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Cold-related pain in the face, upper limbs, and lower body among Thai chicken industry workers: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Objective

There is limited information on cold-related pain (CRP) in various parts of the body among workers employed in cold environments. We, therefore, determined the prevalence of CRP among Thai chicken industry workers and attempted to identify vulnerable subgroups.

Methods

Four hundred and twenty-two workers in four chicken meat factories in Thailand were asked about CRP in the face, upper limbs, and lower body. The results were expressed as adjusted prevalence and prevalence differences [PD; in percentage points (pp)] and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results

Overall, 80% of the subjects suffered from CRP in at least one site on the body: 66% in the upper limbs, 65% in the lower body, and 44% in the face. In most sites, CRP increased from the lowest to the highest educational level, notably in the nose with a PD of 36 pp [95% CI 23, 49]. Forklift drivers experienced knee pain [PD 21 pp (0, 41)], and manufacturing [PD 27 pp (15, 38)] and storage workers [PD 24 pp (10, 37)] experienced thigh pain more often than office workers, while office workers reported CRP in the cheeks, ears, wrists, and fingers more often than other workers. Women had more CRP than men in several body sites.

Conclusions

The majority of workers suffered from CRP. Intensified protective measures should be targeted not only for forklift drivers and storage and manufacturing workers, but also for the highly educated as well as the office staff who showed excessive prevalence of CRP in several body sites.

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Data availability

The data are confidential and cannot be shared.

Code availability

The R code is available on request.

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Funding

Only institutional funding was received.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Wantanee Phanprasit, Chotirot Chotiphan, Nipaporn Auttanate & Suchinda Jarupat Maruo

  2. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Työterveyslaitos, 90032, Helsinki, Finland

    Kirsi Jussila & Sirkka Rissanen

  3. School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, DB4, Ireland

    Penpatra Sripaiboonkij

  4. Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research, University of Oulu, 90220, Oulu, Finland

    Tiina M. Ikäheimo, Jouni J. K. Jaakkola & Simo Näyhä

Authors
  1. Wantanee Phanprasit
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  2. Chotirot Chotiphan
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  4. Suchinda Jarupat Maruo
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Contributions

The study was conceived and planned by WP and SN. WP arranged the resources, funding, and supervised the study, and she was the guarantor of the study. NA, CC, SN, KJ, SR, TMI, WP, and PS designed and finalised the questionnaire. NA and CC conducted the interviews and performed preliminary data processing. SN conducted the statistical analysis together with NA and CC. NA, CC, SJM, SN, KJ, SR, TMI, PS, JJKJ, and WP reviewed and edited the draft manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simo Näyhä.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Ethics approval

The study aim and protocol were reviewed and approved by the Ethical Review Committee for Human Research, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

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The interviewees were informed in advance that their participation was strictly voluntary and that all information provided would remain confidential. All participants signed a written consent form.

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Phanprasit, W., Chotiphan, C., Auttanate, N. et al. Cold-related pain in the face, upper limbs, and lower body among Thai chicken industry workers: a cross-sectional study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 94, 799–812 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-020-01640-4

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