Prevalence of Self-Reported Work-related Musculoskeletal Symptoms among Software Employees in Hyderabad, India

Background: This study has been carried out to analyze the prevalence of self-reported work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among software professionals and to utilize the findings to design an effective preventive interventional program for WRMSDs. Subjects & Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive data analysis was done among 665 software employees both male and female from various companies in Q city Tech Park, Hyderabad. Data collected with “Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire” (CMDQ). Results: A total of 640 subjects were eligible for this study. Prevalence of WRMSDs to be 67%. The most common sites of reported symptoms are neck (65.0%), upper back (56.4%), lower back (62.6%), right shoulder (41.4%), left shoulder (35.4%) and right thigh (41.4%). Women were more likely to report symptoms in neck, lower back and both shoulder region than men (p<0.05). Discomforts in neck, lower back and right shoulder are greatly shown impact on work performance. Conclusion: WRMSDs are highly prevalent is software professionals and women at more risk than men. These findings indicate the need for more attention to WRMSDs and design of effective preventive strategies. Keywords: musculoskeletal pain, Prevalence, software professionals, work related musculoskeletal disorders.

Disadvantaged Americans are suffering the brunt of rising pain and physical limitations

Using data from three national surveys of US adults (one cohort and two cross-sectional studies, covering the period from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s), we quantify the degree to which disparities by socioeconomic status (SES) in self-reported pain and physical limitations widened and explore whether they widened more in midlife than in later life. Unlike most prior studies that use proxy measures of SES (e.g., education), we use a multidimensional measure of SES that enables us to evaluate changes over time in each outcome for fixed percentiles of the population, thereby avoiding the problem of lagged selection bias. Results across multiple datasets demonstrate that socioeconomic disparities in pain and physical limitations consistently widened since the late 1990s, and if anything, widened even more in midlife than in late life (above 75). For those aged 50–74, the SES disparities in most outcomes widened by more than 50% and in some cases, the SES gap more than doubled. In contrast, the magnitude of SES widening was much smaller above age 75 and, in the vast majority of cases, not significant. Pain prevalence increased at all levels of SES, but disadvantaged Americans suffered the largest increases. Physical function deteriorated for those with low SES, but there was little change and perhaps improvement among the most advantaged Americans. At the 10th percentile of SES, the predicted percentage with a physical limitation at age 50 increased by 6-10 points between the late-1990s and the 2010s, whereas at the 90th percentile of SES, there was no change in two surveys and in the third survey, the corresponding percentage declined from 31% in 1996–99 to 22% in 2016–18. The worst-off Americans are being left behind in a sea of pain and physical infirmity, which may have dire consequences for their quality of life and for society as a whole (e.g., lost productivity, public costs).

Cross-cultural adaptation of Delphi definitions of low back pain prevalence in French (Delphi DOLBaPP-F)

Aim: The high heterogeneity in the definitions of low back pain encountered in the literature has led to the development of standardized definitions of this condition called “Delphi definitions of low back pain prevalence (Delphi DOLBaPP)” by a group of international researchers. In order to be widely used, these definitions need to be adapted according to the cultural and linguistic context. The aim of this work was to perform the cross-cultural adaptation of the Delphi DOLBaPP definitions in Quebecc French and to pre-test them among French-speaking adults. Methods: In order to enable practical use of the Delphi DOLBaPP definitions in different contexts, their presentation was adapted in the form of a questionnaire (referred to as the “Delphi DOLBaPP questionnaire”). The process of cross-cultural adaptation of the Delphi DOLBaPP questionnaire in French was conducted according to the most recognized recommendations for the cultural adaptation of measuring instruments. The resulting questionnaire and an evaluation form were then submitted to a sample of 82 adults. Results: A total of 41 participants (50.0%) reported low back pain. A high proportion of participants (89.0%) stated that it took them less than 5 minutes to complete the questionnaire. More than 62.0% of them did not find any question poorly worded or confusing. Nearly 80.0% of the participants found the questionnaire easy to understand. The cross-cultural adaptation process suggested minor modifications to the original Delphi DOLBaPP questionnaire. Conclusions: This study has produced a cross-cultural adaptation of the Delphi DOLBaPP questionnaire in Quebec French that will enable French-speaking populations to share the benefits of using standardized definitions of low back pain in epidemiological studies.

Does Money Matter? Characteristics Associated With Joint Pain Medication Access Among Older Adults

The experience of pain is a widespread phenomenon among adults, especially older adults, and entails high costs to both individuals and society. The objective of the current research is to determine if the ability to pay and supplementary insurance are factors associated with pain medication among individuals over 50. Data came from Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The sample included 64,281 individuals 50+ from nineteen European countries and Israel. Joint pain was common with one out of three reporting joint pain. Prevalence of pain was similar among different age groups, and more women reported joint pain. Among those in pain, about 21.5% of the individuals reported mild pain, 52.9% moderate and 26% severe pain. In the multivariate logistic regression, we found that men and those older than 60 suffered more from joint pain, while controlling for education and subjective assessment of the ability to cope economically (Able to make ends meet). A large percentage of those with pain were not taking medication to manage their pain, and there were significant demographic differences between those that did and did not take medication. Those that took medication were younger, male, had more education, were able to cope economically and had supplementary insurance. Our study showed that about half of the individuals with pain were not taking medication to manage their pain. Our results demonstrate that among individuals over 50 in Europe income is strongly associated with taking pain medication and that there is economic inequity in medication access.

Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Delphi Definitions of Low Back Pain Prevalence into Swedish (Swedish DOLBaPP)

Background: Previous studies on the prevalence of low back pain have found large variations between different population-based studies. The use of different definitions could partly explain these differences. In a Delphi study 28 experts in back pain research agreed on standardized items: the "Delphi Definitions of Low Back Pain Prevalence” (DOLBaPP). The Delphi DOLBaPP needs to be adapted to different languages and cultures. The aim was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the English definitions and corresponding Delphi Definitions of Low Back Pain Prevalence (DOLBaPP) questionnaire forms into Swedish.Methods: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Delphi DOLBaPP into Swedish was conducted following recommended guidelines. After the translation process, an expert committee including medical and language experts independently provided comments on the questionnaire. The pre-final online optimal questionnaire was pretested in 181 employees from the home care, education, and food and retail sectors.Results: The DOLBaPP questionnaire forms were translated successfully into Swedish and cross-culturally adapted with few linguistic changes. Face validity of the translated version of the questionnaire was considered good by the expert committee. In question 2 about low back pain, the expression "was this pain bad enough" was re-worded into "was the pain so strong". In the pre-test 92% of the participants found the questions in the questionnaire clear, 86% that the questionnaire covered the subject adequately, and 88% needed less than five minutes to complete the questionnaire. Fifteen percent had comments including linguistic issues and issues of expanding the content. The comments were not interpreted by the review committee as improving the language nor targeting the aim. After the pre-test, consensus was reached in the review committee on the final DOLBaPP-S.Conclusions: The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Delphi Definitions of Low Back Pain Prevalence into Swedish was successful, and the DOLBaPP-S can be used in epidemiological studies on the prevalence of LBP in Swedish speaking populations.

Shoulder pain prevalence by age and within occupational groups: a systematic review

Background Shoulder pain was previously shown to diminish in older populations and it was suggested that this could be explained by reduced usage with age. Our objectives were to investigate if estimates of shoulder pain continue to increase after the age of 50 in working populations and to compare these estimates in physically demanding occupations with sedentary occupations. Methods A systematic review of retrospective, cross-sectional, prospective, or longitudinal. studies reporting prevalence or incidence of non-specific shoulder pain in occupational groups stratified by age. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL from inception until January 2020. Study characteristics and prevalence estimates stratified by age were extracted. Two reviewers independently performed a critical analysis of the included studies to determine their validity and risk of bias. Results Twenty studies with a total of 40,487 participants and one study of a clinical data base were included and assigned a direction of the estimates for shoulder pain as either ‘increasing’, ‘remaining stable’ or ‘decreasing’ past the age of 50. Shoulder pain generally increased past 50, with 16 of the 21 included studies reporting higher estimates/odds ratios in older participants. In the more physically active occupations over 50, the estimates increased in 14 of the 18 samples compared to only two of the four involving sedentary occupations. Conclusions Shoulder pain prevalence remains common in workers beyond the age of 50. Prevalence continues to increase in physically demanding occupations. Clinicians should consider factors of occupation when managing shoulder pain. Trial registration PROSPERO (CRD42019137831).

Low back pain prevalence, beliefs, and treatment seeking behaviour in multi-ethnic Suriname

Objectives To determine LBP prevalence in urban and rural communities and to assess back beliefs and treatment seeking behaviour for the first time in Suriname, a multi-ethnic country in the Caribbean community. Methods A cross-sectional community-based survey using the Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases methodology was performed between April 2016 and July 2017. Information on LBP prevalence and LBP-related treatment seeking, beliefs about LBP (Back Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ)), level of disability (Oswestry Disability Index), and the risk of developing persistent disabling pain (Start Back Screening Tool) was collected. Results A total of 541 out of 2902 individuals reported current acute or chronic LBP. It was more prevalent in urban (20.2%) than in rural (13.7%) communities, especially in females and older adults (&gt;55 years). Individuals from rural areas (median BBQ = 18.00 (14.00–22.00)) had significantly more negative beliefs than the urban population (median BBQ = 25.00 (19.00–31.00)) (p &lt; 0.001). Maroons displayed more negative beliefs than Creole (p = 0.040), Hindustani (p &lt; 0.001), Javanese (p &lt; 0.001) and Mixed ethnicity (p &lt; 0.001). At least 75% of the LBP population sought care, especially from a western healthcare practitioner. Seeking treatment and having a higher risk to develop persistent disabling pain was significantly associated with more disability (p &lt; 0.001). Age ≥45 years (p &lt; 0.001), Indigenous ethnicity (p &lt; 0.05), and functional disability (p &lt; 0.001) were factors influencing treatment seeking. Conclusions LBP is a prevalent health problem in the Surinamese urban community, especially in older adults and among females. Most individuals experiencing LBP visited a western healthcare practitioner and had more negative beliefs compared with other communities.