Neck pain among tobacco farm workers in Southern Brazil

Anaclaudia Gastal Fassa; Nadia Spada Fiori; Rodrigo Dalke Meucci; Neice Müller Xavier Faria; Maitê Peres de Carvalho

doi:10.18294/sc.2020.2307

Neck pain among tobacco farm workers in Southern Brazil

Anaclaudia Gastal Fassa PhD in Epidemiology. Full Professor; Universidade Federal de Pelotas; Pelotas, Brazil. , Nadia Spada Fiori PhD in Epidemiology. Adjunct Professor; Universidade Federal de Pelotas; Pelotas, Brazil. , Rodrigo Dalke Meucci PhD in Epidemiology. Adjunct Professor; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande; Rio Grande, Brazil. , Neice Müller Xavier Faria PhD in Epidemiology. Occupational Surveillance Doctor; Municipal Health Department of Bento Gonçalves; Bento Gonçalves, Brazil. , Maitê Peres de Carvalho PhD in Health Sciences. Researcher; Universidade Federal de Pelotas; Pelotas, Brazil.

Received: 7 May 2019, Accepted: 12 May 2020, Published: 23 July 2020

https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2020.2307 | PMID: 33147389

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Abstract

This study aims to assess neck pain prevalence and associated factors among tobacco farm workers. This is a cross-sectional study of 2,469 tobacco farm workers in southern Brazil. An adapted version of the Nordic Questionnaire of Musculoskeletal Symptoms was used to characterize neck pain. Multivariate analysis was performed using Poisson regression, following a hierarchical theoretical model. Neck pain prevalence in the last year among the population studied was 7.4%. Worker age, tobacco smoking, tobacco bundling, use of heavy chainsaws, working at an intense or accelerated pace and green tobacco sickness were variables associated with neck pain in females. Among males, age, use of heavy chainsaws, working in a sitting position on the ground, pesticide poisoning, and green tobacco sickness were associated with the outcome. The study reinforces the importance of ergonomic and physiological workloads in the determination of neck pain. Future studies are needed to understand the role of pesticides and nicotine exposures on musculoskeletal problems. The mechanization of tobacco harvesting could reduce ergonomic and chemical exposure, thereby improving farmers’ health.

Keywords: Cervical Pain, Occupational Health, Agriculture, Tobacco, Rural Health, Brazil

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