Abstract

This hospital-based case-control study aimed to determine whether self-reports of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) were associated with the occurrence of work-related accidents. Study participants were recruited from the emergency department at Botucatu Medical School University Hospital. Cases were workers who suffered work-related accidents that required hospitalization, while controls were selected patients who suffered a non-work-related accident. Participants were interviewed using a standardized structured questionnaire with close-ended questions and a modified version of the Brazilian Portuguese Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Associations between self-reports of MSS and work-related accidents were analyzed with two logistic regression models (one for symptoms that occurred in the 12 months period and the other for those that occurred in the previous 7 days). These analyses were performed in two steps: univariate and multiple model. Variables with a P-value ≤0.25 in the univariate analysis were included in the multiple models, using the forward stepwise selection procedure. In the multiple models two-sided P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Altogether, 80 cases and 125 controls were included. The participants had a mean age of 36.9 years (SD = 11.4) and 72.2% were men. In the 12 months multiple logistic regression model, self-report of MSS in the upper limbs (OR 2.689 95% CI 1.357-5.326) was associated with increased odds of work-related accidents occurrence, while in the 7 days multiple logistic regression model, self-report of MSS in the upper limbs (OR 2.374 95% CI 1.083-5.201) and in the vertebral column (OR 2.154 95% CI 1.017-4.561) were associated. Thus, this case–control study suggests that MSS in the upper limbs and in the vertebral column are associated with increased odds of work-related accidents; and that the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire may be used as a complementary screening tool for identifying workers at risk for work-related accidents.