Cumulative trauma disorders, overweight and obesity among Brazilian dentists

Aim: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders (CTD), overweight and obesity and the association between them, among public health dentists.
Methods: The study included 150 dentists working at various public health system units in Recife, PE, Brazil. A Brazilian version of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Symptoms Questionnaire was used. Obesity and overweight were observed across the BMI (body mass index) recommended by the World Health Organization. A descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS 13.0 software.
Results: Among respondents, 79.3% were female with a mean age of 44.42 years. The presence of musculoskeletal symptoms was reported by 138 (92%) of participants, 129 of whom linked the symptoms to their work activity. The cervical region was the most involved, accounting for 104 (14.3%) of the total 723 affected areas. Overweight was observed in 32% of the professionals and obesity in 13%. Of the 150 participants, 30 (20%) received a medical diagnosis of CTD and of these, 13 (43.3%) had a high BMI. The 40-49-year-old age group was most affected by CTD and females were more affected than males, accounting for 22.7% of professionals interviewed. There was no significant association between the presence of CTD and overweight/obesity (p >0.05).
Conclusions: However, given the multifactorial nature of occupational diseases, it is likely that overweight and obesity may act as a predisposing factor in these diseases, interacting and enhancing the effects of other important risk factors for the occurrence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.