The Prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in the upper Extremity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders have become a major public health problem and national priority in many countries. Using systematic review and meta-analysis, this study set out to determine the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in order to provide results with higher statistical power.
This systematic review and meta-analysis of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in upper extremity in Iran was performed with some keywords using databases and search engines such as SID, Magiran, Google Scholar, Medlib, IranMedex, and Pubmed. Twenty- seven published articles from 2001 to 2010 were searched. Meta-analysis and random effects approach was used to evaluate the heterogeneity of articles.
The total sample size was 6090 workers with a mean of 225 samples per study. The prevalence of workrelated neck, shoulder, elbow, wrists, and upper back musculoskeletal disorders were 31.8% (95% CI: 24.1- 39.4), 36.8% (95% CI: 29.4 – 44.1), 17.4% (95% CI: 12.17 -22.1), 34.6% (95% CI: 27.1- 42), and 38.1% (95% CI: 29.9- 46.4), respectively.
A high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in upper extremity, especially in shoulders and upper back was observed in Iran. Ergonomic and industrial hygiene training program was recommended for reducing the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.