Özlem Daltaban, Mükerrem Hatipoğlu, Mihaela Tanase, Ana Maria Pistol, Carmen Ioana Biriş, Milanko Djuric, Tanja Veljovic, Enis Redjep, Mirko Mikic
{"title":"Understanding the Burden of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Dental Students: A Multinational Cohort Study.","authors":"Özlem Daltaban, Mükerrem Hatipoğlu, Mihaela Tanase, Ana Maria Pistol, Carmen Ioana Biriş, Milanko Djuric, Tanja Veljovic, Enis Redjep, Mirko Mikic","doi":"10.1111/eje.13108","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>To evaluate the prevalence and potential risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among fifth-year dental students from Romania, Türkiye, Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A prospective questionnaire-based survey was conducted, including demographics, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and potential factors related to WMSDs (daily working hours, number of patients treated, preferred working position, chair support type, prolonged sitting, knowledge of ergonomic guidelines, physical activity levels and daily electronic device use).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 297 individuals participated in this study; 107 (36%) Romania, 79 (26.6%) Türkiye, 71 (23.9%) Serbia, 20 (6.9%) Montenegro and 20 (6.9%) North Macedonia. The prevalence of WMSDs in at least one body part over the past 12 months was 82%. The most affected areas were the neck (68%) and lower back (64%). Neck pain showed a moderate correlation with prolonged sitting and a weak correlation with electronic device usage. Significant risk factors identified for reported WMSDs included prolonged sitting (odds ratio (OR) = 4.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.172-9.609, p < 0.001), clinical practice time (OR = 3.11, 95% CI: 1.495-6.469, p = 0.002) and female gender (OR = 3.42: 95% CI: 1.705-6.851, p = 0.001). Interestingly, regular physical activity significantly reduced the odds of WMSDs (OR = 0.316, 95% CI: 0.128-0.780, p = 0.012). Additionally, mobility exercises decreased the likelihood of WMSDs (OR = 0.252, 95% CI: 0.101-0.626, p = 0.003).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The high prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort observed in this study reflects that WMSDs present a substantial health burden for dental students. This underlines the urgent need for effective educational strategies to improve dental students' awareness and knowledge of ergonomic practices and preventive measures for reducing these disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":50488,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Dental Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European Journal of Dental Education","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/eje.13108","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: To evaluate the prevalence and potential risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among fifth-year dental students from Romania, Türkiye, Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro.
Materials and methods: A prospective questionnaire-based survey was conducted, including demographics, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and potential factors related to WMSDs (daily working hours, number of patients treated, preferred working position, chair support type, prolonged sitting, knowledge of ergonomic guidelines, physical activity levels and daily electronic device use).
Results: A total of 297 individuals participated in this study; 107 (36%) Romania, 79 (26.6%) Türkiye, 71 (23.9%) Serbia, 20 (6.9%) Montenegro and 20 (6.9%) North Macedonia. The prevalence of WMSDs in at least one body part over the past 12 months was 82%. The most affected areas were the neck (68%) and lower back (64%). Neck pain showed a moderate correlation with prolonged sitting and a weak correlation with electronic device usage. Significant risk factors identified for reported WMSDs included prolonged sitting (odds ratio (OR) = 4.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.172-9.609, p < 0.001), clinical practice time (OR = 3.11, 95% CI: 1.495-6.469, p = 0.002) and female gender (OR = 3.42: 95% CI: 1.705-6.851, p = 0.001). Interestingly, regular physical activity significantly reduced the odds of WMSDs (OR = 0.316, 95% CI: 0.128-0.780, p = 0.012). Additionally, mobility exercises decreased the likelihood of WMSDs (OR = 0.252, 95% CI: 0.101-0.626, p = 0.003).
Conclusions: The high prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort observed in this study reflects that WMSDs present a substantial health burden for dental students. This underlines the urgent need for effective educational strategies to improve dental students' awareness and knowledge of ergonomic practices and preventive measures for reducing these disorders.
期刊介绍:
The aim of the European Journal of Dental Education is to publish original topical and review articles of the highest quality in the field of Dental Education. The Journal seeks to disseminate widely the latest information on curriculum development teaching methodologies assessment techniques and quality assurance in the fields of dental undergraduate and postgraduate education and dental auxiliary personnel training. The scope includes the dental educational aspects of the basic medical sciences the behavioural sciences the interface with medical education information technology and distance learning and educational audit. Papers embodying the results of high-quality educational research of relevance to dentistry are particularly encouraged as are evidence-based reports of novel and established educational programmes and their outcomes.