Guerreiro, Marisa M.Serranheira, FlorentinoCruz, Eduardo B.Sousa-Uva, António2020-12-162020-12-1620202093-7911PURE: 26884058PURE UUID: 35643532-c5aa-4a9d-a86c-939e6b954521Scopus: 85089856334WOS: 000599857000013PubMed: 33329916PubMedCentral: PMC7728709http://hdl.handle.net/10362/108733Background: Assembly lines work is frequently associated to work-related upper limb musculoskeletal disorders. The related disability and absenteeism make it important to implement efficient health surveillance systems. The main objective of this study was to identify self-reported variables that can determine work-related upper limb musculoskeletal symptoms—discomfort/pain–during a 6-month follow-up. Methods: This was a prospective study with a 6-month follow-up period, performed in an assembly line. Upper limb musculoskeletal discomfort/pain was assessed through the presence of self-reported symptoms. Uni- and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate which self-reported variables were associated to upper limb symptoms after 6 months at the present and to upper limbs symptoms in the past month. Results: Of the 200 workers at baseline, 145 replied to the survey after 6 months. For both outcomes, “having upper limb symptoms during the previous 6 months” and “education” were possible predictors. Conclusion: Our results suggest that having previous upper limb symptoms was related to its maintenance after 6 months, sustaining it as a specific determinant. It can be a hypothesis that this population had mainly workers with chronic symptoms, although our results give only limited support to self-reported indicators as determinants for upper limb symptoms. Nevertheless, the development of an efficient health surveillance system for high demanding jobs should implicate self-reported indicators, but also clinical and work conditions assessment should be accounted on the future.312966engAutomotive assembly lineHigh-demanding jobsOccupational healthWork-related upper limb musculoskeletal disordersSafety, Risk, Reliability and QualitySafety ResearchPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational HealthChemical Health and SafetySDG 3 - Good Health and Well-beingjournal article10.1016/j.shaw.2020.07.008https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85089856334