Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome among dairy workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Douphrate D ; Gilkey D ; Patil, Ashok ; Rosecrance J
• Description:
  Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among dairy workers. Methods: Sixty-six dairy parlor workers and 58 non-parlor workers at dairies in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado participated in structured interviews regarding demographics, work history, and hand symptoms. All participants had nerve conduction studies performed on both hands across the carpal tunnel. A CTS case definition was based on the presence of characteristic CTS symptoms and an abnormal median mononeuropathy across the carpal tunnel. Results The prevalence of CTS among the dairy parlor workers was 16.6% and 3.6% among non-parlor workers. The difference was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05) with an odds ratio of 5.3, CI (1.1-25.5). Conclusions The results of this study indicate that CTS is a significant challenge for dairy parlor workers. The prevalence of CTS was found to be significantly higher among dairy workers performing tasks in the milking parlor as opposed to workers performing tasks in other areas of the dairy farm. The results emphasize the need for administrative and engineering controls to limit the exposure to physical risk factors that are associated with upper limb disorders such as CTS. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Dairy Products Epidemiology Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Author Keywords: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Dairy Products Dairy Workers Hand Injuries Health Surveys Musculoskeletal Disorders Nerve Conduction Studies Nerve Damage Neuropathy Occupational Repetitive Work

  More +
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  127-135
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040241
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2012 Feb; 55(2):127-135
• Contact Point Address:
  John Rosecrance, PhD, PT, CPE, 1681 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
• Email:
  john.rosecrance@colostate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado State University - Ft. Collins
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030915
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20270914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:95de4a7059843c8afa219c57e98890e1942f03a37a775ff849c15dfc9a167558298576dd286306e9c0c2b8c0b19b2957d6ba5be2d5cc6c12272f857057f36e00
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193183/cdc_193183_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 153.03 KB ]