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Work-related cumulative trauma disorders of the upper extremity: navigating the epidemiologic literature
Dianne Zakaria1, James Robertson, Joy MacDermid
1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. diannez@biostats.uwo.ca
Background:
Cumulative trauma disorder of the upper extremity (CTDUE) is an umbrella term used to describe disorders resulting from repeated use of the upper extremity over time rather than a specific incident. The primary purpose of this article is to summarize the literature regarding the rate of work-related CTDUE, while drawing attention to the various factors contributing to the wide range of reported findings.
Methods:
The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health and Medline databases were searched for articles focusing on etiology or rates of occurrence of work-related CTDUE and their findings were summarized.
Results:
Potential reasons for rising rates, a gender differential, and the substantial range in rates and rate ratios are delineated and important factors to consider when interpreting rates derived from workers' compensation data are detailed.
Conclusions:
Future research should attempt to correctly identify more specific categories of CTDUE in well-defined and accurately-quantified "at risk" populations to provide more meaningful information regarding the epidemiology of CTDUE and the effectiveness of control activities.