Predictors of incident and persistent neck/shoulder pain in Iranian workers: a cohort study.

<h4>Background</h4>Pain in the neck and shoulder has been linked with various psychosocial risk factors, as well as with occupational physical activities. However, most studies to date have been cross-sectional, making it difficult to exclude reverse causation. Moreover, they have been c...

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Main Authors: Farideh Sadeghian, Mehdi Raei, Georgia Ntani, David Coggon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0057544&type=printable
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author Farideh Sadeghian
Mehdi Raei
Georgia Ntani
David Coggon
author_facet Farideh Sadeghian
Mehdi Raei
Georgia Ntani
David Coggon
author_sort Farideh Sadeghian
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Pain in the neck and shoulder has been linked with various psychosocial risk factors, as well as with occupational physical activities. However, most studies to date have been cross-sectional, making it difficult to exclude reverse causation. Moreover, they have been carried out largely in northern Europe, and the relationship to psychosocial factors might be different in other cultural environments.<h4>Methods</h4>To explore causes of neck/shoulder pain, we carried out a longitudinal study in Iranian nurses and office workers. Participants (n =383) completed a baseline questionnaire about neck/shoulder pain in the past month and possible risk factors, and were again asked about pain 12 months later. Associations with pain at follow-up were explored by Poisson regression and summarised by prevalence rate ratios (PRRs).<h4>Results</h4>After adjustment for other risk factors, new pain at follow-up was more frequent in office workers than nurses (PRR 1.9, 95%CI 1.3-2.8), among those with worst mental health (PRR 1.8, 95%CI 1.0-3.0), in those who reported incentives from piecework or bonuses (PRR1.4, 95%CI 1.0-2.0), and in those reporting job dissatisfaction (PRR 1.5, 95%CI 1.0-2.1). The strongest predictor of pain persistence was somatising tendency.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our findings are consistent with a hazard of neck/shoulder pain from prolonged use of computer keyboards, although it is possible that the association is modified by health beliefs and expectations. They also indicate that the association of low mood with neck/shoulder pain extends to non-European populations, and is not entirely attributable to reverse causation. Psychosocial aspects of work appeared to have relatively weak impact.
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spelling doaj-art-7e6219e5fd2a4f91a9c359e09c03de8c2025-08-20T03:25:11ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0182e5754410.1371/journal.pone.0057544Predictors of incident and persistent neck/shoulder pain in Iranian workers: a cohort study.Farideh SadeghianMehdi RaeiGeorgia NtaniDavid Coggon<h4>Background</h4>Pain in the neck and shoulder has been linked with various psychosocial risk factors, as well as with occupational physical activities. However, most studies to date have been cross-sectional, making it difficult to exclude reverse causation. Moreover, they have been carried out largely in northern Europe, and the relationship to psychosocial factors might be different in other cultural environments.<h4>Methods</h4>To explore causes of neck/shoulder pain, we carried out a longitudinal study in Iranian nurses and office workers. Participants (n =383) completed a baseline questionnaire about neck/shoulder pain in the past month and possible risk factors, and were again asked about pain 12 months later. Associations with pain at follow-up were explored by Poisson regression and summarised by prevalence rate ratios (PRRs).<h4>Results</h4>After adjustment for other risk factors, new pain at follow-up was more frequent in office workers than nurses (PRR 1.9, 95%CI 1.3-2.8), among those with worst mental health (PRR 1.8, 95%CI 1.0-3.0), in those who reported incentives from piecework or bonuses (PRR1.4, 95%CI 1.0-2.0), and in those reporting job dissatisfaction (PRR 1.5, 95%CI 1.0-2.1). The strongest predictor of pain persistence was somatising tendency.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our findings are consistent with a hazard of neck/shoulder pain from prolonged use of computer keyboards, although it is possible that the association is modified by health beliefs and expectations. They also indicate that the association of low mood with neck/shoulder pain extends to non-European populations, and is not entirely attributable to reverse causation. Psychosocial aspects of work appeared to have relatively weak impact.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0057544&type=printable
spellingShingle Farideh Sadeghian
Mehdi Raei
Georgia Ntani
David Coggon
Predictors of incident and persistent neck/shoulder pain in Iranian workers: a cohort study.
PLoS ONE
title Predictors of incident and persistent neck/shoulder pain in Iranian workers: a cohort study.
title_full Predictors of incident and persistent neck/shoulder pain in Iranian workers: a cohort study.
title_fullStr Predictors of incident and persistent neck/shoulder pain in Iranian workers: a cohort study.
title_full_unstemmed Predictors of incident and persistent neck/shoulder pain in Iranian workers: a cohort study.
title_short Predictors of incident and persistent neck/shoulder pain in Iranian workers: a cohort study.
title_sort predictors of incident and persistent neck shoulder pain in iranian workers a cohort study
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0057544&type=printable
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AT georgiantani predictorsofincidentandpersistentneckshoulderpaininiranianworkersacohortstudy
AT davidcoggon predictorsofincidentandpersistentneckshoulderpaininiranianworkersacohortstudy