Objective: To determine the frequency and factors associated with medicine consumption and consultations with family physicians due to musculoskeletal pain in fishery workers.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study (n = 929). The variables analyzed consisted of sociodemographic factors, the frequency of musculoskeletal pain, healthcare resource consumption, back pain disability (Roland-Morris) and health-related quality of life (SF-36).
Results: A total of 98.7% of the sample were women, with a mean age of 50.6 years. Musculoskeletal pain was reported by 66.5%, 43% were taking medication, and 64% had consulted their family physician due to musculoskeletal pain. The factors associated with medication intake in the logistic regression analysis were the number of years worked in the sector, hip-knee pain, bodily pain and physical functioning. The variables associated with physician visits were the presence of hip-knee pain, neck-back-shoulder pain, bodily pain, and social functioning.
Conclusions: The variables most closely associated with resource utilization were hip-knee pain and the physical dimension of health-related quality of life, especially bodily pain.
Keywords: Calidad de vida; Enfermedades musculoesqueléticas; Gastos en salud; Health expenditures; Musculoskeletal diseases; Quality of life.
Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.