Prevalence and influencing factors of work-related knee pain among workers in shoemaking industry

Jingwen Zhang; Yan Yang; Si Huang; Jiaxin Zheng; Liangying Mei; Jianchao Chen; Bo Shen; Huadong Zhang; Zhongxu Wang; Zhi Wang; Ning Jia

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Prevalence and influencing factors of work-related knee pain among workers in shoemaking industry

VernacularTitle:制鞋业作业工人膝部工作相关肌肉骨骼疾患现况及影响因素
Author: Jingwen ZHANG ^{1
,

2} ; Yan YANG ² ; Si HUANG ^{1
,

2} ; Jiaxin ZHENG ^{1
,

2} ; Liangying MEI ³ ; Jianchao CHEN ⁴ ; Bo SHEN ⁵ ; Huadong ZHANG ⁶ ; Zhongxu WANG ⁷ ; Zhi WANG ^{1
,

2} ; Ning JIA ⁷
Author Information

1. School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangdong, Guangzhou 510310, China
2. Key Laboratory of Occupational Environment and Health, Guangzhou Twelfth People's Hospital (Guangzhou Occupational Disease Prevention and Treatment Hospital), Guangzhou, Guangdong 510620, China.
3. Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China.
4. Fujian Province Occupational Disease and Chemical Poisoning Prevention and Control Center, Fuzhou, Fujian 350025, China.
5. Fuzhou Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fuzhou, Fujian 350004, China.
6. Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing 400042, China.
7. Department of Occupational Protection and Ergonomics, National Institute of Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China.
Publication Type:Investigation
Keywords: work-related musculoskeletal disorder; knee; shoemaking industry; worker; work posture; risk factors; protective factor
From: Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2024;41(6):648-654
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Background Shoemaking industry workers are prone to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to long-term awkward postures during the work process. There is little research on the prevalence and influencing factors of WMSDs in the knee region of this industry, and it should be taken seriously. Objective To estimate the prevalence of work-related knee pain among shoemaking workers and analyze the related influencing factors. Methods A total of 6982 shoemaking workers were selected from 26 shoemaking factories in Guangdong, Hubei, Fujian, Chongqing, Shandong, Zhejiang, and Jingxi by convenience sampling. Prevalence of work-related knee pain in past year, demographic characteristics, occupational related factors, and work posture were collected by a cross-sectional survey using the electronic version of Musculoskeletal Disorder Questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors that may lead to work-related knee pain. Results This survey collected 6982 valid questionnaires with a recovery rate of 98.3%. The prevalence of work-related knee pain of shoemaking workers in the past 12 months was 13.0% (908/6982). According to the results of logistic regression analysis, compared with workers with less than 5 years of service, workers with 5-10 years of service (OR=1.21, 95%CI: 1.02, 1.45) and more than 10 years (1.53, 95%CI: 1.27, 1.83) showed a higher risk of knee WMSDs; sometimes, often and very frequent (reference : rarely or never) long-term standing (OR=1.33, 95%CI: 1.08, 1.64; OR=2.67, 95%CI: 2.10, 3.39; OR=2.75, 95%CI: 2.08, 3.63) and sometimes, often and very frequent (reference: rarely or never) long-term squatting or kneeling (OR=1.80, 95%CI: 1.47, 2.21; OR=2.43, 95%CI: 1.58, 3.75; OR=3.22, 95%CI: 1.66, 6.24) increased the risk of knee pain: long-term bending (OR=1.59, 95%CI: 1.34, 1.89) and often repeated movement of lower limbs and ankles (OR=1.48, 95%CI: 1.25, 1.75) were also risk factors for knee WMSDs among shoemaking industry workers (P<0.05). Adequate rest time (OR=0.58, 95%CI: 0.49, 0.68) and able to stretch or change leg posture (OR=0.75, 95%CI: 0.64, 0.88) reduced the risk of knee WMSDs (P<0.05). Conclusion In the shoemaking industry, length of service and awkward postures are risk factors for knee pain. The shoemaking enterprises should ensure that workers have sufficient rest time, reduce long-term standing, squatting, kneeling, and bending postures, as well as lower limbs repetition in order to reduce the occurrence of knee WMSDs of workers.