• Maria D Antonopoulou, Athanasios K Alegakis, Alexander G Hadjipavlou, and Christos D Lionis.
• Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 74100 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. antonopm@uoc.gr
• Bmc Musculoskel Dis. 2009 Jan 1; 10: 143.

BackgroundThe burden of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) on the general health and well-being of the population has been documented in various studies. The objective of this study was to explore the association between MSD and the quality of life and mental health of patients and to discuss issues concerning care seeking patterns in rural Greece.MethodsPatients registered at one rural Primary Care Centre (PCC) in Crete were invited to complete the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms, together with validated instruments for measuring health related quality of life (SF-36) and mental distress (GHQ-28).ResultsThe prevalence rate of MSD was found to be 71.2%, with low back and knee pain being the most common symptoms. Most conditions significantly impaired the quality of life, especially the physical dimensions of SF-36. Depression was strongly correlated to most MSD (p < 0.001). Multiple logistic analyses revealed that patients who consulted the PCC due to MSD were likely to have more mental distress or impaired physical functioning compared to those who did not.ConclusionMusculoskeletal disorders were common in patients attending the rural PCC of this study and were associated with a poor quality of life and mental distress that affected their consultation behaviour.

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