The Influence of Visual Display Terminal Use on the Physical and Mental Conditions of Administrative Staff in Japan

Abstract

Visual display terminals (VDT) are standard equipment for many office workers. Their use, however, may increase the risk of developing adverse conditions related to vision, the musculoskeletal system, and mental health. We carried out a survey among 3070 workers aged 18 to 67 years (mean, 39.9 years) at a prefectural administrative office, in which 76% of subjects were visual display terminal (VDT) users. We examined the relationship between duration of daily VDT use and eyestrain, neck or upper extremity pain, back pain, and mental health, and estimated the effect of breaks and rest during VDT work on these symptoms. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12: total scores ranged from 0 to 12) was used to identify potential poor mental health status, and subjects with 4 or more were considered to have symptoms of psychological distress. Seventeen percent of subjects reported eyestrain, 19.1% reported upper extremity pain, 11.6% reported back pain, and 17% of subjects had GHQ-12 scores of 4 or higher. Logistic regression analysis showed that duration of daily VDT use and lack of breaks and rest during VDT work were significantly associated with eyestrain, neck or upper extremity pain, back pain, and psychological distress. In order to protect users from the adverse effects associated with VDT work, reducing daily VDT exposure, taking breaks, and rest during VDT work are important.

Neck and shoulder complaints in computer workers and associated easy to assess occupational factors—a large-scale cross-sectional multivariate study

“…A positive association between musculoskeletal symptoms and duration of computer use has been shown in earlier studies (Demure et al 2000;Jensen et al 2002;Blatter and Bongers 2002;Karlqvist et al 2002;Juul-Kristensen and Jensen 2005;Ye et al 2007). However, differences in selection criteria for the study populations, assessment of outcome measures and categorisation of Although it has been shown that self-reported durations of computer activities are not always accurate if compared to objectively obtained data, the inaccuracy concerned an overestimate of computer activity by self-reporting (Heinrich et al 2004;Mikkelsen et al 2007).…”

Risk Factors for Health Disorders in Computer Operators in Telecom Serbia

“…In one Notes. x 1 -mean value in workers with health complaints, x 2 -mean value in workers without health complaints (control group), OR-odds ratio, CI-confidence interval, BMI-body mass index (kilograms/metre large Indian study, 46.3% of computer operators were affected by astenophy [9], while in Italy this number was 63.1% [10] and in Japan only 17% of computer operators reported visual disturbs [11]. Mental complaints with the prevalence of 7.1% were the third most frequent health disorder in our study population.…”

Association of temporomandibular disorder with occupational visual display terminal use

“…However, the percentage of workers with mental health problems (i.e., strong anxiety, distress and stress) in a recent study conducted in Japan was found to be approximately 60%, which was attributed to rapid generalization of VDT use in the workplace (17). Ye et al identified that >5 h of VDT use at work each day was significantly associated with deterioration of mental health status and concluded that prolonged usage of a VDT for work-related tasks is a risk factor for mental disorders (18). In addition, companies in the information and communication industry in Japan showed the highest percentage (28.5%) of employees who were absent from work for more than 1 month due to a mental health problem (17).…”