AUTHOR=Alzahrani Hosam , Alshehri Mansour A. , Alotaibi Mazyad , Alhowimel Ahmed , Alodaibi Faris , Alamam Dalyah , Zheng Yan , Tyrovolas Stefanos TITLE=Burden of musculoskeletal disorders in the gulf cooperation council countries, 1990–2019: Findings from the global burden of disease study 2019 JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=9 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.855414 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.855414 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=Objective

The purpose of this study was to investigate the burden of musculoskeletal (MSK) health conditions in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries based on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data.

Methods

The data for GCC countries were obtained from the 2019 GBD study to evaluate the burden of MSK disorders which include the following countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The main outcome measures were age-standardized prevalence and years of life lived with disability (YLDs) associated with MSK disorders. The burden of MSK disorders attributable to the category of behavioral, metabolic, or environmental/occupational was reported to estimate the risk-attributable fractions of disease.

Results

MSK disorders prevalence ranked fifth in Kuwait, sixth in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and UAE, and seventh in Saudi Arabia among all the diseases in 2019. For all GCC countries, MSK disorders were ranked the second leading cause of disability as measured by YLDs for the years 1990 and 2019. The age-standardized prevalence of MSK disorders in 2019 for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE was 18.56% (95% UI: 17.51–19.66), 19.35% (18.25–20.52), 18.23% (17.14–19.36), 18.93% (17.81–20.06), 19.05% (17.96–20.22), and 18.26% (17.18–19.38), respectively. The age-standardized YLDs per 100,000 individuals of MSK disorders in 2019 for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE were 1,734 (1,250–2,285), 1,764 (1,272–2,322), 1,710 (1,224–2,256), 1,721 (1,246–2,274), 1,715 (1,230–2,274), and 1,681 (1,207–2,235), respectively. For risk factors, high body mass index (BMI) had the highest contribution to MSK disorders YLDs in most GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia), followed by the exposure to occupational ergonomic factors which had the highest contribution to MSK disorders YLDs in Qatar and UAE.

Conclusion

There was an increase in both age-standardized prevalence of MSK disorders and YLDs between 1990 and 2019 that was observed for all GCC countries. Some risk factors such as higher BMI and exposure to occupational ergonomic factors were highly associated with YLDs due to MSK disorders. The results of this study provide guidance for the potential nature of preventative and management programs to optimize the individual’s health.