Prevalence and factors associated with musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) refer to injuries or conditions affecting muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, or spinal discs, as defined by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (1). They typically result from the overuse of muscles, joints, nerves, tendons, and soft tissues (2). MSDs are a common health issue, particularly among computer workers (3). They impact workers’ health and productivity (4), leading to absenteeism, disability, and compensation claims (5). The prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among computer workers is widespread worldwide (6). The use of computers in work activities such as mouse clicking, keyboard typing, and screen viewing can cause musculoskeletal injuries and health problems (7). The neck and lower back are the most commonly affected body areas by MSDs (8,9). Some studies have found that women have a higher incidence of musculoskeletal complaints compared to men (10,11). Among computer workers, women have higher rates of musculoskeletal complaints in areas such as the neck, shoulders, and hands compared to men (12). Women also report a significantly higher number of complaints related to shoulder issues compared to men (13). However, there are also studies suggesting that men are more susceptible to musculoskeletal complaints (14).

There are numerous and complex risk factors contributing to musculoskeletal complaints. Age and previous history of illness have been identified as significant factors in triggering musculoskeletal complaints (15,16), as the aging process and pre-existing health conditions may increase an individual’s risk of developing MSDs. Research has shown a significant association between sleep quality, sleep duration, and musculoskeletal complaints (4,15). Poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep duration can prevent the body from obtaining adequate rest and recovery, thereby increasing the likelihood of experiencing MSDs. Additionally, an increase in daily computer usage time has been found to significantly elevate the risk of MSDs (8,11). Prolonged computer work has been closely linked to musculoskeletal complaints related to the neck (8,15), shoulders (13), upper back and lower back (8), as well as the arms (17). The muscles and joints in these areas endure prolonged repetitive movements and strain from poor posture, gradually leading to musculoskeletal fatigue and injury. Furthermore, body mass index (BMI) (4), and work stress (4) have also been shown to be associated with the occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints.

The industrial designer population is a significant professional field, playing a critical role in product development and design processes. According to information released by the China Industrial Design Association, as of February 28, 2022, there were 11,211 industrial design companies in China, marking an increase of 5,000 companies within just 1 year (18). China boasts approximately 17 million designers, among whom 5.61 million are specifically involved in industrial design (19). Industrial designers heavily rely on computer usage in their work. Industrial designers face high demands as they engage in creative work, which is different from many employees who frequently use computers. Industrial designers often spend long hours sitting, facing computer screens, and frequently using keyboards and mice. Chinese industrial designers have a high workload, working long hours daily and frequently working overtime (20). Additionally, while industrial designers often complain about their sleep quality, there is a lack of relevant statistical data. Industrial designers have a profession that involves long periods in fixed postures, which can easily lead to posture-related fatigue and overexertion, resulting in neck and lower back disorders (21). Various MSDs cause prolonged suffering, not only reducing their work efficiency but also impacting their lives (22). If these MSDs are not promptly addressed, they may lead to more severe health issues.

Although some research has examined the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints and related risk factors among other computer workers (government and bank workers) (12,23), workers of public service institutions (13), newspaper office workers (7) and general computer workers (15,24), the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints and associated factors among industrial designers has not been studied. Industrial designers, although belonging to the category of computer workers, have unique characteristics in their work and lifestyle. Therefore, gaining in-depth knowledge of the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints and related risk factors among Chinese industrial designers is crucial for the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies. This study focuses on Chinese industrial designers, who are a population that has not received much attention in previous research. The objectives of this study are:

• To determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in different body areas among Chinese industrial designers.
• To identify risk factors contributing to musculoskeletal complaints.

We made the following two assumptions:

• Prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers is high, and the prevalence varies by body part.
• The risk factors of musculoskeletal complaints are different for different body parts.

We present this article in accordance with the STROBE reporting checklist (available at https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jphe-24-70/rc).

Methods

We conducted cross-sectional surveys to complete the objectives of the study. Questionnaires was used to collect data both online and offline. Offline recruitment was conducted in Jinan, Shandong Province, and online recruitment was open to industrial designers across China. The online tool was ‘Wenjuanxing’. The survey commenced in September 2022 and concluded in January 2023.

Participants

The survey participants of this study were Chinese industrial designers who were currently employed. They need to have a minimum of 1 year of experience working as industrial designers and use computers to complete their creative work. Their age should be between 18 and 60 years old, with no pregnancy or lactation, no recent injuries or surgery, and no mental illnesses.

Sample size is calculated using

n=z2p(1−p)e2[1]

In which, Z=1.96 [95% confidence interval (CI)], e=0.05. There is a large population but that we do not know the variability in the proportion; therefore, assume p=0.5 (maximum variability). Therefore n=384. Considering the possibility of encountering unusable questionnaires, it is reasonable to increase the number of participants by 20%, resulting in a minimum target of 460 completed questionnaires. This survey used convenience sampling. Prior to participation, all participants received detailed information about the study, including its purpose, significance, methods, and survey content. Participants provided informed consent by signing a consent form after fully understanding and agreeing to participate, ensuring their rights were protected. We have obtained permission from the Center for Sleep and Circadian Science at the University of Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013). The study was approved by Jawatankuasa Etika Penyelidikan Manusia (Human Research Ethics Committee Universiti Sains Malaysia) and the number of the approval is USM/JEPeM/PP/23120990. The informed consent was obtained from all individual participants.

The online questionnaire was generated by “Wenjuanxing”, which was open to responses from everyone. The researchers created study posters and printed invitations and informed consent forms. Participant recruitment was conducted in two phases: offline and online recruitment. The researchers applied to industrial design companies or industrial design departments of different enterprises, introducing the study’s purpose, significance, survey methods, and potential risks to department heads. Thirty-five companies or departments agreed to the survey request. The researchers distributed study invitations (with informed consent) to the industrial designers during their break times, which included a pamphlet with a questionnaire link and a QR code. A total of 525 invitations were issued during offline recruitment, and 200 questionnaires were returned (response rate =38.1%). Following this, the online recruitment phase began. Posters with the questionnaire link were posted on industrial design forums and social media, allowing interested industrial designers to complete the survey online. A total of 294 questionnaires were collected from online recruitment.

Instruments

The survey questionnaire used in this study consisted of four sections: (I) introduction; (II) demographic information; (III) PSQI; and (IV) Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ). Each section is described in detail below.

The Introduction section provided a detailed overview of the study’s title, objectives, and the content summary of the subsequent three sections. Participants were informed that the survey was expected to take approximately 6 to 15 minutes to complete. The introduction contains information about informed consent. Participants will be aware that the data collected in this survey will only be used for scientific research, and their information will be treated confidentially, with no personal identifiers being disclosed. Participants are informed that they can voluntarily choose to participate in the survey or decline to participate. Participants must select their agreement before participating in the survey questionnaire. If they have any questions about the survey, they can contact the researcher via email or telephone.

The demographic information section collected participants’ personal basic information through multiple-choice questions, including gender, age, work experience, job responsibility, education level, work time weekly, computer work time daily, overtime worked days weekly, BMI, and exercise time weekly. The information helped to characterize the participants’ demographic and background information.

The PSQI is a widely used self-rated questionnaire for assessing the sleep quality of the subjects over the past month. It was developed in 1993 and has been extensively used in research and clinical practice for evaluating sleep quality in different populations, including individuals with sleep disorders, mental disorders, and the general population (25). A total of 18 items are organized into 7 components, including subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. Each item is scored on a range from 0 to 3, and the total score is obtained by summing the scores of each item, ranging from 0 to 21. A lower total score indicates better sleep quality, while a higher total score suggests poorer sleep quality. The PSQI is easy to use and reliable, and the PSQI translated into Chinese has demonstrated good reliability and validity and has been widely used in many studies (26,27). This study utilized the Chinese version of the PSQI.

The NMQ is a widely used standardized questionnaire for assessing musculoskeletal symptoms and occupational health environment in ergonomics. Originally published in 1987, the questionnaire was designed to investigate whether individuals experience musculoskeletal discomfort and symptoms related to their work environment (28). The NMQ focuses on nine body regions: neck, shoulder, upper back, elbows, low back, wrists/hands, hips/thighs, knees, and ankles/feet. Participants were asked to indicate whether they have experienced symptoms (such as pain or discomfort) related to these body regions in the past 12 months and whether these symptoms affected their daily work. The NMQ uses a positive case criterion to determine the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms, which is based on the occurrence of symptoms and their impact on work. The design and development of the NMQ questionnaire aim to provide a standardised and comparable method for evaluating work-related MSDs. By collecting information on participants’ musculoskeletal symptoms, researchers can identify potential occupational health issues and implement appropriate interventions. The Chinese version of the NMQ used in the present study has been shown to have high test-retest reliability, with a Kappa coefficient of 0.72–1.00 (29).

Data analysis

In this study, data analysis was performed using SPSS for Windows v. 26.0 software (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Questionnaires with incomplete responses was excluded. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied to the demographic information, PSQI results and NMQ results. The analysis included frequency, percentage, mean (M), and standard deviation (SD) to present the study findings. The Mantel-Haenszel chi-squared test was conducted to assess whether there were significant differences in the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints between genders. Additionally, multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to explore the influencing factors of musculoskeletal complaints in different body regions. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) along with a 95% CI to quantify the association strength between each risk factor and the occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints. Before conducting logistic regression analysis, we used independent samples t-tests and chi-squared tests to determine if each individual factor was significantly associated with the occurrence of musculoskeletal complaints in specific body parts. Factors that did not show statistical significance were excluded from the logistic regression analysis. We also performed collinearity checks, and factors exhibiting severe multicollinearity were also excluded. In the statistical analysis, a significance level of P≤0.05 was considered statistically significant to determine the statistical significance of the study results. This criterion is widely recognized as indicating statistical significance.

Results

In total, 494 industrial designers participated in the study and 471 industrial designers finished questionnaires. After excluding samples with problematic data quality, the final valid sample size was 446 (Figure 1). The results of this study showed that the gender ratio of the participants was approximately 6:5, with a slightly higher proportion of males. About 79.8% of the participants were aged 35 or below, indicating that the majority of the participants were young industrial designers. Furthermore, 92.4% of the participants had work experience of less than 6 years (Table 1). In terms of education level, 65.7% of the participants had a bachelor’s degree or above, reflecting a relatively high educational level among Chinese industrial designers.

Figure 1 Data collection flowchart.

The study findings revealed that Chinese industrial designers had high work intensity. Over one-third of the participants were involved in or fully responsible for design management work. 90.4% of Chinese industrial designers worked more than 40 hours per week, with 32.5% of industrial designers working over 60 hours per week. Industrial designers heavily relied on computers for their work, as all industrial designers used computers for more than 2 hours per day, with 72.9% of industrial designers using computers for 6 hours or longer each day. Overtime work was also common, with only 7.4% of industrial designers not required to work overtime. Additionally, Chinese industrial designers had limited weekly exercise time, with only 17.5% of individuals exercising for 2 hours or more per week. Furthermore, 48.7% of industrial designers faced overweight or obesity issues.

According to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) results, the average score of Chinese industrial designers was 6.71±1.48. Additionally, based on Question 4 of the PSQI, the average daily sleep time of Chinese industrial designers was 7.98±1.48 hours.

Chinese industrial designers had a high prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints, with the most commonly reported areas of discomfort being the wrist/hands, lower back, and shoulders, with complaint frequencies exceeding 45% for each area (Figure 2). There were differences observed between genders. Female industrial designers had significantly higher complaint frequencies for the neck, lower back, and hips/thighs compared to males, while males were more prone to experiencing issues related to the shoulders, wrist/hands, elbows, and ankles (Table 2).

Figure 2 The prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in nine body regions among Chinese designers over the past 12 months.

In the logistic regression analysis of wrists/hands musculoskeletal complaints, which included gender, job responsibility, computer work time daily, overtime worked days weekly, BMI, sleep time, and PSQI, the results are shown in Table 3. Females had a lower probability of developing wrists/hands musculoskeletal complaints (OR =0.376, 95% CI: 0.177–0.799, P=0.01). Industrial designers with managerial responsibilities had a significantly lower likelihood of developing wrists/hands musculoskeletal complaints compared to those without managerial responsibilities (OR =0.527, 95% CI: 0.304–0.914, P=0.02). With an increase in daily computer work hours (OR =2.843, 95% CI: 1.614–5.008, P<0.001 for 6–8 hours, OR =11.411, 95% CI: 1.609–10.482, P<0.001 for ≥9 hours) and weekly overtime frequency (OR =4.107, 95% CI: 1.609–10.482, P=0.003 for 1–2 times, OR =5.153, 95% CI: 1.169–22.715, P=0.03 for 5–7 times), the probability of developing wrists/hands musculoskeletal complaints also increased. Industrial designers with longer sleep durations had a lower likelihood of musculoskeletal complaints in their wrists/hands (OR =0.640, 95% CI: 0.478–0.858, P=0.003).

In the logistic regression analysis of lower back musculoskeletal complaints, which included gender, age, job responsibility, overtime worked days weekly, sleep time, and PSQI, the results are shown in Table 4. Being female was a risk factor for lower back musculoskeletal complaints (OR =2.684, 95% CI: 1.206–5.973, P=0.016). Industrial designers aged 41 years and above had a significantly higher likelihood of developing lower back musculoskeletal complaints than those aged 25 years and below (OR =13.549, 95% CI: 1.336–137.353, P=0.03). Managerial responsibilities (OR =15.399, 95% CI: 8.364–28.352, P<0.001) and PSQI scores (OR =1.265, 95% CI: 1.129–1.418, P<0.001) were risk factors. Industrial designers with longer sleep durations had a lower likelihood of musculoskeletal complaints in their lower back (OR =0.692, 95% CI: 0.525–0.914, P=0.009). In the logistic regression analysis of shoulders, which included gender, job responsibility, computer work time daily, sleep time, and PSQI (Table 5), managerial responsibilities (OR =9.694, 95% CI: 5.258–17.873, P<0.001) and PSQI scores (OR =1.773, 95% CI: 1.484–2.119, P<0.001) were risk factors. Industrial designers who worked on a computer daily for 6–8 hours had more than twice the probability of developing shoulder musculoskeletal complaints compared to those working 3–5 hours (OR =2.880, 95% CI: 1.649–5.029, P<0.001), and those working 9 hours or more had more than four times the probability (OR =4.363, 95% CI: 2.379–8.001, P<0.001).

Discussion

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in different body regions among Chinese industrial designers in the past twelve months and identify the associated risk factors. The findings revealed a high prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers, with notable differences between males and females. Moreover, different factors exhibited varying impacts on musculoskeletal complaints, targeting specific body regions. A detailed discussion of these findings will be presented in the following sections.

Chinese industrial designers face high work intensity, manifested by the percentage of industrial designers working over 40 hours per week (90.4% of industrial designers) and the frequency of overtime work (92.8% of industrial designers). Extra work hours can increase the risk of musculoskeletal complaints, a finding observed not only among manual laborers (30), but also among office workers (31). In the impact of work intensification on musculoskeletal complaints, work stress has been found to mediate the effect (32). Additionally, insufficient rest time resulting from this also contributes to an increased risk of musculoskeletal complaints (33). Chinese industrial designers have exceptionally long working hours, surpassing many other professions (30,33,34), making their work duration a significant factor. In their work, they need to use computers for information search, communication, and the completion of design projects (35-37). The duration of daily computer usage has been shown to increase the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints, as evidenced in previous studies (38,39). For Chinese industrial designers, their daily computer usage exceeds that of many computer workers (4,8), making this an important factor that cannot be overlooked. Overtime worked days and computer work time do indeed increase the risk of musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers, and specific discussions on this will follow for particular body areas.

Chinese industrial designers have a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in various body parts compared to many other types of computer workers. In the case of wrist/hands, the musculoskeletal complaints prevalence is 56.7%, significantly higher than reported results in other computer workers: 26.3% (13), 20% (40), 31.5% (41), 42.6% (42). Similarly, for the lower back, the prevalence is 47.1%, exceeding the prevalence among other computer workers: 34% (40), 6.6% (41), 16.8% (15). As for the shoulder region, the prevalence is 46%, also higher than reported results in other studies: 20.3% (13), 16% (40), 32.0% (42). However, there are similarities between industrial designers and other computer workers regarding susceptible body parts. Wrist/hands (13), lower back (9), and shoulder (13) are also problem areas for other computer workers. In addition to factors such as age and working hours, which are common to other professions, the risk factors contributing to musculoskeletal complaints among computer workers also include prolonged sitting, computer usage duration, and the postures adopted when using devices such as mice and keyboards (22). Chinese industrial designers have a similar working environment, but they tend to work longer hours and use computers for extended periods (4,8,33,34), which suggests that they should have a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in the wrists/hands, lower back, and shoulders.

The results indicate that female industrial designers are more susceptible to musculoskeletal complaints in the neck, hips/thighs and lower back. The results of this study indicate that male industrial designers are more susceptible to musculoskeletal complaints in the shoulder, wrist/hands, elbows, and ankles. Gender differences have been observed in many musculoskeletal complaint studies. Female university students tend to report a higher prevalence of MSD complaints in all body regions compared to male university students (11). In a study of computer workers, females had a higher complaint rate in the neck but lower complaint rates in the shoulders and hands compared to males (12), which aligns with our findings. Another study found that females had a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in the neck, shoulders, upper back, and ankles (40), although this study included office workers without specific focus on computer workers. A study not limited to specific occupations found that females had a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in the lower back, neck, and shoulders (43). Gender is indeed a risk factor for musculoskeletal complaints, but its impact varies between genders due to different job demands and working environments. The gender differences among Chinese industrial designers are similar to those observed in computer workers but with distinctions. The work of industrial designers shares similarities with general computer workers, including prolonged sitting (44) and extensive use of computer equipment (6). However, industrial designers face higher work intensity than general computer workers, reflected in longer working hours and more demanding job requirements. According to the results of this study, industrial designers work longer hours each day and have more frequent weekly overtime compared to general computer workers (15). The job of an industrial designer demands high levels of creativity (45), as they must meet client requirements while considering factors such as cost, production, and marketing (46). Unlike other computer workers, industrial designers rely on computers to create two-dimensional or three-dimensional graphics, which requires significant physical and mental effort (47). We speculate that the nature of industrial designers’ work, compared to many other computer-based occupations, places unique stress on the musculoskeletal system.

We conducted regression analyses for the three body regions with the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints (wrists/hands, lower back, and shoulders) to explore the factors contributing to an increased risk of musculoskeletal complaints. Wrists/hands have the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers, which is associated with their prolonged use of computer equipment (39). A meta-analysis revealed that computer workers are more prone to developing carpal tunnel syndrome compared to individuals in other professions, due to the prolonged use of computers which burdens the wrists and hands (48). Increased workload and job responsibilities further elevate the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome (49). Designers are more susceptible to wrists/hands issues (50) because they use the mouse and keyboard more intensively than computer administrative personnel, k, which increases the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome (51). The risk of musculoskeletal complaints in wrists/hands increases with longer daily computer usage (39,52). Increased computer usage time also raises the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in the shoulders of Chinese industrial designers, a common trend among computer workers (53). In light of these findings, the adoption of more ergonomic equipment may offer relief, especially when it's challenging to reduce computer usage time. One study found that improved mouse designs reduced discomfort in the upper limbs and neck (52).

Many studies have established a significant relationship between sleep and musculoskeletal complaints. Our survey results among Chinese industrial designers support this conclusion. Increased sleep duration (4) and improved sleep quality (54,55) have been associated with reduced MSDs risk, whereas insufficient sleep can lead to fatigue and increase the risk of MSDs (56). According to the Annual Sleep Report of China 2023, Chinese industrial designers have an average sleep duration above the average but lower-than-average sleep quality (57). Therefore, Chinese industrial designers should pay attention to their sleep quality, considering its impact on MSDs.

In various professions, females tend to report a higher prevalence of lower back musculoskeletal complaints, including higher education employees (58,59), university students (11) and computer workers (13). Similarly, Chinese female industrial designers are at a higher risk of lower back musculoskeletal complaints. While age did not exhibit significance in wrists/hands and shoulders, it did increase the prevalence of lower back musculoskeletal complaints. Higher age is often associated with a higher proportion of lower back pain complaints (9,15). This is because aging leads to the loss of skeletal muscle mass, reductions in muscle contraction strength, and decreases in muscle fiber contractile properties and muscle innervation. For workers who spend long hours in a seated position, their lower back is more susceptible to these physiological changes (15).

Job responsibilities have also been found to be associated with musculoskeletal complaints. A study found that nursing unit managers had a higher likelihood of experiencing lower back and shoulder pain symptoms (60), consistent with our findings. The study found that mental exhaustion at the end of the workday and stressful factors in the work environment were correlated with musculoskeletal complaints. Although managers may not increase their direct involvement in design projects and could even reduce the time spent on them, their work-related stress has increased. A study of middle managers found that workplace stressors and insufficient sleep jointly explained 21% of the total variation in shoulder and 14% in lower back pain intensity (61). However, for wrists/hands, managers seem to have an advantage. Few previous studies in other professions have shown similar results. We speculate that industrial designers without managerial tasks have reduced their time spent using design software, which requires high-intensity work from wrists and hands. This should be a significant contributing factor to the discomfort experienced by industrial designers in their wrists and arms. Further research may be needed in the future to better understand the impact of managerial responsibilities on the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers.

In summary, Chinese industrial designers face a significant issue with musculoskeletal complaints, particularly in the wrist/hands, lower back, and shoulder. The prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers is higher compared to other computer workers. There are notable differences between males and females regarding musculoskeletal complaints, so they should pay attention to different body parts. In order to address MSDs, ensuring an adequate amount of sleep should be the top priority (62). Industrial designers with managerial responsibilities should pay special attention to stress management and ensuring the quality of their sleep to reduce the likelihood of MSDs. Although reducing computer usage time at work may be challenging, industrial designers can reduce screen time during leisure activities (63) and incorporate regular exercise (4) into their lives. As individuals age, the likelihood of experiencing musculoskeletal complaints increases, which is common among computer workers (16,42,64). Therefore, older industrial designers should pay more attention to their health and maintain good lifestyle habits.

The study reveals the current status of musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers and identifies some important related factors. However, there are still certain limitations to this study. This is a cross-sectional survey study, which has certain limitations regarding the representativeness of the sample and the objectivity of the data. Since the study sample consisted of volunteers, including online volunteers, individuals with MSDs were more likely to participate in the survey than those without such conditions, potentially leading to an overestimation of the overall prevalence. The assessment of musculoskeletal complaints relies on self-reported data from the participants, which may introduce subjective biases. To enhance the objectivity and accuracy of the data, future research could consider using physiological data collection devices to gather objective data for analysis and optimize the way the sample is extracted (6). Although this study shows some associations, it cannot explain the causal relationships among them. Further experimental research is needed to explore these causal relationships, which will be an important direction for future studies. The work environment and psychological factors of industrial designers also need to be considered in future research. While the study mentions gender differences and some factors related to musculoskeletal complaints, it does not delve into individual differences and the interactions between multiple factors affecting musculoskeletal complaints. Future research could consider incorporating more potential factors and studying the complex relationships among these factors. Moreover, qualitative research methods such as interviews were not employed in this study, which are important for in-depth exploration of the causes behind the issues. Lastly, the study only investigates the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints within the past twelve months, lacking long-term tracking data to understand the developmental trends of musculoskeletal complaints and changes in influencing factors. Future research could employ a longitudinal study design to track the musculoskeletal health of industrial designers and explore the impact of long-term factors.

Conclusions

This study investigated the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in different body regions among Chinese industrial designers within the past twelve months, as well as the associated risk factors. The findings indicate that Chinese industrial designers face significant musculoskeletal health issues, with higher musculoskeletal complaints prevalence compared to many other professions. The highest prevalence was observed in the wrist/hands, lower back, and shoulder, all exceeding 45%. There were notable gender differences in musculoskeletal complaints prevalence, with males being more susceptible to wrist/hand and shoulder issues, while females were more prone to neck, lower back, and hips/thighs issues. This suggests that males and females should prioritize different body regions for attention. Adequate sleep time and good sleep quality are helpful in reducing musculoskeletal complaints, while daily computer usage increases the likelihood of musculoskeletal complaints. Managerial responsibilities and increasing age also play a role in musculoskeletal complaints. This study fills a research gap in the field of musculoskeletal complaints among industrial designers, identifying risk factors for musculoskeletal complaints among Chinese industrial designers and providing valuable insights for the prevention of musculoskeletal complaints in this population.

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Reporting Checklist: The authors have completed the STROBE reporting checklist. Available at https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jphe-24-70/rc

Data Sharing Statement: Available at https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jphe-24-70/dss

Peer Review File: Available at https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jphe-24-70/prf

Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jphe-24-70/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013). The study was approved by Jawatankuasa Etika Penyelidikan Manusia (Human Research Ethics Committee Universiti Sains Malaysia) and the number of the approval is USM/JEPeM/PP/23120990. The informed consent was obtained from all individual participants.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

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