Prevalence of self-perceived musculoskeletal pain and its association with gender in teleworkers of the management team of a Venezuelan food manufacturing company

Objective: to determine the prevalence of self-perceived musculoskeletal pain and its association with gender in teleworkers of the management team of a Venezuelan food manufacturing company. Methods: a quantitative, field, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted in a population of 243 workers and a sample of 182 workers. The survey was used as a data collection technique, and the questionnaire was developed using Google Forms® as an instrument. Results: the age range was between 20 and 73 years, with a mean of 45.8±9.1 years. Women (43.0%) had more than 10 years of seniority, a lower percentage than that observed among men (50,0 %). Regarding self-perceived pain, (92,59 %) of women reported more pain than men (81,68 %); the probability of presenting neck pain in this group was (85,8 %). In contrast to men (38,93 %), 69,14 % of the women self-perceived right shoulder pain; the probability of presenting right shoulder pain in the sample studied was 50 %. Concerning upper back pain (48,15 %) of the women and 33,59 % of the men, the probability of presenting upper back pain was 39,2 %. The mean total musculoskeletal pain or discomfort score was 59,13 for women and 39,94 for men. Conclusion: there was a statistically significant association between self-perceived pain in certain areas of the body and female gender for exposure to disergonomic risk factors.