RESUMO
BACKGROUND: There are no nationwide trend surveys of the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among university students. The aim of the study was to examine whether the prevalence of perceived musculoskeletal pain symptoms among Finnish university students has changed from 2000 to 2012, and to explore the co-occurrence of these symptoms. METHODS: Four cross-sectional nationwide representative samples (n = 11,502) were compared in 2000 (n = 3174), 2004 (n = 3153), 2008 (n = 2750) and 2012 (n = 2425). The prevalence of weekly neck-shoulder, lower back, limb or joint, and temporomandibular joint pain was studied. RESULTS: All the studied pains increased significantly from 2000 to 2012. The prevalence rate of neck-shoulder pain increased from 25% to 29%, lower back pain from 10% to 14%, and limb and joint pain increased from 7% to 8%. The prevalence of pain in temporomandibular joint increased from 4% to 5%. In addition, the co-occurrence of different musculoskeletal pain symptoms increased. All of these pain symptoms were more common among female students and among older students. CONCLUSION: An increasing trend in the prevalence of frequent musculoskeletal pain was found over the period of 12-years among Finnish university students.