of regions of musculoskeletal pain, the intensity of that pain and age. Regular physical exercise and better mental health have a protective effect on disability.

Fatores associados com os distúrbios musculoesqueléticos em pescadoras artesanais/marisqueiras em Saubara, Bahia, Brasil

“…The symptoms related to MSDs have already been reported in shellfish gatherers 2,17,18 , fisherwomen 19 and workers in the fishing industry 20,21 .…”

“…Physical activity during leisure time was defined as activities such as running, gymnastics, swimming, playing football, cycling, walking, gardening or landscaping at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes at a time 17 .…”

Dor musculoesquelética em motoristas e cobradores de ônibus da Região Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte, Brasil

“…Para a coleta, foi desenvolvido questionário digital, composto por questões socioeconômicas, ocupacionais, de saúde e hábitos de vida. A coleta ocorreu nos períodos da manhã e da tarde, em quatro das cinco estações de ônibusmetrô de Tal estratégia metodológica de dimensionamento da dor musculoesquelética no momento da pesquisa é referida em estudos ocupacionais que abordam diferentes categorias de trabalhadores [23][24][25] . Considera-se ainda que o autorrelato do estado de saúde seja uma ferramenta importante em saúde do trabalhador no Brasil, principalmente por serem raras outras fontes de informação seguras e disponíveis sobre o tema.…”

Prevalence and Work-Related Factors Associated with Lower Back Musculoskeletal Disorders in Female Shellfish Gatherers in Saubara, Bahia – Brazil

“…Physical health was particularly affected, which can be related to their physically demanding work [21]. These findings provide support for actions and proposals for environmental and potentially due to their exhausting workload [22,23,24,25,26]. In addition to MSD, psychosocial stress [24,25], skin melanoma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer and infectious diseases [27] and unintentional injuries [26] have also been reported.…”

“…Surveys using the NMQ in the categories of male fishers [22] and commercial fishers [24] indicated 80% [22] and 52% [24] of respondents claiming lower back pain during the past year. Using other instrument, lumbar complaints in the past year was also assessed in female shellfish gatherers from Spain [23] and industry fishing workers from India [25], which identified a 65.5% [23] and 33% [25] prevalence, respectively. The discrepancy identified in the population of female industry fishing workers [25], compared to our results, is possibly related to the mean age (23 ± 6.4) and years working (2.8 ± 12.9) [25], significantly lower than that found in the current study sample.…”