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Musculoskeletal pain in the community
Abdurhman S Al-Arfaj1, Suliman R Alballa, Abdullah N Al-Dalaan
1Department of Medicine and Community Medicine, Riyadh 11468, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. asarfaj@ksu.edu.sa
Objective:
To estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal (MSK) pain in Al-Qaseem province in central Saudi Arabia.
Methods:
Over a period of 18 months extending from September 1993 through to the end of February 1995, a house-to-house survey was conducted in Al-Qaseem province and included 5,894 adults asking regarding musculoskeletal pain.
Results:
We obtained a response from 5,823 (98.8%), 2,667 (45.8%) men, and 3,156 (54.2%) women. The mean age was 34.14 +/- 15.16 years. Musculoskeletal pain was reported by 1,477 (25.4%), 762 (13.1%) men and 715 (12.3%) women. Musculoskeletal pain was significantly correlated with age (r =0.454), married status (r=0.238), unemployment (r=0.122), lower educational attainment (r=0.347), frequent attendance at local doctor (r=0.703), consumption of medications for pain (r =0.551), and change in ability to work (r=0.492). We found no association with sex or body mass index.
Conclusion:
Musculoskeletal pain, although common in the community, is less prevalent than reported from Western countries, but has similar socio-medical consequences.