Finger Blood Flow (FBF) Measurement Among Vibration-Exposed Groundskeepers: A Pilot Study in the Southeastern USA

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chen N ; Leach JM ; Oh, Je M. ; Yang S
• Description:
  Objectives: This study assessed finger blood flow (FBF) among groundskeepers using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) and evaluated the association of the FBF with hand-arm vibration (HAV) exposure dose. Methods: Baseline FBF measured before a work shift (FBF baseline) and daily changes in FBF before and after a work shift (delta FBF daily) were measured among 17 groundskeepers and 10 office workers using LDF (PeriFlux 6000, Perimed, Järfälla, Sweden) for 3 days. Study participants' health-related information was obtained through questionnaires, while HAV exposure and demographic information were pulled from our previous study conducted in parallel with the present study. Linear mixed models were employed to estimate the association between HAV exposure dose and FBF. Results: The average FBF baseline for right and left hands was 241.5 and 239.9 perfusion units (PUs), respectively, among the exposure group and 305.6 and 307.3 PU, respectively, among the reference group. The average delta FBF daily for right and left hands was 44.2 and 25.4 PU, respectively, among the exposure group and -35.2 and -33.2 PU, respectively, among the reference group. A significant negative association between lifetime HAV exposure and FBF baseline was observed in the linear mixed model after adjusting for age, body mass index, race/ethnicity and hypertension (right hand: β=-0.0006 and p=0.0055; left hand: β=-0.0009 and p=0.0068). Inconsistent significances were observed between lifetime HAV exposure and delta FBF daily and between daily HAV exposure and delta FBF daily. Conclusions: A significant negative association between lifetime HAV exposure and baseline FBF among groundskeepers was observed, supporting FBF measurement using LDF as a promising health indicator for vascular disorders induced by HAV. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Groundskeeping Workers Hand-arm Vibration Syndrome HAVS Neurovascular Disorders Physiopathology Questionnaires
• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; Birmingham Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  83-89
• Volume:
  82
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070798
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2025 Feb; 82(2):83-89
• Contact Point Address:
  Jonghwa Oh, Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
• Email:
  jonghwa@uab.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7e371c232763dad129c1d57af314643d188729f9f984665ec3f808beb72789adfe09908e95ec48f3862b25acd4562211251b8803cd5c147fa6656bdc2614e19a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208952/cdc_208952_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 508.45 KB ]