Sintomas osteomusculares em taxistas de Rio Branco, Acre: prevalência e fatores associados

Osteomuscular symptoms on motorcycles in the city of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil, West Amazon

ABSTRACT

Musculoskeletal disorders gradually affect workers in different parts of the world, compromising their occupational health and quality of life. Professionals exposed to these symptoms include the motorcycle taxi driver, whose pain is due to the overuse of the musculoskeletal system and little time to recover it.To identify the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in motorcycle taxi drivers in the city of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil, West Amazon.Cross-sectional study, involving 296 motorcycle taxi drivers in the city of Rio Branco-Acre, Brazil, male, from December 2016 to February 2017. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to collect information related to symptoms (pain, discomfort, or numbness) in the last 7 days of work. For the exclusion criteria were, being female; not reside outside the city of Rio Branco, Acre; having less than 3 months of work activity; not be carrying out their work activities at the time of application of the protocol; be limited by clinical or physical issues at the time of application of the protocol. The data obtained in the questionnaire were entered into the Epidata program (Epidata Association, Odense, Denmark) and then transferred to the STATA 10 statistical program (Stata Corp., College Station), for categorization and statistical analysis.The study population is over 36 years old; most reported having a partner and a higher education level. The average daily working hours of the participants were 12 hours, with the majority working over 12 hours daily. Most of the epidemiological variables factors were associated with musculoskeletal pain when the prevalence and prevalence ratio analyzes were performed. Higher prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the lumbar region is with 17.9%. In the lower limbs, the most affected joint was the ankle (5.7%), followed by the hip (5.07%) and knee (5.07%), respectively. Insomnia was present in 55.35% and self-reported headache in 49.4% of participants.The musculoskeletal disorders generated by the daily service of motorcycle taxi drivers are directly affecting the quality of life of these professionals.

Comparison of Quality of Life and Work Ability of Taxi and Motorcycle Taxi Drivers: Evidence from Brazil

Urban transport drivers, specifically taxi and motorcycle taxi drivers, are exposed to particular environmental, societal, and health situations related to their occupation. To compare work capacity and quality of life of taxi and motorcycle taxi drivers, and correlate quality of life and work ability, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 232 motorcycle taxi drivers and 60 male taxi drivers in urban cities of Brazil. Three instruments were used for evaluation: a questionnaire on sociodemographic and occupational issues, the Work Capacity Index (WCI), and the WHOQOL-bref (World Health Organization Quality of Life⁻Bref). Taxi drivers presented better evaluation scores in the physical and psychological domains and general quality of life (QOL) (p < 0.01), and better self-perceived work ability (lower physical and mental demands, fewer diagnosed diseases, less incapacity for professional practice, p < 0.001). In addition, there was a positive relationship between QOL and WCI (p = 0.001). Motorcycle taxi drivers had worse self-perceived QOL and of work ability, and there was a positive correlation between QOL and work ability.

Fatores associados à autopercepção de saúde em taxistas

RESUMO Objetivou-se neste estudo analisar a associação dos fatores sociodemográficos, ocupacionais, comportamentos de risco e relacionados à saúde com a autopercepção da saúde de taxistas. Trata-se de um estudo transversal realizado com 100 taxistas da cidade de Jequié (BA). Foi utilizado um questionário composto por variáveis sociodemográficas, ocupacionais, comportamentais e de saúde. Para a verificação da associação das variáveis independentes com a percepção de saúde, foi utilizado o teste qui-quadrado de Pearson, adotando-se o intervalo de confiança de 95%. A frequência da percepção positiva de saúde foi de 73,0%, sendo encontradas associações estatisticamente significativas entre percepção negativa de saúde e indivíduos com oito anos ou menos de estudo (p=0,033), tempo de serviço >10 anos (p=0,003), qualidade do sono ruim (p=0,006), sensação de cansaço físico e mental ao final de um dia de trabalho (p=0,002 e p=0,006, respectivamente) e índice de capacidade para o trabalho classificado como moderado e bom (p=0,016 e p=0,000, respectivamente). A autopercepção negativa de saúde em taxistas apresentou associação com indivíduos que possuíam oito anos ou menos de estudo, elevado tempo de serviço, qualidade de sono ruim, sensação de cansaço físico e mental, e capacidade para o trabalho moderada e boa; o que sugere a necessidade de investimentos em ações de educação em saúde voltadas para esses profissionais com o intuito de fomentar o interesse pelo cuidado da própria saúde.