Avaliação epidemiológica do status socioeconômico como fator associado à ocorrência de Doenças Musculoesqueléticas

Musculoskeletal diseases are included as prioritiesamong Public Health topics, particularly in Worker’sHealth, because of the high incidence and multiple factorsthat are associated with their occurrence. The purposeof this study is to assess the association betweensocial and economic status of occupations, consolida -ted in the form of the socio-economic index of occupationalstatus (ISEI) and the occurrence of musculoskeletaldiseases.Methods: The population studied included 157,676workers of both genders, with ages ranging from 18 to65, included in the Brazilian National Household Survey(PNAD – “Pesquisa Nacional de Amostra deDomicílios”) carried out in 2003. The types of occupationswere classified using the Socio-Economic Index(ISEI), as proposed by Ganzeboom and Treiman(1996). Prevalence rates for self-referred pathologiessuch as tendinitis/tenosynovitis and back pain (lowback pain) in large occupational groups and in speci ficoccupations were calculated. Study variables wereapplied to a linear regression model with 95% confidenceintervals calculated in conformity with the ISEIquintiles.Results: The highest socio-economic status presentedthe higher odds ratio for tendinitis or tenosynovitis (OR2.93; 2.66-3.22), while the lowest status presented thehighest odds ratio for spine or back problems (OR 1.31;1.26-1.37), even when corrected by confounding variables,such as age, gender and educational status.Conclusion: This result suggests that this indicator isan important factor for the occurrence of MusculoskeletalDiseases.