RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALEXITHYMIA AND MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN, JOB STRESS, JOB AND LIFE SATISFACTION IN YOUNG ACADEMICIANS WORKING IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH SCIENCES

Abstract

Purpose:To investigate whether musculoskeletal pain related with alexithymia and psychosocial factors in young academicians.

Methods:Ninety-three participants (73 female; mean age, 29.50±5.33 years) were included. Musculoskelatel pain and pain intensity were evaluated by the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NRS). The Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 items (TAS-20) was used to assess alexithymia. The psychosocial factors were assessed by the Perceived Job Stress Scale (PJSS), Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MNQ) and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS).

Results:There was no significant difference in NMQ, NRS, PJSS, MNQ, and SWLS between TAS-20 subgroups (p>0.05). The NMQ analysis indicated that prevalance of pain were higher in neck (73.1%), low back (63.4%) and shoulders (55.9%). NMQ was not related with TAS-20, PJSS, MNQ, and SWLS. There was a negative relationship between pain intensity at rest and SWLS (r= -0.32, p=0.01). Also, pain intensity during activity was associated with PJSS and SWLS (respectively, r= 0.26, p=0.03; r= -0.31, p=0.01).

Conclusion:Musculoskeletal pain did not relate with alexithymia, perceived job stress, work and life satisfication. However, increased pain intensity related to decreased life satisfaction and increased perceived job stress level. High prevalence of pain in the neck, low back and shoulder in young academicians should not be ignored. 

Keywords

• Muskuloskeletal Pain
• Alexithymia
• Satisfaction
• Pain Intensity
• Psychosocial Factor

Genç Akademisyenlerde Muskuloskeletal Ağrı, Aleksitimi ve Psikososyal Faktörler Arasındaki İlişki

Öz

Amaç:Genç akademisyenlerde aleksitimi ve psikososyal faktörlerle ilişkili kas-iskelet ağrısının olup olmadığını araştırmaktı.

Yöntem:Doksan üç katılımcı (73 kadın; ortalama yaş, 29.50 ± 5.33 yıl) dahil edildi. Muskuloskeletal ağrı ve ağrı şiddeti İskandinav Kas İskelet Sistemi Anketi (NMQ) ve Numerik Ağrı Derecelendirme Skalası (NRS) ile değerlendirildi. Aleksitimi değerlendirmesinde Toronto Aleksitimi Ölçeği-20 madde (TAS-20) kullanıldı. Psikososyal faktörler; Algılanan İş Stresi Ölçeği (PJSS), Minnesota Memnuniyet Anketi (MNQ) ve Yaşam Doyumu Ölçeği (SWLS) ile değerlendirildi.

Sonuçlar:TAS-20 alt grupları arasında NMQ, NRS, PJSS, MNQ ve SWLS açısından anlamlı fark yoktu (p> 0.05). NMQ analizi, ağrı prevalansının boyun (% 73.1), bel ağrısı (% 63.4) ve omuzlarda (% 55.9) daha yüksek olduğunu gösterdi. NMQ sonuçları, TAS-20, PJSS, MNQ ve SWLS ile ilişkili değildi. İstirahatteki ağrı şiddeti ile yaşam doyumu ölçeği sonuçları arasında negatif bir ilişki vardı (r = -0.32, p = 0.01). Ayrıca, aktivite sırasındaki ağrı şiddeti PJSS ve SWLS ile ilişkiliydi (sırasıyla r = 0.26, p = 0.03; r = -0.31, p = 0.01).

Tartışma: Muskuloskeletal ağrı; aleksitimi, algılanan iş stresi, iş ve yaşam doyumu ile ilişkili değildi. Ancak, artan ağrı şiddeti, azalmış yaşam doyumu ve artmış iş stresi düzeyi ile ilişkiliydi. Bununla birlikte, genç akademisyenlerde boyunda, belde ve omuzda saptanan yüksek ağrı prevelansı göz ardı edilmemelidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Muskuloskeletal Ağrı
• Aleksitimi
• Memnuniyet
• Ağrı Şiddeti
• Psikososyal Faktör

References

1. 1. Erick PN, Smith DR. A systematic review of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers. BMC Musculoskelet. Disord. 2011;12:260.
2. 2. Uz Tuncay S, Yeldan I. [Is physical inactivity associated with musculoskeletal disorders?]. Agri : Agri (Algoloji) Dernegi'nin Yayin organidir = The journal of the Turkish Society of Algology. 2013;25(4):147-55.
3. 3. Mohan V, Justine M, Jagannathan M, Aminudin SB, Johari SHB. Preliminary study of the patterns and physical risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among academicians in a higher learning institute. J. Orthop. Sci. 2015;20(2):410-7.
4. 4. Leclerc A, Chastang JF, Niedhammer I, Landre MF, Roquelaure Y. Incidence of shoulder pain in repetitive work. Occup. Environ. Med. 2004;61(1):39-44.5. Yılmaz F, Şahin F, Kuran B. İşe bağlı kas iskelet hastalıkları ve tedavisi. Nobel Med. 2006;2(3):15-22.
5. 6. Malmberg-Ceder K, Haanpää M, Korhonen PE, Kautiainen H, Soinila S. Relationship of musculoskeletal pain and well-being at work–Does pain matter? Scandinavian Journal of Pain. 2017;15:38-43.
6. 7. Kuru T, Yeldan I, Zengin A, Kostanoglu A, Tekeoglu A, Akbaba YA, et al. [The prevalence of pain and different pain treatments in adults]. Agri : Agri (Algoloji) Dernegi'nin Yayin organidir = The journal of the Turkish Society of Algology. 2011;23(1):22-7.
7. 8. Sokunbi O, Jaiyeola A, Maduagwu M, Ibrahim M. Patterns o f occurrence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and its correlation wit h ergonomic hazards among health care professionals. Nig J Exp Clin Bio. 2015;3:18-23.
8. 9. Chiu TT, Lam PK. The prevalence of and risk factors for neck pain and upper limb pain among secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. J Occup Rehabil. 2007;17(1):19-32.

9. 10. Yue P, Liu F, Li L. Neck/shoulder pain and low back pain among school teachers in China, prevalence and risk factors. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:789.
10. 11. Ozturk F, Bayrak T. The Academicians’ Perspective on the Challenges Facing Higher Education in Turkey. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2015;195:202-9.
11. 12. Dirlik O, Aydın-Ünal D. Investigating Young Academicians’ Perception of Career within Their Career Progress. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2014;109:841-4.
12. 13. Shibata M, Ninomiya T, Jensen MP, Anno K, Yonemoto K, Makino S, et al. Alexithymia is associated with greater risk of chronic pain and negative affect and with lower life satisfaction in a general population: the Hisayama Study. PLoS One. 2014;9(3):e90984.
13. 14. Toker B. Life Satisfaction Among Academicians: An Empirical Study on the Universities of Turkey. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2012;47:190-5.15. Taylor GJ. Recent developments in alexithymia theory and research. Can. J. Psychiatry. 2000;45(2):134-42.
14. 16. Makino S, Jensen MP, Arimura T, Obata T, Anno K, Iwaki R, et al. Alexithymia and chronic pain: the role of negative affectivity. Clin. J. Pain. 2013;29(4):354-61.
15. 17. Saariaho AS, Saariaho TH, Mattila AK, Karukivi M, Joukamaa MI. Alexithymia and Early Maladaptive Schemas in chronic pain patients. Scand. J. Psychol. 2015;56(4):428-37.
16. 18. Saariaho AS, Saariaho TH, Mattila AK, Karukivi MR, Joukamaa MI. Alexithymia and depression in a chronic pain patient sample. Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry. 2013;35(3):239-45.
17. 19. Celikel FC, Saatcioglu O. Alexithymia and anxiety in female chronic pain patients. Annals of General Psychiatry. 2006;5(1):13.
18. 20. Cox BJ, Kuch K, Parker JD, Shulman ID, Evans RJ. Alexithymia in somatoform disorder patients with chronic pain. J. Psychosom. Res. 1994;38(6):523-7.
19. 21. Gürses HN, Alemdaroğlu İ, Tanriverdi M. Türkiye’de Fizyoterapi ve rehabilitasyon fakülte bölümü/yüksekokullarinin incelenmesi ve müfredat analizi. Türk Fizyoterapi ve Rehabilitasyon Dergisi/Turkish Journal of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation. 2014;25(1):3.
20. 22. Dawson AP, Steele EJ, Hodges PW, Stewart S. Development and test-retest reliability of an extended version of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ-E): a screening instrument for musculoskeletal pain. J. Pain. 2009;10(5):517-26.
21. 23. Kuorinka I, Jonsson B, Kilbom A, Vinterberg H, Biering-Sorensen F, Andersson G, et al. Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Appl. Ergon. 1987;18(3):233-7.
22. 24. Kahraman T, Genc A, Goz E. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire: cross-cultural adaptation into Turkish assessing its psychometric properties. Disabil. Rehabil. 2016;38(21):2153-60.
23. 25. Carlsson AM. Assessment of chronic pain. I. Aspects of the reliability and validity of the visual analogue scale. Pain. 1983;16(1):87-101.
24. 26. Bagby RM, Parker JD, Taylor GJ. The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale--I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. J. Psychosom. Res. 1994;38(1):23-32.
25. 27. Güleç H, Köse S, Güleç MY, Çitak S, Evren C, Borckardt J, et al. Reliability and factorial validity of the Turkish version of the 20-item Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20). Klinik Psikofarmakoloji Bulteni-Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2009;19(3):214-20.
26. 28. Van Saane N, Sluiter J, Verbeek J, Frings‐Dresen M. Reliability and validity of instruments measuring job satisfaction—a systematic review. Occup. Med. 2003;53(3):191-200.
27. 29. Erşan EE, Yıldırım G, Doğan O, Doğan S. Job satisfaction and perceived job stress of the health professionals and the relationship between them. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry. 2013;14(2):115-21.
28. 30. Baltaş Z, Atakuman Y, Duman Y, editors. Standardization of the perceived stress scale: Perceived stress in turkish middle managers. Stress and Anxiety Research Society. 19th International Conference, İstanbul; 1998.
29. 31. Hirschfeld RR. Does revising the intrinsic and extrinsic subscales of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire short form make a difference? Educ. Psychol. Meas. 2000;60(2):255-70.
30. 32. Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen RJ, Griffin S. The satisfaction with life scale. J. Pers. Assess. 1985;49(1):71-5.
31. 33. Durak M, Senol-Durak E, Gencoz T. Psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale among Turkish university students, correctional officers, and elderly adults. Social indicators research. 2010;99(3):413-29.
32. 34. Di Tella M, Castelli L. Alexithymia in Chronic Pain Disorders. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2016;18(7):41.
33. 35. Lumley MA, Cohen JL, Borszcz GS, Cano A, Radcliffe AM, Porter LS, et al. Pain and emotion: a biopsychosocial review of recent research. J. Clin. Psychol. 2011;67(9):942-68.
34. 36. Apkarian AV, Baliki MN, Farmer MA. Predicting transition to chronic pain. Curr. Opin. Neurol. 2013;26(4):360-7.
35. 37. Penacoba Puente C, Velasco Furlong L, Ecija Gallardo C, Cigaran Mendez M, McKenney K. Anxiety, depression and alexithymia in fibromyalgia: are there any differences according to age? J. Women Aging. 2013;25(4):305-20.
36. 38. Vieira RV, Vieira DC, Gomes WB, Gauer G. Alexithymia and its impact on quality of life in a group of Brazilian women with migraine without aura. J. Headache Pain. 2013;14:18.
37. 39. Yalug I, Selekler M, Erdogan A, Kutlu A, Dundar G, Ankarali H, et al. Correlations between alexithymia and pain severity, depression, and anxiety among patients with chronic and episodic migraine. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2010;64(3):231-8.
38. 40. Hamjah SH, Ismail Z, Sham FM, Rasit RM, Ismail A. Spiritual Approach in Managing Work-related Stress of Academicians. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2015;174:1229-33.
39. 41. Shibata M, Ninomiya T, Jensen MP, Anno K, Yonemoto K, Makino S, et al. Alexithymia is associated with greater risk of chronic pain and negative affect and with lower life satisfaction in a general population: the Hisayama Study. PLoS One. 2014;9(3):e90984.
40. 42. Stalnacke BM. Life satisfaction in patients with chronic pain - relation to pain intensity, disability, and psychological factors. Neuropsychiatr. Dis. Treat. 2011;7:683-9.