skin and musculoskeletal disorders among nursing staff of a referral-teaching hospital in tehran-iran

original article   occupational diseases are any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. this study was conducted to examine the frequency and risk factors of some skin and musculoskeletal disorders among nurses at a referral-teaching hospital. all 197 nurses in the hospital from different working shifts were engaged in the study. all nurses filled out a questionnaire containing demographic and occupational data. in the questionnaire, they specified the following: sex, age, job experience, any history of respiratory, skeletal and muscular diseases over the past year, chemicals and physical conditions they have been exposed to, history of allergy. thirty nine nurses had skin diseases. those who did not regularly wear gloves were further susceptible to skin diseases. 68 nurses in this study had musculoskeletal, respiratory and allergic diseases. the skin and respiratory diseases had nothing to do with gender, but skeletal, muscular and allergic diseases were more in women. in 93% of the cases, skin diseases left lesions in the elbows, wrists, palms and fingers. in our study, it was demonstrated that 39 nurses had skin diseases. 68 nurses in this study had skeletal, muscular, respiratory and allergic diseases. out of 93 percent of the cases, skin diseases were characterized by the appearance of lesions. the incidence of skin and musculoskeletal disorders had no meaningful relationship with age, height, employment and matrimonial status of the nurses, but it did have with the number of working shifts and beds under their supervision.