Work ability in vibration-exposed workers.
Occup Med (Lond)
; 64(8): 629-34, 2014 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25145484
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Hand-arm vibration exposure may cause hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) including sensorineural disturbances.AIMS:
To investigate which factors had the strongest impact on work ability in vibration-exposed workers.METHODS:
A cross-sectional study in which vibration-exposed workers referred to a department of occupational and environmental medicine were compared with a randomized sample of unexposed subjects from the general population of the city of Gothenburg. All participants underwent a structured interview, answered several questionnaires and had a physical examination including measurements of hand and finger muscle strength and vibrotactile and thermal perception thresholds.RESULTS:
The vibration-exposed group (47 subjects) showed significantly reduced sensitivity to cold and warmth in digit 2 bilaterally (P < 0.01) and in digit 5 in the left hand (P < 0.05) and to warmth in digit 5 in the right hand (P < 0.01), compared with the 18 referents. Similarly, tactilometry showed significantly raised vibration perception thresholds among the workers (P < 0.05). A strong relationship was found for the following multiple regression model estimated work ability = 11.4 - 0.1 × age - 2.3 × current stress level - 2.5 × current pain in hands/arms (multiple r = 0.68; P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:
Vibration-exposed workers showed raised vibrotactile and thermal perception thresholds, compared with unexposed referents. Multiple regression analysis indicated that stress disorders and muscle pain in hands/arms must also be considered when evaluating work ability among subjects with HAVS.Palavras-chave
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Vibração
/
Avaliação da Capacidade de Trabalho
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Exposição Ocupacional
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Síndrome da Vibração do Segmento Mão-Braço
/
Doenças Profissionais
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
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Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
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Humans
/
Male
País como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2014
Tipo de documento:
Article