Re: Prevalence Estimate of Self-Reported Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Among U.S. Workers by Analyzing the 1988 National Health Interview Survey Data (Letter to Editor)

Details

• Personal Author:
  Behrens VJ ; Halperin, William E. ; Putz-Anderson, Vernon ; Seligman, Paul J. ; Tanaka, Shiro ; Wild, Deanna K.
• Description:
  The authors respond to comments by Nathan et al (1996) on their research on the national prevalence of self reported carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among US workers (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Vol. 28, pages 451-470, 1995, NIOSH-00225950). The authors address comments regarding the subjective nature of the data and calculation of the prevalence of self reported (SR) CTS among recent workers compared to nonrecent workers. While subjectivity is a common problem among questionnaire surveys, reasonable estimations and conclusions based on the data are still valid. Although CTS diagnosis was not confirmed with nerve conduction tests, clear distinctions were observed between individuals with 'medically called' CTS and those with hand discomfort only. In addition, the prevalence of 'medically called' CTS determined in this study was similar to the findings of other investigations. With respect to comparing the prevalences of SR-CTS in recent and nonrecent workers, the authors state that the methodology used accounted for the fact that the samples used were not truly independent and was adjusted for any possible correlation between the two prevalences. The effects of personal factors, such as age, sex and race, on prevalences were also briefly discussed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cumulative Trauma Disorders Epidemiology Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Carpal-tunnel-syndrome Cumulative-trauma-disorders Ergonomics Hand-injuries Health-surveys National Health Interview Survey NIOSH-Author Repetitive Manual Work Statistical-analysis Worker-health

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00235761
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 1996 Oct; 30(4):502-503
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f1795fa8cfb6b8077f2de778f4404b92c8ad2c5d8624e29e88bd3a5c5d7ab62e42947c8ef8d6658e9ce6abb18a9328a817d73217f6652e0fa018ed0a05d607a1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197794/cdc_197794_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 141.24 KB ]