Abstract:
Objective To estimate the prevalence of neck and shoulder pain (NSP) and its influential factors among Chinese female medical professionals.
Methods A multistage, stratified cluster sampling strategy was employed to select 5 468 female medical professionals from medical institutions and centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) in China. A selfadministered questionnaire survey was conducted to collect information on demographic characteristics, work-related conditions, lifestyle, and self-reported prevalence of NSP.
Results The self-reported NSP prevalence was 46.1% (95% CI: 44.7%-47.4%), and significantly different among different age groups, regions, and institutions (P<0.05). The older age group showed a higher selfreported NSP prevalence (P<0.05). The highest self-reported prevalence was found in western area, followed by eastern area and middle area (P<0.05). Female medical professionals in medical institutions reported a higher prevalence than those in CDC (P<0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that better educated, longer years of working, overtime working, night shift, sedentary lifestyle, drinking, and insomnia were the risk factors of NSP.
Conclusion The self-reported prevalence of NSP is high among Chinese female medical professionals and affected by various factors such as demographic characteristics, work-related conditions, and lifestyles.