Daily visual display terminal use and musculoskeletal disorders among Iranian bank tellers

Visual display terminals (VDTs) as one of the most important and useful equipment are used in offices and workplaces that may be created some health hazards, including work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The aims of this study were to (i) investigate the prevalence of WMSDs among Iranian bank tellers and (ii) to examine the demographic and work-related characteristics associated with that prevalence rate. In this cross-sectional study, 382 bank tellers who regularly working at VDTs stations were interviewed. The demographic, work characteristics and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) data were collected using specific questionnaire and standardized Nordic self-reporting Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Hence, data analyses were carried out using IBM SPSS for Windows. As a result, 70.2% of participants reported the musculoskeletal problems within 12 past months in at least one of the body regions. The most prevalence was reported in the neck (37.4%) and low back (36.6%) regions, and the elbows (8.3%), and thighs (12.3%) were regions that reported with the least prevalence rate. Mean duration of daily VDT (DVDT) work in 268 subjects with musculoskeletal symptoms was 6.2 h (SD = ±2.2) and in other 114 subjects without symptoms, it was 5.5 h (SD = ± 2.3). There was a positive significant relationship between DVDT work hours with reported musculoskeletal problems (P = 0.005). In conclusion, WMSDs in bank tellers happened in high rate (70.2%) and the most complain reported in neck and low back regions. The most consistently identified risk factor was a duration of DVDT use and inadequate break times.