PREVALENCE OF SHOULDER AND UPPER-LIMB DISORDERS AMONG WORKERS IN THE FISH-PROCESSING INDUSTRY

A cross-sectional study was conducted among fish-processing workers to evaluate the prevalence of shoulder and upper-limb discomforts and to assess the associated ergonomic risk factors. A prestructured intervi ew, a medical check-up, and job analyses were performed to determine m usculoskeletal disorders among 207 workers in eight factories. The res ults showed shoulder girdle pain (30.9%), epicondylitis (14.5%), and c arpal tunnel syndrome (15.0%) as the three most common soft-tissue dis orders. The odds ratio of shoulder girdle pain was 1.6 (95% CI 1.1-2.5 ) among the workers who performed tasks with repetitive movement of th eir upper limbs, while it was 1.8 (95% CI 1.2-2.5) for the workers who sustained forceful movement of their upper limbs during work. Women t aking oral contraceptives had a 2.0 times higher odds ratio for carpal tunnel syndrome than did other women. It would appear that untrained or unskilled workers were prone to suffer from musculoskeletal disorde rs.