ArticleHeliyon2023
Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among dental students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Article in Heliyon, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ergonomic Knowledge and Postural Behavior Among Healthcare Undergraduates: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2026Article
- Understanding the Burden of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Dental Students: A Multinational Cohort Study.European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders Amongst Dental Students.International journal of dentistry · 2026Article
- Neck Pain in Dental Education: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Neck Strength Differences.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Enhancing Dentists' Resilience and Occupational Sustainability Through Physical Activity: A Systematic Review in the Post-Pandemic Context.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- A cross-training ergonomic exchange between the doctor of occupational therapy and dental students.Journal of dental education · 2025Article
- Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder Prevalence by Body Area Among Nurses in Europe: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Review
- Article
- The time-course changes in postural control variability between neck pain and asymptomatic dental students.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Evolving Dynamics of Neck Muscle Activation Patterns in Dental Students: A Longitudinal Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Knowledge and Attitude of Undergraduate Dental Students toward Dental Ergonomic Principles in Occupational Health.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- World Trends in Dental Ergonomics Research: A Bibliometric Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in dental students and analyze the potential associated risk factors. Methods: This review was registered in PROSPERO with the number CRD42022349864. We performed a meta-analysis calculating event rates with relative 95% confidence intervals for each body region. Two investigators systematically searched Cochrane, Pubmed, Scopus, and EBSCO databases following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Results: Sixteen studies, with 3761 dental students, were included. The highest 7-day prevalence was in the lower back (27.2%; 95% CI 20-35), neck (27%; 95% CI 19.1-35.8), and upper back (24.2%; 95% CI 17.2-32). Yearly occurrence was mainly in the neck (51%; 95% CI 41-61), followed by shoulders (45.3%; 95% CI 37.6-53.1) and lower back (42%; 95% CI 34.1-50.2) and a fraction of these reported that symptoms in lower-back (15.2%; 95% CI 12.1-18.5), neck (13.9%; 95% CI 10.6-17.5) and shoulders (12.2%; 95% CI 8.7-16.3) affected work or normal activities. Associated contributing factors include female sex, poor posture habits, inadequate ergonomics knowledge, sedentary lifestyle, high physical activity levels, poor quality of life, and smoking. In contrast, engaging in physical exercise has positively impacted mitigating the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Conclusions: WMSDs have a high prevalence among dental students, particularly in the cervicothoracic, lumbar, and shoulder regions, having a significant impact since training years. Further research with a multidimensional approach with psychosocial and physical assessments is recommended to understand this issue thoroughly.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.