Social determinants and work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Brazil

by Nayara da Silva Pontes, Sanderson José Costa de Assis, Gabrielle Silva de Oliveira, Rebeca de Castro Santana, Rebeca Freitas de Oliveira Nunes, Emannuel Alcides Bezerra Rocha, Clécio G. de Souza, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Marcello Barbosa Otoni Gonçalves Guedes

This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) and their association with individual and contextual factors in the Brazilian population. This quantitative cross-sectional study used secondary data from the Brazilian National Health Survey from August 2013 to February 2014. The dependent variable included WMSD, and independent variables were analyzed as individual and contextual factors. WMSD was mostly prevalent in females, individuals aged 43 to 59 years, with chronic physical or mental disorders, reporting frequent sleep disorders, and performing integrative and complementary health practices, physical exercise or sports, and heavy physical activity or housework. Regarding contextual factors, high social classes and proportion of individuals with formal work were associated with a high prevalence of WMSD, whereas a high Gini index was associated with a low prevalence. Thus, a high prevalence of WMSD in the Brazilian population was associated with individual and contextual factors, which should be the target of health professionals for actions of promotion, prevention, and intervention at individual or collective care levels.