Prevalência de dor musculoesquelética e fatores associados em acadêmicos da área da saúde de uma universidade do centro-oeste brasileiro

Abstract

Objectives: To analyze the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and associated factors in health students at the University of Rio Verde/GO. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, with 2295 university students of both sexes and age 18 or older. Students answered a self-administered, standardized and pretested questionnaire, having as an outcome musculoskeletal pain in upper limbs, trunk and lower limbs, occurring frequently or always, during the last 12 months, measured by means of the Nordic Questionnaire. For analysis of associations with sociodemographic, behavioral, nutritional and health variables, Poisson regression with robust variance stratified by sex was used. Results: There was a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in women than in men. Among the male and female academics analyzed, 20.3% (95% CI: 17.2-23.3) and 35.4% (95% CI: 33.0-37.7), respectively, reported musculoskeletal pain in upper limbs, 23.2% (95% CI: 20.0-26.3) and 38.9% (95% CI: 36.5-41.3) in the trunk region and 16.5% (95% CI: 13.7-19.3) and 20.5% (95% CI: 18.5-22.5) in the lower limbs. Among the academics, after adjusting the multivariate analysis, it was confirmed a statistically significant association between type of course, final periods of the course, paid work, sedentary behavior and worse health self-perception with the occurrence of pain in upper limbs. In the trunk region, an independent association of course variables, sedentary behavior and worse health self-perception was observed. The factors associated with pain in lower limbs were work, physical activity, sedentary behavior, worse health self-perception and presence of obesity. The adjusted analysis was also explored for male participants, however it was not possible to confirm the statistical significance after adjustment. Conclusion: The prevalence of EMD was high for all body segments investigated, being higher in the trunk and upper limb region, especially in women. The most vulnerable groups to EMD are the academics of the final periods of the course, with paid work, sedentary behavior and overweight or obesity.