Avaliação dimensional dos sintomas osteomusculares autorrelatados por trabalhadores estudo multicaso

Abstract

Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMD) are medical conditions that affect muscles, tendons, nerves, and other parts of the human body due to various work-related risk factors. Currently, they are the leading causes of work absenteeism in Brazil. In recent years, a wide variety of visual analogue scales and human body diagrams have been used in an attempt to identify the symptoms. These diagrams can also be used to generate metrics of musculoskeletal discomfort. However, there is no consensus on the number of discomfort dimensions that can originate from self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms by individuals. Thus, this study aimed to test the fit of self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms by two samples of workers using models with different dimensionalities. For this purpose, samples of workers (n1 with 6,944 and n2 with 420 individuals) had their symptoms identified with the aid of a human body diagram. The analyses were performed using the methods of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Unidimensional and Multidimensional Item Response Theory (IRT). As results, the unidimensional model (general musculoskeletal discomfort), the bidimensional model (discomfort in the upper and lower body), and the tridimensional model (discomfort in the upper limbs, lower limbs, and trunk) showed good factor loading and communality values, as well as satisfactory item discrimination power. Regardless of the sample sizes, the estimation of IRT and SEM parameters occurred without issues, presenting good fit parameters. It is concluded that multiple reliable discomfort scores can be captured from the same individual, contributing to a better management of musculoskeletal symptoms.