Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers from urban and rural areas in Chuquisaca, Bolivia: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are important health problems in working populations. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of MSD among school teachers from urban and rural areas in Chuquisaca, Bolivia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 60 randomly selected schools. In total, 1062 teachers were invited to participate (response 58%). The Spanish version of the Standardized Nordic questionnaire was used assessing the 12-months and 7-days prevalence of MSD as well as the 12-months prevalence of work limiting pain. Prevalence were calculated for the different parts of the body; as summary measures, MSD in any part of the body and in ≥3 parts of the body were assessed. Crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using logistic regression models adjusting for age, sex, teaching level and school type. RESULTS: Prevalence of MSD in any part of the body was 86% during the last 12 months, 63% during the last 7 days and 15% for work limiting pain. MSD was most common in the neck (12-months prevalence 47%) and least common in the wrist/hands (26%). In the adjusted model, teachers working in rural areas presented significantly higher odds than teachers from urban schools for work-limiting pain during the last 12-months considering any part of the body (aOR 2.2; 95% CI 1.1–4.1), and for ≥3 parts of the body (aOR 3.7; 95% CI 1.3–10.6). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MSD is high in School teachers, even more in teachers working in rural areas. It is needed to identify risk factors for MSD in teachers in order to propose appropriate strategies to control and reduce it. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12891-017-1785-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.