Cross-sectional survey on musculoskeletal disorders and related factors of wolfberry harvesters in Ningxia

[Background] Wolfberry industry is one of the leading industries in Ningxia. While promoting farmers' income, awkward working postures and high-intensity repetitive picking task adversely affect the health of pickers. [Objective] This study investigates the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in wolfberry harvesters in Ningxia, and analyzes its potential influencing factors. [Methods] From August to October 2018, a cluster random sampling method was adopted to select 500 wolfberry harvesters as study subjects from 1-2 villages from each of the 6 townships of Zhongning and Tongxin counties in Ningxia where wolfberry cultivation was most concentrated. The general demographic variables, living habits, working characteristics, and WMSDs occurrence of the wolfberry harvesters were collected through the US Agricultural Health Study Questionnaire and the Standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire. Logistic regression models were adopted to identify the potential influencing