The association between Musculoskeletal Pain and Psychological Distress among five immigrant groups: Results of a cross-sectional study in Oslo, Norway
Year: 2009
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objective: Even with an increasing immigrant population in Norway, there are still a limited number of studies among the group. Chronic musculoskeletal and psychiatric disorders frequently occur and there is a need to establish the magnitude of prevalence and the strength of association between the two chronic disorders in a local context. \nMethods: Cross-sectional data from the Oslo Immigrant Health Study in 2002 were analyzed. Questionnaires were sent to age cohorts, between 20 and 60 years old, among immigrants born in Sri Lanka, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, and Vietnam. \nResults: The results show that neck and shoulders are the most common sites of pain. Women have a higher prevalence of moderate-severe musculoskeletal pain than men do in all five areas of the body. Psychological distress was associated as the strongest predictor of musculoskeletal pain after the adjustment for gender, age, pre-migration factors and others variables in the logistic regression analyses among all five immigrant groups.\nConclusion: Findings from this study support previous studies of the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and the association between musculoskeletal pain and psychological distress among the minorities in their host country. This also presents the possibility of improving the efforts of the Norwegian health system in providing relevant treatment services for the immigrant population.
Author: Steve Diaz French
Language: English
Topic: Migration, Health and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2472157034