Background:

Musicians suffer from a wide range of health problems related to their profession. The aim of this paper was to assess whether work-related musician diseases are included into the Official Spanish List of Occupational Diseases and, if so, to describe and quantify those recognized in recent years.

Methods:

The Official Spanish List of Occupational Diseases was searched to identify occupational diseases affecting musicians. We then conducted an incidence study of those occupational diseases recognized under code 29.32 Composers, musicians and singers (CNO-2011) for the period 2007 to 2014. Cases and rates were described and represented by disease type, gender and year of recognition.

Results:

Ten entries were identified as musician diseases in the official occupational disease list; mostly involved musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and hearing loss. Mental health disorders and focal dystonia are not included in the list. In the period 2007-2014, 213 cases were identified, 120 for men and 93 for women. Of these, 81% were MSD, 11% hearing loss and 7% vocal cord nodules. The average incidence rate per 100,000 was 18.3 (19.1 in men and 17.3 in women).

Conclusions:

The official Spanish List of Occupational Diseases allows the recognition of most occupational diseases affecting musicians with the exception of focal dystonia and mental health disorders. Their inclusion should be evaluated. The highest incidence corresponds to musculoskeletal disorders.

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