Neck pain in Burkinabe students who use smartphones: frequency and associated factors

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence and associated factors with the occurrence of neck pain in smartphone users at Joseph KI-ZERBO  University (UJKZ) in Ouagadougou in 2022.

Method: The UJKZ served as the study framework. This was a descriptive  crosssectional study with an analytical aim using stratified and proportional random sampling. The study included, any student registered at the UJKZ aged 18 to 30 years, having no previous history of neck pain and having given his free written consent. The  evaluation of the associated factors was done by a bivariate and then multivariate logistic regression. The Chi2 test was used to search  for an association between neck pain (the variable of interest) and the other variables. A dendrogram allowed us to look for a link  between the different variables in order to eliminate possible association bias. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee for Health Research (CERS) of Burkina Faso.

Results: Of the 768 students questioned, 41 were excluded for a history of surgery or cervical  trauma, i.e. an inclusion of 96.66%. Among the 727 participants included, 589 (81%) students had neck pain, the mean age being 23 (SD ±  1.8) years; 286 (48.5%) were female with a sex ratio of 1.05. Smartphone was used permanently for 24 hours among 330 (56%) students  and for more than 12 hours with 402 (68.3%) students. The head tilt angle was 60° in 415 (70.5%) students. Multivariate logistic regression highlighted the factors associated with the occurrence of neck pain: permanent mobile internet connection (Odds ratio: 2.12 and 95% CI: 1.27 to 3.55 and p-value: 0.004) , the level of smartphone addiction (Odds ratio: 4.65 and 95% CI: 2.66 to 8.27 for moderate addiction;  Odds ratio: 9.5 and 95% CI: 5.19 to 17.7 for severe addiction and p-value: <0.001); the number of hours of smartphone use (Odds ratio: 1.73 and 95% CI: 1.05 to 2.86 and p-value: 0.031) and level of education (Odds ratio: 0.31 and 95% CI %: 0.11 to 0.87 and p-value: 0.026). 

Conclusions: Neck pain among smartphone users was very common at UJKZ in 2022. The level of addiction was severe among the  majority of students according to the SAS-SV. The original UFR, the permanent mobile internet connection, the number of hours of use  >12 hours and the level of severe to moderate smartphone addiction among students at UJKZ, the angle of inclination of the head were  factors associated with the occurrence of neck pain.