Prevalencia de dolor musculoesquelético y factores asociados en odontólogos de la ciudad de Cuenca, Ecuador, 2016

Background: pain is one of the main symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders, and has high frequency in dentistry professionals. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain, and socio-demographic and occupational factors associated with dentists working in the city of Cuenca - Ecuador. Materials and methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out in 240 dentists enrolled in the Azuay Provincial Health Directorate of the city of Cuenca-Ecuador until 2015. The Kuorinka questionnaire was used to determine musculoskeletal symptoms. A form was created with sociodemographic variables and pain characteristics to establish statistical associations. The information was processed in the statistical package SPSS version 22. Results: 58.7% corresponded to the female sex. The average age was 37 years with an SD of 11.6. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain was 73.3%, being located in more than one anatomical region. 90.3% attributed the pain to work causes. The factors associated with pain were: female sex, sedentary lifestyle, work in the public sector and workload greater than 30 hours per week. Musculoskeletal pain in dentists is statistically associated to: female sex (OR= 2.60, 95% CI= 1.35 – 4.99, p= 0.004), sedentary lifestyle (OR= 2.42, 95% CI= 1,20 – 4.89, p= 0.013), practice in the public area (OR= 2.97, IC 95%= 1.26 – 6.99, p= 0.012) and workload greater than 30 hours per week (OR= 2.21, IC 95%= 1.15 – 4.21, p= 0.017). Conclusions: the practice of dental practice is a risk factor for the generation of musculoskeletal disorders