TY - JOUR
T1 - The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the construction industry
T2 - a systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Umer, Waleed
AU - Antwi-Afari, Maxwell F.
AU - Li, Heng
AU - Szeto, Grace P.Y.
AU - Wong, Arnold Y.L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.
PY - 2018/2/1
Y1 - 2018/2/1
N2 - Purpose: Although individual studies have reported high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) among construction workers, no systematic review has summarized their prevalence rates. Accordingly, this systematic review/meta-analysis aimed to synthesize MSS prevalence in different construction trades, gender and age groups, which may help develop specific ergonomic interventions. Methods: Nine databases were searched for articles related to the research objective. Two reviewers independently screened citations, extracted information and conducted quality assessment of the included studies. Meta-analyses were conducted on clinical and statistical homogenous data. Results: Thirty-five out of 1130 potential citations were included reporting diverse types of period prevalence and case definitions. Only the 1-year prevalence rates of MSS (defined as at least one episode of pain/MSS in the last year) at nine anatomical regions had sufficient homogeneous data for meta-analysis. Specifically, the 1-year prevalence of MSS was 51.1% for lower back, 37.2% for knee, 32.4% for shoulder, 30.4% for wrist, 24.4% for neck, 24.0% for ankle/foot, 20.3% for elbow, 19.8% for upper back, and 15.1% for hip/thigh. Female workers demonstrated a higher prevalence of MSS while there was insufficient information on the prevalence of trade-specific or age-related MSS. The quality assessments revealed that many included studies estimated prevalence solely based on self-reported data, and did not report non-respondents’ characteristics. Conclusions: Lumbar, knee, shoulder, and wrist MSS are the most common symptoms among construction workers. Future studies should standardize the reporting of period prevalence of MSS in different construction trades to allow meta-analyses and to develop relevant MSS prevention program.
AB - Purpose: Although individual studies have reported high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) among construction workers, no systematic review has summarized their prevalence rates. Accordingly, this systematic review/meta-analysis aimed to synthesize MSS prevalence in different construction trades, gender and age groups, which may help develop specific ergonomic interventions. Methods: Nine databases were searched for articles related to the research objective. Two reviewers independently screened citations, extracted information and conducted quality assessment of the included studies. Meta-analyses were conducted on clinical and statistical homogenous data. Results: Thirty-five out of 1130 potential citations were included reporting diverse types of period prevalence and case definitions. Only the 1-year prevalence rates of MSS (defined as at least one episode of pain/MSS in the last year) at nine anatomical regions had sufficient homogeneous data for meta-analysis. Specifically, the 1-year prevalence of MSS was 51.1% for lower back, 37.2% for knee, 32.4% for shoulder, 30.4% for wrist, 24.4% for neck, 24.0% for ankle/foot, 20.3% for elbow, 19.8% for upper back, and 15.1% for hip/thigh. Female workers demonstrated a higher prevalence of MSS while there was insufficient information on the prevalence of trade-specific or age-related MSS. The quality assessments revealed that many included studies estimated prevalence solely based on self-reported data, and did not report non-respondents’ characteristics. Conclusions: Lumbar, knee, shoulder, and wrist MSS are the most common symptoms among construction workers. Future studies should standardize the reporting of period prevalence of MSS in different construction trades to allow meta-analyses and to develop relevant MSS prevention program.
KW - Construction
KW - Epidemiology
KW - Musculoskeletal symptoms
KW - Prevalence
KW - Systematic review
KW - Work-related health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85032709822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00420-017-1273-4
DO - 10.1007/s00420-017-1273-4
M3 - Review article
C2 - 29090335
AN - SCOPUS:85032709822
SN - 0340-0131
VL - 91
SP - 125
EP - 144
JO - International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
JF - International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
IS - 2
ER -