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Comparison of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders Between Flight Attendants and National Occupational Populations
Tiebing Liu1, Xi Zhang1, Yiwei Song2
1Civil Aviation Medicine Center, Civil Aviation Administration of China (Civil Aviation General Hospital), Beijing, China.
What Is Already Known About This Topic?:
The risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) differs by industry. Flight attendants in China show a high prevalence of upper-limb WMSDs.
What Is Added By This Report?:
Compared with the National Occupational Group and Comparable Industry Subgroup, flight attendants had a higher prevalence of neck, shoulder, and lower back WMSDs. After adjustment for demographic, ergonomic, and work-organization factors using generalized linear mixed models, flight attendant occupation was not significantly associated with WMSDs compared with the Comparable Industry Subgroup (adjusted odds ratio=0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.43, 1.34）.
What Are The Implications For Public Health Practice?:
Prevention efforts can target modifiable ergonomic and work-organization factors, including cabin ergonomics, staffing, rest opportunities, and autonomy over work breaks.