Vibration thresholds as a function of age and diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome: a preliminary report.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Putz-Anderson, Vernon ; Winn FJ Jr.
• Description:
  A study of age related changes in vibration thresholds in persons with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was conducted. The cohort consisted of 34 persons diagnosed with CTS. The comparisons consisted of 34 persons with no diagnosed symptoms of nerve impairment. The age range of the subjects in both groups was 20 to 65 years. Vibration thresholds of the subjects were determined with the Optacon, an instrument that measured tactile stimulation of the index fingers of the right hand. When stratified by age, the 20 to 29 year old group contained six CTS patients and ten comparisons, the 30 to 39 year old group five CTS patients and 11 comparisons, the 40 to 49 year age group seven CTS patients and six comparisons, and the 50 to 65 year old group nine CTS patients and seven comparisons. Vibration thresholds of all CTS patients averaged 37% higher than those of the comparisons. Vibration thresholds in the 40 to 49 and 50 to 65 year old CTS patients and comparisons were significantly higher than in the 20 to 29 year age group. The authors conclude that screening programs for CTS that rely only on the results of vibration threshold data that do not take into account age will probably generate large numbers of false positives for workers over 40 years of age. There is need for age adjusted norms for vibration thresholds. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Diagnosis Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Sense Organs Vibration
• Keywords:
  NIOSH-Author; Vibration-exposure; Screening-methods; Sensory-thresholds; Age-factors; Carpal-tunnel-syndrome; Occupational-health; Clinical-diagnosis; Humans
• ISSN:
  0361-073X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  221-224
• Volume:
  16
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00209080
• Citation:
  Exp Aging Res 1990 Oct; 16(4):221-224
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Experimental Aging Research
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/247775/cdc_247775_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]