Influence of Prolonged Visual Display Terminal Use and Exercise on Physical and Mental Conditions of Internet Staff in Hangzhou, China

Xiao Cheng, Mengna Song, Jingxia Kong, Xinglin Fang, Yuqing Ji, Meibian Zhang and Hongmei Wang
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Xiao Cheng: Department of Social Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Institute of Social Medicine and Family Medicine, Hangzhou 311000, China
Mengna Song: Department of Social Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Institute of Social Medicine and Family Medicine, Hangzhou 311000, China
Jingxia Kong: Department of Social Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Institute of Social Medicine and Family Medicine, Hangzhou 311000, China
Xinglin Fang: Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 311000, China
Yuqing Ji: National Institute of Occupational Health and Poisoning Control, Beijing 100050, China
Meibian Zhang: Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou 311000, China
Hongmei Wang: Department of Social Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Institute of Social Medicine and Family Medicine, Hangzhou 311000, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: To examine the effects of prolonged visual display terminal (VDT) working hours and exercise frequency on VDT-related symptoms, we recruited 944 Chinese internet staff for the study. A self-administered questionnaire survey was used to obtain the hours of daily VDT work, exercise frequency, and the physical and mental health of the participants. The daily VDT working time of participants was 8.7 hours. Musculoskeletal pain and eye complaints were prevalent, and the participants had poor mental health status. When daily VDT operation time was more than 11 hours, VDT-related symptoms, including backache (odds ratios (OR) = 3.59), wrist pain (OR = 1.88), hip pain (OR = 2.42), dry eyes (OR = 2.22), and ocular soreness (OR = 2.16) were more likely to occur, and an increased risk of serious occupational stress (OR = 6.75) and job burnout (OR = 2.66) was found in internet workers. Compared with those who never exercised, appropriate exercise frequency (three times per week) was helpful to relieve pain in the shoulders (OR = 0.28), neck (OR = 0.45), back (OR = 0.30), lower back (OR = 0.25), and wrists (OR = 0.38), as well as to prevent vision loss (OR = 0.33) and job burnout (OR = 0.42). Therefore, avoiding excessive VDT exposure and performing moderate exercise could protect the physical and mental health of internet staff from the adverse effects of VDT.

Keywords: visual display terminal; internet staff; exercise; physical health; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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