Do psychosocial factors mediate the appearance of musculoskeletal symptoms? Evidence of an empirical study about the role of mental workload in computer workers.

María Soria-Oliver,Fermín Torrano,Guillermo García-González,Jorge S López

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252179

Abstract

The emergence of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSSs) in computer workers is a relevant occupational health problem. This study tests a multilevel model of analysis of risk factors in the appearance of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort in computer workers that integrates indicators from different areas: temporal usage patterns, ergonomic factors, psychosocial factors, and individual variables, specifically testing the possible mediating role of the mental workload. A cross-sectional study was performed through online registration with a non-probabilistic sample of 1198 workers from Spanish organizations. The results show that mental workload has a higher association than the rest of the factors with the onset of pain and discomfort in various body areas: neck in men, neck, shoulders and upper back in women. They also support the mediation role of mental workload in the relationship between usage patterns and the appearance of musculoskeletal symptoms. The use of multilevel theoretical models that adequately consider the complexity of the relationships between the different risk factors is necessary for a better understanding and intervention on MSSs in computer workers.

Highlights

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) have made the computer an essential work element across all activity sectors and business-size classes [1, 2]
principal component factor analysis (PCFA) was performed in this case to generate a single factor, in order to retain the factorial score obtained as an Mental Workload (MWL) measure for further analysis
The fact that our work has focused on the use of two specific devices, laptop and desktop computers, which have shown a higher relationship with the incidence of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSSs) in the work environment; but we did not cover the full range of ICT devices that has been incorporated into the work setting and whose analysis will require further study

Summary

Introduction

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) have made the computer an essential work element across all activity sectors and business-size classes [1, 2]. Among the different consequences that have been associated with this increasing computer usage is the appearance of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSSs) and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Some reviews in the first decade of the 21st century already highlighted the greater incidence of de MSDs in computer workers and defended that computer use was a risk factor for the appearance of MSDs and MSs [3,4,5]. More recent reviews are cautious about establishing direct causal links between computer usage and the emergence of MSS and MSDs, noting the limited level of evidence and the inconsistency of the findings [6,7,8].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion