Symptom Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Effects of Prior Acute Injury among Aging Male Steelworkers

The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and related factors were investigated among male steel workers in a large steel company in Korea which includes the number of aged employees and workers with prior acute injuries by a structured questionnaire. Of eligible 2093, 1836 responded to the survey. Among 39 job groups, 8 major job groups (1068 subjects) were selected to evaluate potential risk factors of the musculoskeletal symptom. The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms was 19.1% for upper extremities, 7.6% for back, and 7.7% for lower extremities. Regardless of body part, the prevalence was 25.5%. In logistic regression analysis for workers, those who experienced prior acute injuries were more likely to have musculoskeletal symptoms at the same region of the injury (for upper extremities, odds ratio[OR] 2.19, 95% confidence interval[CI] 1.51-3.16; for back, OR 7.35, 95% CI 4.01-13.48; for lower extremities, OR 4.20, 95% CI 2.33-7.57), after adjusting age, duration of employment, and job contents. The effect of job contents was differential according to the presence of prior acute injury. Among workers with prior injuries, the relationship between job contents and musculoskeletal symptoms was not statistically significant in general. Meanwhile, among workers with no prior injuries, job contents were significant variables for the musculoskeletal symptoms of upper extremities and back, after adjusting age and duration of employment. These findings suggest that prior acute injuries would be a potential risk factor for musculoskeletal disorders in the workforce.