Prevalence and incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome in US working populations: pooled analysis of six prospective studies

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burt, Susan E. ; Dale, Ann M. ; Eisen EA ; Evanoff B ; Garg, Arun ; Gerr F ; Harris-Adamson C ; Hegmann K ; Kapellusch J ; Merlino L ; Rempel D ; Silverstein B ; Thiese MS
• Description:
  OBJECTIVES: Most studies of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) incidence and prevalence among workers have been limited by small sample sizes or restricted to a small subset of jobs. We established a common CTS case definition and then pooled CTS prevalence and incidence data across six prospective studies of musculoskeletal outcomes to measure CTS frequency and allow better studies of etiology. METHODS: Six research groups collected prospective data at >50 workplaces including symptoms characteristic of CTS and electrodiagnostic studies (EDS) of the median and ulnar nerves across the dominant wrist. While study designs and the timing of data collection varied across groups, we were able to create a common CTS case definition incorporating both symptoms and EDS results from data that were collected in all studies. RESULTS: At the time of enrollment, 7.8% of 4321 subjects met our case definition and were considered prevalent cases of CTS. During 8833 person-years of follow-up, an additional 204 subjects met the CTS case definition for an overall incidence rate of 2.3 CTS cases per 100 person-years. CONCLUSIONS: Both prevalent and incident CTS were common in data pooled across multiple studies and sites. The large number of incident cases in this prospective study provides adequate power for future exposure-response analyses to identify work and non-work related risk factors for CTS. The prospective nature allows determination of the temporal relations necessary for causal inference. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Men Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Carpal-tunnel-syndrome CTS Etiology Hand-injuries Humans Incidence Industry Injuries Longitudinal Study Median Nerve MSD Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Musculoskeletal Disorder Nerve-damage Nerve-function Nerve Compression Nerves Occupational Injury Prevalence Prospective Study Repetitive-work Statistical-analysis Surveillance USA Work-related Injury Workers

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• ISSN:
  0355-3140
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Iowa ; Missouri ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Utah ; Washington ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  495-505
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20042230
• Citation:
  Scand J Work Environ Health 2013 Sep; 39(5):495-505
• Contact Point Address:
  Ann Marie Dale, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8005, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA
• Email:
  adale@dom.wustl.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of California-San Francisco
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20100901
• Source Full Name:
  Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• End Date:
  20140831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:42e6559d05483936d695538fd9778af9e2ee9ff1a9776862d1688df2ad0b22e063f3d01bd506320fd44852312c651cfc95c1e3475213c6a2396d3af740091a50
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194524/cdc_194524_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 362.10 KB ]