Gülsemin ERTÜRK ÇELİK, Abdurrahman İSKENDER, Ahmet USTA, Alper DOĞANCI
Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences - 2026;56(5):1546-1555
Background/aim: Office work is characterized by prolonged sitting and may be accompanied by musculoskeletal symptoms and reduced well-being. This study examined associations of step-based and self-reported physical activity, clinical posture, attitudes toward sports, smartphone addiction, and musculoskeletal symptom burden in office workers with the four domains of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF). Materials and methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 44 desk-based office workers at a public institution. WHOQOL-BREF domain scores were transformed to a 0-100 scale. Physical activity was assessed via 7-day average daily step counts and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF); posture was assessed using the New York Posture Rating Scale (NYPRS). Spearman correlations across seven candidate correlates and four WHOQOL-BREF domains were evaluated with Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) correction (28 tests). Exploratory multiple linear regression models used the same three predictors (daily steps per 1000 steps/day, NYPRS score, and Cornell musculoskeletal score) for each domain. Results: The Physical Health regression model was significant (R2 = 0.381, adjusted R2 = 0.334, F(3,40) = 8.203, p < 0.001); NYPRS scores were positively associated with Physical Health (B = 5.45 per 6.70-point increase, beta = 0.330, p = 0.019, 95% CI: 0.95 to 9.94), Cornell scores were negatively associated (B = -4.48 per 83-point increase, beta = -0.271, p = 0.043, 95% CI: -8.80 to -0.17), and daily steps showed a positive but imprecise estimate (B = 1.169 points per 1000 steps/day, beta = 0.257, p = 0.065). Conclusion: Better postural alignment showed the most consistent adjusted association with health-related quality of life, particularly the Physical and Psychological domains. Associations involving daily steps and musculoskeletal symptom burden were less stable across inferential and sensitivity analyses. Given the small cross-sectional sample, the findings are exploratory and should not be interpreted causally.
