Musculoskeletal symptoms and associated factors among beauty salon workers in Udupi, Karnataka, India.

BACKGROUND: The Indian salon industry is increasing rapidly due to demand for various kinds of beauty and personal care products. Working ability and health conditions of salon workers may be affected by specific work-related activities. Prolonged non-neutral postures, repetitive movements, lack of adequate breaks during work, working at a fast pace, general distress or prolonged standing periods make them vulnerable to musculoskeletal symptoms. OBJECTIVE: The present study was carried out to assess work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among the beauty salon workers of Udupi taluk. METHOD: A total of 240 salon workers were recruited for the study. A semi-structured, interviewer-led questionnaire based on a modified Nordic questionnaire was used to collect data. RESULTS: As many as 80.4% study participants reported work related musculoskeletal pain in one or more body parts. The common body parts affected by pain were neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand, upper back, lower back, legs and ankles/feet. The analysis according to work postures suggested that short repetitive movements, stretching of hands to reach objects, working in the same posture for a longer time and the lack of weekly break from work was significantly associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. CONCLUSION: The beauty salon workers are at risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms which could benefit from preventive structural, operational and educational measures.

Occupational lower back pain among bus conductors of Udupi district, Karnataka.

Although studies have reported lower back pain (LBP) in professional drivers, the conductors travelling in the same bus who share the same working environment are often neglected. Thus, the present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of LBP and the factors associated with it. The study included 237 bus conductors from government bus depots. The data regarding occupational, non-occupational and environmental factors were collected by interview technique using a structured questionnaire. Self-reported back pain in the last 12 months in or near the lumbosacral spine was considered a case of LBP. The study revealed that 27.4% had LBP. The multivariate analysis suggested that tobacco smoking, self-reported bad road conditions and lack of enough breaks during work were significant risk factors. Thus, to conclude, the conductors are at risk of LBP that can be attributed to occupational as well as non-occupational factors.

Occupational respiratory morbidity among hair and beauty salon workers in Udupi taluk, Karnataka, India.

BACKGROUND: The Indian hair and beauty salon industry is growing rapidly due to the demand for beauty and personal care services and products. Workers in the industry are vulnerable to several occupational factors such as chemicals, confined space, and poor ventilation. Chemicals in the products used are known or suspected to cause allergies, respiratory, neurological and reproductive health problems and cancer. METHODS: The present study was carried out to determine the factors associated with the occurrence of respiratory morbidity among hair and beauty salon workers of Udupi taluk, Karnataka, India. A total of 240 salon workers were recruited for the study. A semistructured, interviewer-led questionnaire was used to collect data. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was done using a JSB peak flow meter. RESULTS: The frequency of respiratory morbidity among participating beauty salon workers was 19%. Men reported respiratory symptoms more frequently than women. Receiving training on work materials and practices was a significant protective factor (odds ratio = 0.3; 95% confidence interval: 0.1-0.7) for the occurrence of respiratory morbidity. The mean observed PEFR in these workers was significantly lower than their predicted values. While 61.2% of the workers were using some form of personal protective equipment, only 4% of workers used a mask or respiratory protection. CONCLUSION: Hair and beauty salon workers are at risk of developing respiratory morbidity potentially from harmful exposures and lack of effective control measures at the workplace.