Personal risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome in female visual display unit workers

• Authors: Matteo Riccò , Silvia Cattani , Carlo Signorelli

Abstracts

EN

Objectives Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common nerve entrapment syndrome, which since the beginning of the seventies has been linked to the keyboard and visual display unit (VDU). The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and personal factors associated with CTS in female VDU workers in Italy. Material and Methods Participants in this study were female adult subjects, working ≥ 20 h/week (N = 631, mean age 38.14±7.81 years, mean working age 12.9±7.24 years). Signs and symptoms were collected during compulsory occupational medical surveillance. The binary logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios for the factors of interest. Results Diagnosis of CTS was reported in 48 cases (7.6%, 11 of them or 1.7% after a surgical correction) for the incidence of 5.94/1000 person-years. In general, signs and symptoms of CTS were associated with the following demographic factors: previous trauma of upper limb (adjusted odds ratio (ORa) = 8.093, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.347–27.904), history (> 5 years) of oral contraceptives therapy/hormone replacement therapy (ORa = 3.77, 95% CI: 1.701–8.354) and cervical spine signs/symptoms (ORa = 4.565, 95% CI: 2.281–9.136). Conclusions The prevalence of CTS was similar to the estimates for the general population of Italy. Among personal risk factors, hormone therapy, previous trauma of the upper limb and signs/symptoms of the cervical spine appeared to be associated with a higher risk of CTS syndrome. Eventually, the results reinforce interpretation of CTS in VDU workers as a work-related musculoskeletal disorder rather than a classical occupational disease. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2016;29(6):927–936

Keywords

EN

carpal tunnel syndrome; work-related musculoskeletal disorders; nerve conduction studies; computer office workers; peripheral nervous system disease; cumulative trauma disorder

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 927-936

Dates

published

2016

Contributors

author

Matteo Riccò

• Provincial Agency for Health Services of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Trento, Italy (Department of Prevention, Occupational Health and Safety Unit)

author

Silvia Cattani

• Parma University Hospital, Parma, Italy (School of Nursing Sciences, Department of Clinical Surgery, General Surgery and Surgical Therapy)

author

Carlo Signorelli

• Parma University, Parma, Italy (Department of Biomedical, Biotechnological and Translational Sciences (SBiBiT))

Identifiers

DOI

10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00781

Biblioteka Nauki

2168380