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. 2016 Oct;59(10):841-52.
doi: 10.1002/ajim.22626. Epub 2016 Jul 13.

Differences in the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among female and male custodians

Jennifer M Cavallari  1 , Manik Ahuja  2 , Alicia G Dugan  3 , John D Meyer  4 , Nancy Simcox  5 , Sara Wakai  6 , Jennifer L Garza  3
Affiliations

Differences in the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among female and male custodians

Jennifer M Cavallari et al. Am J Ind Med. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among custodians is high. We sought to compare musculoskeletal symptoms between female and male custodians and to explore how task might affect this relationship.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among 712 custodians who completed a survey assessing upper extremity, back, and lower extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and exposure to cleaning tasks. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations between gender, cleaning tasks, and musculoskeletal symptoms.

Results: Gender was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with musculoskeletal symptoms in χ(2) tests and multivariate analyses. The prevalence ratio of symptoms among women was roughly 50% higher than men, regardless of the tasks that workers performed.

Conclusions: The prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms differed for female and male custodians and appeared to be consistent across a range of job tasks. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:841-852, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: cleaners; disparities; gender; housekeepers; physical exposures; sex; task.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no competing nor conflicts of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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