Health and lifestyle characteristics of professional singers and instrumentalists

Ninety-one instrumentalists and 51 opera singers of the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, were examined, in order to study the frequency of symptoms from the musculoskeletal system and upper airways. The response rate was 91 per cent. Estimates of odds ratios (OR) with 95 per cent confidence interval were calculated, using multiple logistic regression equations, adjusting for age and gender. The frequency of musculoskeletal complaints was the same in singers and instrumentalists. Musculoskeletal problems were however not identical. Instrumentalists had statistically significantly more symptoms from the arm region than singers, OR = 3.1 (1.02-9.5), P less than 0.05. In contrast, instrumentalists had significantly fewer complaints from hip-, knee- and foot joints than singers, OR = 0.2 (0.07-0.61), P less than 0.001. Singers had significantly more symptoms from mouth, lips or throat than instrumentalists, OR = 4.5 (1.7-11.5), P = 0.002. Both male and female instrumentalists had a higher blood pressure. This difference seemed at least in part to be explained by a higher alcohol intake among instrumentalists. We suggest these differences in life style and health characteristics are likely to be caused by professional, ie occupational, work loads.