Quantification of Musculoskeletal Discomfort among Automobile Garage Workers: A Cross-sectional Analytical Study in Chetla, Kolkata, West Bengal

Introduction: The automobile industry is a large and growing industry in India and this industry employs many workers as manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and automobile garage workers. Automobile garage workers suffer from many health problems among which Musculoskeletal Discomfort (MSD) is very common. Aim: To find the proportion of MSD among automobile garage workers in Chetla, Kolkata and to describe the factors associated with the musculoskeletal discomfort. Materials and Methods: The study was a work place based, observational study with cross-sectional design. The study was conducted among 101 automobile garage workers at nine automobile garages of Chetla, Kolkata. A pre-designed, pre-tested structured schedule was used to collect data. The outcome variable was MSD and it was assessed using Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ). MSD score was categorised into mild, moderate and severe discomfort. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS Software version 16. Results: Around one-third (30.7%) study participants belonged to the age group 41-50 years with mean (SD) age 43.35 (13.46) years. Knee discomfort was present among 42% study participants while 21% had low back pain according to CMDQ tool. Around three fourth (73.3%) study participants had at least one kind of MSD and around 46.6% had moderate to severe musculoskeletal discomfort. MSD was significantly associated with increasing age and increasing duration of working hours per week in univariate and multivariable logistic regression. Conclusion: The proportion of musculoskeletal discomfort among automobile workers was quite high. Early diagnosis and regular screening of MSD is very much needed to introduce appropriate preventive and treatment measures at appropriate time.