[The correlation between WMSDs and thyroid indicators in male large-scale mechanical maintenance workers]

Objective: To investigate the status of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in male large-scale mechanical maintenance workers, and to explore the relationship between WMSDs and thyroid indexes. Methods: From April to July 2022, male front-line maintenance workers in a large-scale mechanical maintenance enterprise who participated in occupational health examination were selected as the study subjects (n=2036). The occurrence of WMSDs was investigated by questionnaire. The levels of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in serum were detected. χ(2) test, t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to detect thyroid diseases and hormone levels of workers in WMSDs group and non-WMSDs group, and binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between thyroid disease, T3, T4, TSH and WMSDs. Results: The incidence of WMSDs among the male large-scale mechanical maintenance workers was 73.18% (1490/2036). The rate of thyroid disease in WMSDs group was higher than that in non-WMSDs group [8.26% (123/1490) vs. 4.95% (27/546), χ(2)=6.42, P=0.011], and the TSH value was lower than that in non-WMSDs group[1.66 (1.23, 2.26) μIU/ml vs. 1.75 (1.30, 2.42) μIU/ml, Z=-2.40, P=0.019]. There were no significant differences in the levels of T3, T4 and abnormal levels of 3 hormones between the two groups (P>0.05). After accounting for individual and occupational factors, workers with thyroid disease had an increased risk of WMSDs (OR=1.656, 95%CI: 1.072-2.559, P=0.023), while workers with increased TSH had a decreased risk of WMSDs (OR=0.897, 95% CI: 0.823-0.977, P=0.013) . Conclusion: The incidence of WMSDs in male workers of large-scale mechanical maintenance is high, and its incidence may be related to thyroid index. Thyroid disease may be a risk factor for WMSDs, and increased TSH may be a protective factor for WMSDs.