Abstract:
Objective To examine the prevalence of long working hours, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), and sleep disturbances among workers in the metal products industry and to assess the impact of long working hours on WMSDs and sleep disturbances.
Methods During August and September 2022, a total of 5 193 workers from 117 metal products manufacturing enterprises in Guangdong Province were recruited by stratified cluster random sampling. WMSDs and sleep disturbances were assessed using the Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire and the Self-Rating Sleep Scale, respectively. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of long working hours on WMSDs and sleep disturbances.
Results Among these workers, 61.72% (3 205/5 193) worked long hours, and the prevalence of WMSDs and sleep disturbances was 47.02% (2 442/5 193) and 20.41% (1 060/5 193), respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that (1) after adjusting for potential confounders including age, education level, enterprise size, enterprise type, prolonged desk work with head-down or forward-leaning sitting posture, prolonged static postures, social support, job autonomy, and depressive tendencies, weekly working hours remained an independent risk factor for WMSDs (
P<0.05). Compared with the ≤ 40 hours group, workers in the 41 to 44, 45 to 48, 49 to 54, and ≥ 55 hours groups showed elevated risks of WMSDs (OR=1.370, 1.382, 1.612, and 1.627, respectively; all
P<0.05). (2) After adjusting for potential confounders including gender, prolonged desk work with head-down or forward-leaning sitting posture, high-intensity repetitive force exertion, job autonomy, depressive tendencies, and anxiety, the weekly working hours remained an independent risk factor for sleep disturbances (
P<0.05). Compared with the ≤ 40 hours group, workers in the 45 to 48 and 49 to 54 hours groups showed elevated risks of sleep disturbances (OR = 1.355 and 1.343, respectively; both
P<0.05).
Conclusions Long working hours increased the risk of WMSDs and sleep disturbances among metal products industry workers. These findings suggested that enterprises should optimize working hour management and arrange reasonable work schedules to protect worker health.