Prevalence of Work – related Musculoskeletal Disorders and Factors affecting it in Farmers: Evidence from a Cohort Study

Aims: Farmers are one of the high-risk occupational groups in terms of Work- related MusculoSkeletal Disorders (WMSDs). Many factors such as ddemographic and physical characteristics and lifestyle are effective in incidence of these disorders in farmers. The aim of this study is to investigating the prevalence of WMSDs and related factors among this target group. Method and Materials: The data of this study was extracted from The Ravansar Non-Communicable Diseases (RaNCD) cohort study that was performed on 10,000 people aged 35 to 65 years in Ravansar, Iran. Version 23 of SPSS software was used for data analysis. Findings: The prevalence of back pain in farmers was 31. 3%, back stiffness was 17.7%, joint pain was 37.3%, joint stiffness was 12.3% and spinal disorder was 22% included lordosis (15%) and kyphosis (7.3%). There was a significant relationship between gender, age and all disorders. There was no significant relationship between marital status, sleep status, alcohol consumption, Body Mass Index (BMI), weight and height, and any of the disorders. There was no significant relationship between education level, the type of residence, smoking and drug use, type of home ownership, internet use and some of disorders but there was a significant relationship between these factors and the other disorders. Conclusion: Considering the significant prevalence of WMSDs in farmers, it is necessary to perform ergonomic interventions in the form of occupational health training programs, in order to raising farmers’ awareness and skills to prevent the disorders.