Dose-response relationship between hand-transmitted vibration and hand-arm vibration syndrome in a tropical environment
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2013
Abstract
Objectives The dose-response relationship for handtransmitted vibration has been investigated extensively in temperate environments. Since the clinical features of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) differ between the temperate and tropical environment, we conducted this study to investigate the dose-response relationship of HAVS in a tropical environment. Methods A total of 173 male construction, forestry and automobile manufacturing plant workers in Malaysia were recruited into this study between August 2011 and 2012. The participants were interviewed for history of vibration exposure and HAVS symptoms, followed by hand functions evaluation and vibration measurement. Three types of vibration doses-lifetime vibration dose (LVD), total operating time (TOT) and cumulative exposure index (CEI)-were calculated and its log values were regressed against the symptoms of HAVS. The correlation between each vibration exposure dose and the hand function evaluation results was obtained. Results The adjusted prevalence ratio for finger tingling and numbness was 3.34 (95 CI 1.27 to 8.98) for subjects with lnLVD <= 20 ln m(2) s(-4) against those <16 ln m(2) s(-4). Similar dose-response pattern was found for CEI but not for TOT. No subject reported white finger. The prevalence of finger coldness did not increase with any of the vibration doses. Vibrotactile perception thresholds correlated moderately with lnLVD and lnCEI. Conclusions The dose-response relationship of HAVS in a tropical environment is valid for finger tingling and numbness. The LVD and CEI are more useful than TOT when evaluating the dose-response pattern of a heterogeneous group of vibratory tools workers.
Keywords
Induced white finger shipyard workers exposure japan
Divisions
fac_med
Publication Title
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Volume
70
Issue
7
Additional Information
ISI Document Delivery No.: 160HJ Times Cited: 0 Cited Reference Count: 21 Su, Anselm Ting Maeda, Setsuo Fukumoto, Jin Darus, Azlan Hoe, Victor C. W. Miyai, Nobuyuki Isahak, Marzuki Takemura, Shigeki Bulgiba, Awang Yoshimasu, Kouichi Miyashita, Kazuhisa research grants from University of Malaya Research Grant RG276/10HTM; Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research (C) 23590750; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS); JSPS's RONPAKU (Dissertation PhD) Programme This study was funded by research grants from University of Malaya Research Grant (Grant No: RG276/10HTM), Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research (C) (23590750) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and financial support from JSPS's RONPAKU (Dissertation PhD) Programme. The authors' work is independent of the funders. Bmj publishing group London