Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
206,690 studies31 sourcesUpdated 46 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYArhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju

Official incidence and trends of occupational musculoskeletal disorders in Turkey in 2014-2024: implications of possible underreporting.

  • Elif Reyhan Şahin1
  • Yağmur Kınacı Gümüşçubuk2
  1. 1Erzurum City Hospital, Occupational Medicine Clinic, Erzurum, Turkey.
  2. 2Hacettepe University Medical Faculty, Department of Public Health, Division of Occupational Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

In Turkey, official incidence figures for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) remain notably low despite established ergonomic risks. The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine national incidences of all recognised occupational MSD cases among insured workers included in the publicly available registry of the Social Security Institution of Turkey (SGK) between 2014 and 2024, to calculate annual rates per million insured workers, and to establish temporal, gender-specific, and diagnostic trends. A total of 744 cases were recorded, with recognised incidence increasing from 1.74 per million in 2014 to a peak of 9.03 in 2021. Lateral epicondylitis and chronic crepitant synovitis were the most frequent diagnoses. Whilst male workers accounted for most cases, female incidence rates equalled or exceeded male rates in 2020-2021, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Our findings point to structural flaws and barriers in the current, compensation-based registry system that may result in under-recognition and consequent underreporting of occupational MSDs, which calls for strengthening prevention-oriented surveillance to inform robust healthcare policies.

Related

  1. Meta-analysis of AI posture recognition for work-related musculoskeletal disorders prevention in occupational activities: comparison between untransformed, logit and Freeman-Tukey transformed performance.
    Philippe Gorce, Julien Jacquier-Bret
    Frontiers in artificial intelligencePeer-reviewedCC BYFull textEurope PMC
  2. Life’s Essential 8 moderates the association between Occupational Hazard Index and the incidence of hypertension among steelworkers: a prospective cohort study
    Qian Yu, Nan Wang, Xinyang Chen +6
    BMC Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Epidemiology & public healthCrossref
  3. Metabolomics-based central obesity identifies subtypes musculoskeletal disorders management
    Qiong Han, Yue Zhang, Jing Feng +3
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textNatureCrossref
  4. Musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomic risk factors among petrochemical control room operators with health promotion and intervention strategies
    Niloofar Rahgoshay, Hamid Salmani Nodooshan, Akbar Rezaeikhah +1
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textCrossref
  5. Musculoskeletal clinicians practice behaviour for non-traumatic wrist disorders in the UK: a qualitative study
    Thomas G C Mitchell, Sionnadh McLean, Nick Hamilton +3
    BMJ OpenPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC 4.0Full textGeneral medicineCrossref

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{sahin2026official,
  title = {{Official incidence and trends of occupational musculoskeletal disorders in Turkey in 2014-2024: implications of possible underreporting.}},
  author = {Elif Reyhan Şahin and Yağmur Kınacı Gümüşçubuk},
  journal = {Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.2478/aiht-2026-77-4133},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42859411},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Official incidence and trends of occupational musculoskeletal disorders in Turkey in 2014-2024: implications of possible underreporting.
AU  - Elif Reyhan Şahin
AU  - Yağmur Kınacı Gümüşçubuk
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/25
JO  - Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju
DO  - 10.2478/aiht-2026-77-4133
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42859411
AB  - In Turkey, official incidence figures for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) remain notably low despite established ergonomic risks. The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine national incidences of all recognised occupational MSD cases among insured workers included in the publicly available registry of the Social Security Institution of Turkey (SGK) between 2014 and 2024, to calculate annual rates per million insured workers, and to establish temporal, gender-specific, and diagnostic trends. A total of 744 cases were recorded, with recognised incidence increasing from 1.74 per million in 2014 to a peak of 9.03 in 2021. Lateral epicondylitis and chronic crepitant synovitis were the most frequent diagnoses. Whilst male workers accounted for most cases, female incidence rates equalled or exceeded male rates in 2020-2021, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Our findings point to structural flaws and barriers in the current, compensation-based registry system that may result in under-recognition and consequent underreporting of occupational MSDs, which calls for strengthening prevention-oriented surveillance to inform robust healthcare policies.
SN  - 0004-1254
SN  - 1848-6312
ER  -