[A meta-analysis of the relationship between overtime work and neck musculoskeletal disorders in Chinese occupational...

Objective: To systematically evaluate the effect of overtime work on neck musculoskeletal disorders of occupational population in China. Methods: In August 2023, the literatures on the relationship between overtime work and neck musculoskeletal disorders were searched in China National Knowledge Infrasture (CNKI), WanFang Database, Chinese Science & Technology Journal Database (VIP), China Biomedical Literature Service System (SinoMed) and PubMed. The search scope was Chinese and English literatures published before June 30, 2023. The Quality of literature studies was evaluated using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) cross-sectional study quality evaluation criteria. The Stata 15.0 software was used to calculate combined OR values, and subgroup analysis and meta regression were used to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Results: A total of 32 literatures were included, all of which were in Chinese, with a total sample size of 36003 people, and the literature quality scores were 5-7 points. Heterogeneity test showed that there was no heterogeneity between the literatures (I(2)=20.3%, P=0.156), so fixed effect model was selected to calculate the combined OR value. The combined OR value of overtime work on neck musculoskeletal disorders was 1.51 (95%CI: 1.42-1.60, P<0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that the combined OR of occupational population <35 years old group was higher than that in the ≥35 years old group (P<0.05). But there were no significant differences in the combined OR values in the subgroups classified by average years of service, male proportion, type of OR values, sample size and industry classification (P>0.05) . Conclusion: Overtime work is a risk factor for neck musculoskeletal disorders in Chinese occupational population. Working hours should be rationally arranged to reduce the prevalence of neck musculoskeletal disorders.