Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2023 Jun 19;24(1):501. doi: 10.1186/s12891-023-06630-4.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSKDs) present a significant burden to health care systems worldwide. Evidence suggests that university students may have unique risk factors for developing MSKDs; however, research on the corresponding prevalence and risk factors of MSKDs in Canadian students is limited.
Using a multi-year cross-sectional survey, we aimed to understand the prevalence and risk factors of MSKDs in students at McMaster University. A survey on the prevalence of MSKD as well as potential risk factors was conducted online in the years 2018-2022. Our outcomes were the prevalence of MSKDs over the last 7 days and the last 12 months, as well as presence of lower body, upper body, and spine MSKDs. We investigated risk factors using negative binomial regression analysis, including a sex-stratified analysis.
There were a total of 289 respondents in 2018 with a decrease in the number of participants in the subsequent years (n = 173, n = 131, n = 76). Participants reported a median of 2-3 pain sites in the last year and 1-2 pain sites in the last week in all four years. The most prevalent sources of self-reported pain were the lower back and neck. Depending on the year and outcome studied, 59-67% of participants reported neck/lower back pain in the last year, and 43-49% reported it in the last week. Although risk factors were different depending on the year and sex, overall, poorer mental health, being in health care studies, regular sports participation (males only), older age, and less hours of sleep were significantly associated with higher prevalence of MSKDs.
This study identified that MSKDs are a prevalent source of pain in university students. While some risk factors, such as mental health, are known to play a role in developing MSKDs, sports activity and academic pressure are risk factors that are unique to students. Our study also suggests that there may be differences in risk factors between sexes.
肌肉骨骼疾病（MSKDs）对全球医疗保健系统造成了重大负担。有证据表明，大学生可能有独特的 MSKD 发病风险因素；然而，关于加拿大学生 MSKD 的相应患病率和风险因素的研究有限。
我们使用多年的横断面调查，旨在了解麦克马斯特大学学生的 MSKD 患病率和风险因素。2018 年至 2022 年期间，我们在线进行了一项关于 MSKD 患病率和潜在风险因素的调查。我们的结果是过去 7 天和过去 12 个月的 MSKD 患病率，以及下肢、上肢和脊柱 MSKD 的患病率。我们使用负二项回归分析调查了风险因素，包括性别分层分析。
2018 年共有 289 名参与者，随后几年的参与者人数减少（n=173，n=131，n=76）。参与者在过去一年中报告了中位数为 2-3 个疼痛部位，在过去一周中报告了中位数为 1-2 个疼痛部位，在所有四年中均如此。自我报告疼痛最常见的来源是下背部和颈部。根据年份和研究结果，59-67%的参与者在过去一年报告了颈部/下背部疼痛，43-49%的参与者在过去一周报告了颈部/下背部疼痛。尽管风险因素因年份和性别而异，但总体而言，较差的心理健康状况、从事医疗保健研究、定期参加运动（仅限男性）、年龄较大以及睡眠时间较少与 MSKD 患病率较高显著相关。
本研究表明，MSKDs 是大学生常见的疼痛来源。虽然一些风险因素（如心理健康）已知在 MSKDs 的发病中起作用，但运动活动和学业压力是学生特有的风险因素。我们的研究还表明，性别之间的风险因素可能存在差异。
