Investigating the Relationship between Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders and the Quality of Life of Agricultural Workers

Repetitive and heavy physical activities by agricultural workers can lead to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and affect the quality of life of these individuals.

This cross-sectional study was conducted using cluster and convenience sampling on 259 agricultural workers employed in greenhouses in the City of Jiroft in southeastern Iran in the year 2024. Data were collected using the standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and quality of life questionnaire, and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as mean, standard deviation, range, frequency, and percentage frequency. Independent t-test and regression were employed in SPSS-16 software at a significance level of 0.05 (p ≤ 0.05).

Among the 259 people studied, 120 (46.3%) had a low level and 139 (53.7%) had an average level of quality of life. The level of quality of life has a significant relationship with musculoskeletal disorders, occupation, and underlying disease. Based on this, people who do not have musculoskeletal problems have 2.84 times the chance of having a better quality of life than people who have these problems (95% CI 1.64, 4.94, p < 0.001). Additionally, greenhouse workers have a higher quality of life 2.21 times more than horticulture workers (95% CI 1.41, 4.15, p = 0.001). Furthermore, people without underlying disease have a higher quality of life 2.35 times than those with disease (95% CI 1.26, 4.39, p = 0.007).

The quality of life of agricultural workers is low and moderate, and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in workers has decreased the quality of life.