PONE-D-22-22802Prevalence, Pattern and Risk Factors for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Nigerian PlumbersPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Chidozie Mbada,

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Reviewers' comments:

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: The authors need to do more rigorous work with this research. It is an interesting topic but the rationale and the justification do not sound strong. Research has been done on Musculoskeletal disorders and the link to Disability. How does it tie together? Why Plumbers? why not other artisans? It doesn't present a rich literature search proving that it is a study worth committing to.

The sample size is too small and cannot be not representative of the population of interest. Are there biases? How have they handled this?

Reviewer #2: This is an interesting, well-written, well-organized and recommendable paper that examines the prevalence of musculoskeletal problems among plumbers in low- and middle-income countries.

This research primarily sought to assess the prevalence, pattern and associated risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders among plumbers. In particular, authors reported key scientific results including a 12-month and 7-day prevalence of WMSDs as 84.6% and 50.8% respectively. The authors suggested the most affected body part to be in the order of; low-back>neck> knee.

The findings are original and have not been reported elsewhere.

The choice of assessment questionnaires and study design used was appropriate in addressing the aim of this research. The analysis and presentation of results are clear and addresses the research objectives.

Authors’ conclusions clearly answered set objectives. However, it will be critical to recommend some practical, but cost-effective measures, given the high WMSD prevalences recorded among these plumbers, especially when most of them fall within the informal sector category.

The publication also followed the proper reporting requirements and community standards for data accessibility was written in clear, standard English, and complied with all applicable criteria for research ethics and integrity.

However the sentence “There is a moderate to good agreement for the job factor items and the stability of the instrument was evaluated to be 0.8 [28]” was miscited, given that paper referenced actually sought to “describe the identification and characterization of a novel human mitochondrial inner membrane protein homologous to the yeast Tim50”, hence the deviation.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Prevalence, Pattern and Risk Factors for Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Nigerian Plumbers

PONE-D-22-22802R1

Dear Dr. Mbada,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Professor Kwasi Torpey, MD PhD MPH

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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