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Updated: Oct 11, 2025
Measurement of the Hand Transmitted Vibration of the Human Hand Arm System During Operation of a Hand Tractor
Published on: June 16, 2021
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Hand-Arm Vibration: A Swedish National Registry Case-Control Study
Per Vihlborg1, Hans Pettersson, Karim Makdoumi
1Department of Geriatrics and Odensbackens Health Center, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden (Dr Vihlborg); School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden (Dr Wikström); Section of Sustainable Health, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden (Dr Pettersson); Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden (Dr Makdoumi); Center for Clinical Research and Education, County Council of Värmland, Sweden (Dr Wikström); Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden (Mr Bryngelsson); Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (Dr Selander); National Institute of Occupational Health (STAMI), Oslo, Norway (Dr Graff).
Objective:
To investigate the increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in men and women with hand-arm vibration (HAV) exposure.
Design:
Case-control study of CTS where 4396 cases was obtained from National Outpatient Register between 2005 through 2016. Cases were matched to controls and exposure was estimated using a job exposure matrix.
Results:
Exposure to HAV increased the risk of CTS with an OR of 1.61 (95% CI 1.46-1.77). The risk was highest in men <30 years of age and among women <30 years no increased risk was observed. The risk increased with a mean year exposure above 2.5 m/s2 to OR 1.84 (95% CI 1.38-2.46).
Conclusions:
HAV exposure increase the risk of CTS in both genders, with highest risk increase in younger men. This emphasize identification of HAV exposure in patients with CTS.
