Occupational stress and musculoskeletal symptoms in firefighters
Elpidoforos S Soteriades1, Lilia Psalta2, Stavroula Leka3
1American Medical Center, Nicosia, Cyprus (Department of Occupational Medicine). esoteria@hsph.harvard.edu.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential association between occupational stress and musculoskeletal symptoms in firefighters.
Material And Methods:
Data were collected among Cypriot firefighters through a battery of adapted questionnaires completed anonymously.
Results:
A total of 430 firefighters (a response rate of 68%) completed the survey (the age range: 21-60 years). A total of 11% of firefighters reported moderate to extremely severe stress through the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. A total of 40% of firefighters reported musculoskeletal symptoms, the most frequent being back pain. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models showed that occupational stress was associated with a 50% higher risk of musculoskeletal symptoms in firefighters after adjusting for age, smoking and obesity (OR = 1.52, p = 0.04). In addition, a positive dose-response relationship was found between occupational stress and musculoskeletal symptoms.
Conclusions:
Occupational stress constitutes a significant risk for firefighters and is associated with higher prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms at work. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2019;32(3):341-52.
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