Computer Use and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Case-control Study

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the musculoskeletal disorders that is often described as an occupational hazard, including occupations involving computer use. However, clear consensus is lacking as far as the association between the use of computer and risk of possible CTS is concerned.

To assess the association between CTS and computer use.

A case-control study.

A sample size of 411 (137 cases and 274 controls) was calculated using Epi Info (version 6). Thus, 137 confirmed cases of CTS and 274 controls (matched for age and sex) were studied using a structured questionnaire.

Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval was calculated between the two groups to analyze the association. For control of confounding factors, logistic regression analysis was done.

Current use of computer was found to be significantly higher in controls rather than cases (OR = 0.47, CI = 0.27-0.84, P = 0.009). Similarly, past use of computer was also found to be higher in controls. However, the difference was not statistically significant (OR = 0.38, CI = 0.11-1.35, P = 0.20). On applying logistic regression, variables found to be significantly associated with CTS were education (OR = 0.79, CI = 0.66-0.94, P = 0.01), obesity (OR = 3.11, 95%CI = 1.92-5.04, P = 0.00), and short stature (OR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.02-1.1, P = 0.00). Although current use of computer (OR = 0.33, CI = 0.16-0.67, P = 0.00) was significantly associated with CTS in multivariate model, OR of value less than one does not indicate positive association between this variable and CTS.

The study did not demonstrate any positive association between computer use and CTS.