WORK-RELATED MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS AMONG CASHEW INDUSTRY WORKERS IN KERALA, INDIA

In this article, the prevalence of work- related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among cashew processing industry workers in Kerala state, India were studied. A cross sectional study by a detailed questionnaire on symptoms of sociodemographic factors, musculoskeletal disorders, working postures and work history was administered to 350 subjects. A modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used for the survey. The subjects are randomly selected from three cashew processing industry situated in Kollam district of Kerala state in India. The socio- demographic factors of workers were analysed and demonstrated in the first part of the article. Past 12-month prevalence of WMSDs at nine body regions were demonstrated in the next part of the article. The result shows that the lower back was the most prevalent disorders among the subjects (54.6%). Knee (54.3%) is the second most prevalent body region where affects the disorder followed by neck (46%), shoulder (40%), upper back (36.6%), elbow (32.6%), ankle (26.8%), hip (16.9%) and wrist (13.1%). Significant relationships were existing to the variables gender, age, duration of employment, section of work, and BMI with WMSD symptoms at all or certain body regions. Also, it was identified that significant relationships existed to the physical factors such as heat, noise, dust and odour except light with WMSDs. The data collected were analysed by SPSS V20.0 package.