Association between Work-related Musculoskeletal Symptoms (WMSs) and Quality of Life of Dental Practitioners in Peshawar City: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract: Introduction: The frequency of Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WMSs) is high among dentists. WMSs such as pain can have adverse effects on the quality of life (QoL) of dental practitioners but very few studies have been conducted on it. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the frequency of most common WMSs i.e. pain and its effect on the physical and psychological aspects of the quality of life of dental practitioners in Peshawar City. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2023 and April 2023 in dental teaching institutes of Peshawar City. Data was collected from 163 dental practitioners, recruited through the convenience sampling method. Basic demographics, dentistry work experience, and health-related characteristics were recorded. WMSs of the participants were scored with the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). A self-structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the physical and psychological aspects of QoL. Results: Multiple linear regression analysis was used to reduce confounding bias and assess the association between predictor variables and QoL. The body regions with the most WMSs were the neck and lower back (56.4 % each) in the last 12 months while the most painful body region in the last 7 days was the lower back (46 %). A significant association was found between the most prevalent WMSs i.e. lower back pain and physical health (β= -0.234, p value =0.002) and psychological aspects (β= -0.205, p value= 0.008) of QoL. Conclusion: We can conclude that the lower back was the most commonly affected body regions due to WMSs. WMSs have a negative impact on the physical and psychological aspects of QoL. However, we only evaluated the association of WMSs with physical and psychological aspects of QoL and future studies should try to overcome this gap.