Musculoskeletal disorders in female dentists and pharmacists: a cross-sectional study

Musculoskeletal disorders are an important occupational health problem in dentistry. Few studies have compared these disorders in dentists with other occupational groups. We assessed musculoskeletal disorders in female dentists in comparison with female pharmacists. A cross-sectional study by means of Musculoskeletal Nordic Questionnaire was performed among 191 female general dentists and 211 female general pharmacists who were at least one year in clinical practice and selected using the random sampling method. Those with a history of a traumatic event causing fracture in spinal column or extremities and connective tissue diseases excluded. The data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. 91.6% of the female dentists and 87.7% of the female pharmacists reported having at least one musculoskeletal symptom in the previous 12 months. 12-month period prevalence symptoms of neck (OR=3.17), upper back (OR=2.19) and upper extremity (OR=1.99) had the most ORs in comparison of dentists to pharmacists. In summary, female dentists are at risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders particularly in the neck, upper back and upper extremities.