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Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome among dairy workers
Author(s) -
Patil Anuja,
Rosecrance John,
Douphrate David,
Gilkey David
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.21995
Subject(s) - carpal tunnel syndrome , medicine , carpal tunnel , milking , odds ratio , mononeuropathy , demographics , physical therapy , occupational medicine , environmental health , occupational exposure , surgery , demography , zoology , peripheral neuropathy , biology , endocrinology , sociology , diabetes mellitus
Abstract 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. Am. J. Ind. Med. 55:127–135, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.