Musculoskeletal disorder among 52,261 Chinese restaurant cooks cohort: result from the National Health Insurance Data.

To investigate the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and the particular MSDs to which Chinese restaurant cooks are most at risk in Taiwan, National Health Insurance Data from 1998 to 2002 were used to identify MSDs for study populations, including 52,261 certified cooks and 209,044 references matched for age and sex. The annual incidence of MSDs was around 25% and 20% for cooks and references, respectively, and the cook-to-reference risk ratios ranged from 1.29 to 1.35 (p<0.001). The most frequently affected body part was the low back, but the epicondyle was at higher risk (OR>2) than other sites for the cooks. Cooks are at higher risk of having MSDs complaints and MSDs related to the elbow show the highest risk.