Mental Health Levels and Incidence of Musculoskeletal Complaints among Speed Boat Crew Members

BACKGROUND: The occupational health is an important issue. In some jobs, the working conditions contribute to musculoskeletal complaints and the overall health of the individual is compromised. Musculoskeletal complaints have gained credence in the public as one of the most important problems in the field of occupational diseases. Physical and mental health of crew members with critical jobs and stressful environments must be considered as well. OBJECTIVES: This study performed an assessment on levels of mental health and the correlation with the frequency of accompanying musculoskeletal complaints (such as neck, back and knee pain) of crew members of speed boats. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 149 onboard crew members of speed boats were recruited in a descriptive-correlation study by nonrandom sampling using conducted GHQ12, NMQ and demographic questionnaires. RESULTS: Although 63.8% (95 people) had what is conventionally defined as normal mental health, 36.2% (54 cases) had an inherent mental health condition. Overall, 61.1% (91 cases) suffered from back pain, 60.4% (90 cases) complained of knee pain, and 40.3% (60 patients) complained of neck pain. The combination of knee and back pain (48.3%) were the most common complaints whereas the combination of neck and knee pain (31.5%) were the least frequent; 28.2% complained of pain in all three areas. Interestingly, there was correlation between the presence of musculoskeletal complaints and less than optimum mental health. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the high number of musculoskeletal complaints and the compromised mental health conditions among one-third of the onboard crew members of speed boats, attention for maintaining and improving the health of these members must be considered.