Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain and Associated Psychosocial and Occupational Factors in Male Private Security Officers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background/

Objectives

Private security work combines prolonged standing, extended schedules and shift demands, yet evidence on multisite musculoskeletal pain, burnout and sleep in this group is limited. In this exploratory cross-sectional study, we examined the 12-month prevalence and anatomical distribution of musculoskeletal pain and its associations with burnout, sleep and occupational characteristics.

Methods

A total of 110 male private security officers in Ümraniye, Istanbul, Türkiye (110/127 approached; participation 86.6%), completed the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Officers reporting pain in ≤2 versus ≥3 regions (multisite pain) were compared, and correlates of multisite pain were examined with binary logistic regression; robustness was assessed with Firth-penalized, count-based, ordinal and re-specified working-hour models.

Results

Ninety-one participants (82.7%) reported pain in at least one region and 52 (47.3%) in ≥3 regions. Low back pain was most prevalent (54.5%; 95% CI 45.2-63.5), followed by neck and ankle/foot pain (41.8% each). The multisite-pain group had higher emotional exhaustion (14.13 ± 6.26 vs. 10.81 ± 6.77; p = 0.009; d = 0.51) and daytime-dysfunction scores (p = 0.013), and lower body mass index (p = 0.012) and shorter tenure (p = 0.026); weekly working hours did not differ significantly in the primary non-parametric comparison. Emotional exhaustion was the only independent correlate in the primary logistic model (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.23; p = 0.019) and remained associated in Firth-penalized (p = 0.029) and covariate-adjusted (p = 0.025) analyses, although the association attenuated to borderline significance in count-based, ordinal and categorized working-hour specifications.

Conclusions

Musculoskeletal symptoms were common and frequently multisite. Emotional exhaustion showed the most consistent-though modest and specification-dependent-association with multisite pain. These exploratory cross-sectional findings should not be interpreted causally.