Upper Extremity Pain and Computer Use Among Engineering Graduate Students: A Replication Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Amick BC III ; Caroom C ; Harrist RB ; Jenkins M ; Katz JN ; Menendez CC ; Robertson M
• Description:
  Background Recent literature identified upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms at a prevalence of > 40% in college populations. The study objectives were to determine weekly computer use and the prevalence of upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms in a graduate student population, and make comparisons with previous graduate and undergraduate cohorts. Methods One hundred sixty-six graduate students completed a survey on computing and musculoskeletal health. Associations between individual factors and symptom status, functional limitations, academic impact, medication use, and health services utilization were determined. Logistic regression analyses evaluated the association between symptom status and computing. Cross-study comparisons were made. Results More symptomatic participants experienced functional limitations than asymptomatic participants (74% vs. 32%, P < 0.001) and reported medication use for computing pain (34% vs. 10%, P < 0.01). More participants who experienced symptoms within an hour of computing used health services compared to those who experienced symptoms after an hour of computer use (60% vs. 12%, P < 0.01). Years of computer use (OR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.05-2.40) and number of years in school where weekly computer use was more than 10 hr (OR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.04-2.35) were associated with pain within an hour of computing. Cross-study comparisons found college populations more similar than different. Conclusion The overall findings reinforced previous literature documenting the prevalence of upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms in college populations, suggesting an important populations for participating in public health interventions designed to support healthy computing practices and identify risk factors important to evaluate in future cohort studies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Computers Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Replication Study College Students Computer-equipment Computer Use Graduate Students Injury-prevention Musculoskeletal Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Posture Risk-factors Statistical-analysis

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  113-123
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035048
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2009 Feb; 52(2):113-123
• Contact Point Address:
  Cammie Chaumont Menéndez, CDC, NIOSH, 1095 Willowdale Rd, MS1811, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  cmenendez@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cad622f6aafa44415a37de8bb13dd86453ad73a82f1e522565e6a3039200ce2d90e8a05736413b18cde9910e4d971b4ec24197fdc1984ae040c59fc3c56c6ed1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187034/cdc_187034_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 153.46 KB ]