Hand-arm vibration and the risk of vascular and neurological diseases—A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

BackgroundIncreased occurrence of Raynaud’s phenomenon, neurosensory injury and carpal tunnel syndrome has been reported for more than 100 years in association with work with vibrating machines. The current risk prediction modelling (ISO-5349) for “Raynaud’s phenomenon” is based on a few studies published 70 to 40 years ago. There are no corresponding risk prediction models for neurosensory injury or carpal tunnel syndrome, nor any systematic reviews comprising a statistical synthesis (meta-analysis) of the evidence.ObjectivesOur aim was to provide a systematic review of the literature on the association between Raynaud’s phenomenon, neurosensory injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome and hand-arm vibration (HAV) exposure. Moreover the aim was to estimate the magnitude of such an association using meta-analysis.MethodsThis systematic review covers the scientific literature up to January 2016. The databases used for the literature search were PubMed and Science Direct. We found a total of 4,335 abstracts, which were read and whose validity was assessed according to pre-established criteria. 294 articles were examined in their entirety to determine whether each article met the inclusion criteria. The possible risk of bias was assessed for each article. 52 articles finally met the pre-established criteria for inclusion in the systematic review.ResultsThe results show that workers who are exposed to HAV have an increased risk of vascular and neurological diseases compared to non-vibration exposed groups. The crude estimate of the risk increase is approximately 4–5 fold. The estimated effect size (odds ratio) is 6.9 for the studies of Raynaud’s phenomenon when including only the studies judged to have a low risk of bias. The corresponding risk of neurosensory injury is 7.4 and the equivalent of carpal tunnel syndrome is 2.9.ConclusionAt equal exposures, neurosensory injury occurs with a 3-time factor shorter latency than Raynaud’s phenomenon. Which is why preventive measures should address this vibration health hazard with greater attention.

The relationship between Raynaud’s phenomenon and Helicobacter pylori

“…As a matter of fact, those people, who work in vibratory jobs or are exposed to industrial products such as rubber are also known to have RP-like clinical symptoms (17,18). When the patients of this article were examined, it was seen that 4 of 29 patients (13.8 %) are occupied with vibratory jobs.…”

Prevalence of hand‐arm vibration syndrome among tyre shop workers in Kelantan, Malaysia

“…The relationship between HAV and CTS remains uncertain. Studies have shown that exposure to HAV increases the risk of CTS . However, since the usage of vibratory tools requires highly repetitive movement in the hand, wrist, and forearm, it is not clear if HAV contributes to this additional risk …”

A Method for Analyzing Hand-Transmitted Vibration Characteristics in the Hand-Arm Parts When Operating the Portable Pneumatic Extinguisher

“…Anthropometric measurements Forearm mass m 5 1.48 kg Forearm length l f 26.9 cm Forearm centroid to wrist length l 3 15.3 cm Forearm centroid to elbow length l 4 11.6 cm Upper arm mass m 6 2.57 kg Upper arm length l u 35.0 cm Upper arm centroid to elbow length l 1 15.2 cm Upper arm centroid to shoulder length l 2 19.8 cm Table 3: e parameter identification result. Table 4: e goodness of t at di erent sets between the Measured and the Modeled.…”

“…Hand-transmitted vibration (HTV) is a phenomenon that vibration is transmitted to the hand or arm system through the handle of a device, which is commonly found in the operation of small handheld vibration devices, such as portable pneumatic extinguisher. Epidemiological studies have shown that prolonged occupational exposure to HTV resulted in the hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), such as vibration-induced white fingers (VWF) [4,5].…”