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PubMed1998

Predictive models of carpal tunnel syndrome causation among VDT operators.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a cumulative trauma disorder of the hand and wrist, is one of the most common disabling injuries experienced by video-display terminal (VDT) operators. The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretically based operational quantitative predictive model of the risk of work-related CTS among VDT operators. A total of 100 female VDT operators, who performed a variety of office functions, were studied at a major midwestern university. Data were collected on job exposure, anthropometry and posture factors using questionnaires, direct observation and video-recording. Discriminant analysis and logistic regression were performed to develop the operational models. The results of the study indicated the following: (1) percentage of workday working with a VDT was the most significant factor and accounted for 60% of the variance explaining the causation of musculoskeletal discomforts associated with CTS; (2) discriminant function with six variables (i.e. work duration, trunk incline, wrist extension, wrist ulnar deviation, overall anthropometric measure, weighted anthropometric measure) correctly classified 73% of the CTS group and 72% of the non-CTS group; (3) using the logistic regression model, the probabilities associated with changes in the predictive variables as affecting CTS risk are presented such that increasing the daily work duration from 1 h to 4 h increases the probability of CTS risk from 0.45 to 0.92. The results of the study suggest that the main causation of CTS is job design, the secondary (and lesser cause) is posture associated with the workplace design and the least contributing factor to CTS causation is the individual's anthropometric make-up.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1995

Pulsed magnetic field from video display terminals enhances teratogenic effects of cytosine arabinoside in mice.

Eighty-nine Swiss Webster mice were randomly divided into four groups: a control group, a pulsed magnetic field (PMF) group, a cytosine arabinoside (ara-C, a teratogen) group, and a combined PMF + ara-C group. Mice in the PMF and PMF + ara-C groups were irradiated with a PMF (a sawtooth waveform with 52 microseconds rise time, 12 microseconds decay time, and 15.6 kHz frequency) at a peak magnetic flux density of 40 microT for 4 hours daily on days 6-17 of gestation. The mice in the ara-C and the PMF + ara-C groups were injected intraperitoneally on day 9 of gestation with 10 mg/kg of ara-C. The incidence of resorption and dead fetuses was not affected by PMF but was increased by ara-C injection. The malformation incidence of cleft palate (CP) and/or cleft lip (CL) was significantly higher in all three of the treated groups than in the control group (P < 0.05). If, however, statistical analyses had been done on litters rather than on individual fetuses, they would show that the incidence of CP and/or CL in the PMF group is not significantly greater than that in the control group. A significantly higher incidence of CP and/or CL was found in the PMF + ara-C group (49%) than the ara-C alone group (26.1%). These data suggest that PMF might enhance the development of ara-C-induced CP and/or CL. The incidence of minor variations in skeletal development, including reduction of skeletal calcification and loss of skeleton, was not statistically significant in the PMF group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Changes in postural risk and general health associated with a participatory ergonomics education program used by heavy video display terminal users: a pilot study.

To determine if a brief, participatory ergonomics education program was associated with changes in work posture and general health of heavy video display terminal (VDT) users, 23 full-time VDT users participated in an on-site, small-group, 60-minute ergonomics education session and 1 week later an individual 15-minute follow-up session at their workstation. Posture was assessed by a blinded tester who scored videotape records to complete the Postural and Repetitiveness Risk Factors Index (PRRI), and general health status was assessed via self-administered Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire before the intervention and again 5 weeks later. Five weeks after the 60-minute session, PRRI scores were 19% lower than were preintervention scores (p < 0.01), indicating lower postural risk. SF-36 physical (2% higher) and mental (4% higher) component scores were not statistically different, however, before and after intervention (p > 0.05). Although the participatory ergonomics education program was associated with improved work posture (PRRI scores) after 5 weeks, general physical and mental health (SF-36 scores) did not change within this time period. These results suggest that a participatory ergonomics program, which is of short duration and minimally disruptive to the normal workplace routine, may have a rapid effect on improving work posture. Although awkward posture is thought to be a risk factor for work-related musculoskeletal disorders, multigroup and long-term randomized trials are required to establish the effectiveness of participatory ergonomics programs in reducing the incidence and severity of musculoskeletal disorders associated with heavy VDT use.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Investigation of subjective symptoms among visual display terminal users and their affecting factors--analysis using log-linear models].

In order to evaluate factors affecting visual and musculoskeletal symptoms by visual display terminal (VDT) operation, a questionnaire survey was conducted among clerical workers in Chiba university. The results were as follows: 1) Of these workers, 81.9% engaged in VDT operation. For most of the subjective symptoms, the prevalence rates tended to increase with the degree of VDT use. 2) These complaints were combined to give visual and musculoskeletal symptom scores. Both of the scores were higher among females than males, and the musculoskeletal symptom score was significantly higher. No difference was found in regard to age. 3) Analysis using log-linear models was performed to evaluate the effects of sex and age. The results showed that the visual and musculoskeletal symptom scores were significantly higher among the workers operating VDTs for one or more hours per day than among those who did not operate them at all. Analysis of the effects of VDT workloads revealed that VDT use for five or more days per week significantly increased the prevalence rates of both symptoms. Their use for less than four days per week affected neither of the symptoms. With regard to operating time per day or length of VDT use, no differences were found. 4) This investigation suggested that the VDT workloads were not so heavy and that the effects on each symptom were minor among the subjects of the present survey. However, it is important that consideration be given to ensure that the workloads for workers who operate VDTs every day not be too heavy.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Study of the relationship between lacrimation and blink in VDT work.

VDT (Visual Display Terminal) work generates various symptoms in operators' eyes such as strain, a sensation of dryness, the presence of a foreign body, and so on. Research suggests that lacrimal abnormality may be related causally to such symptoms. In this paper, the relationship between lacrimation (the secretion of tears) and the frequency of blink due to VDT work in health subjects and VDT workers with such symptoms, and consequent therapeutic methods, were studied. When lacrimation, BUT (Break-UP Time), and the frequency of blink before and after VDT work compared in the control subjects and VDT-operators, an essential difference was noted in experiment 1 the frequency of blink decreased only during VDT operation, and a decreasing tendency of lacrimation was also noted while lacrimation before operation was already less in the VDT group; no large variation was noted before or after VDT operation. The frequency of blink was relatively high during operation, and a decreasing tendency of BUT was noted, compared with that for control subjects. In experiment 2, lacrimation increased remarkably in four eyes (of two operators), and relief from the subjective symptoms was noted. However, BUT intactly reduced similarly before the use of a gelatin rod during the whole process. The insertion of a gelatin rod was consecutively carried out every two weeks for approximately eight months; the development of complications such as dacryosolenitis, etc., was not noted. From these results, it is considered that the insertion of a gelatin rod is clinically useful for VDT operators with decreasing lacrimation.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Accumulation of VDT work-related visual fatigue assessed by visual evoked potential, near point distance and critical flicker fusion.

To confirm daily accumulation of visual fatigue induced by work with visual display terminals (VDT), visual evoked potential (VEP), near point distance (NPD) and critical flicker fusion (CFF) were measured in three VDT workers and three sex- and age-matched controls (non-VDT workers) in the morning, noontime and evening for five consecutive days (Monday to Friday), totally 15 times per subject. The workers had been engaged in wireless handling operation, with VDTs, of an unmanned power shovel (Worker 1), an unmanned 78-ton dump truck (Worker 2) and mobile monitor-cameras (Worker 3), for 10 months. Their working hours were about 6.5 hours per day; but, the Worker 2 could take a 10-minute recess (a period without VDT work) per about 30 minutes during working hours. Significant daily variations in the VEP latency, NPD and CFF were found in the Worker 1 or Worker 3 despite the absence of any significant daily or diurnal variations in the non-VDT workers; the trends in the variations were getting worse from Monday to Friday. The NPD in the VDT workers was significantly longer than that in each of the matched controls; also, the CFF in the Workers 1 and 3 was significantly depressed. The changes in the VEP latency from morning to noontime and in the NPD and CFF from noontime to evening were significantly larger in the VDT worker than in the matched control. These findings suggest that VDT work probably affects visual function assessed by the VEP, NPD and CFF. Visual fatigue due to long-term VDT work may tend to be accumulated day by day.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Cumulative trauma disorders in the upper extremities: reliability of the postural and repetitive risk-factors index.

OBJECTIVE: This study addresses test-retest reliability of the Postural and Repetitive Risk-Factors Index (PRRI) for work-related upper body injuries. This assessment was developed by the present authors. DESIGN: A repeated measures design was used to assess the test-retest reliability of a videotaped work-site assessment of subjects' movements. SUBJECTS: Ten heavy users of video display terminals (VDTs) from a local banking industry participated in the study. SETTING: The 10 subjects' movements were videotaped for 2 hours on each of 2 separate days, while working on-site at their VDTs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The videotaped assessment, which utilized known postural risk factors for developing musculoskeletal disorder, pain, and discomfort in heavy VDT users (ie, repetitiveness, awkward and static postures, and contraction time), was called the PRRI. The videotaped movement assessments were subsequently analyzed in 15-minute sessions (five sessions per 2-hour videotape, which produced a total of 10 sessions over the 2 testing days), and each session was chosen randomly from the videotape. The subjects' movements were given a postural risk score according to the criteria in the PRRI. Each subject was therefore tested a total of 10 times (ie, 10 sessions), over two days. The maximum PRRI score for both sides of the body was 216 points. RESULTS: Reliability coefficients (RCs) for the PRRI scores were calculated, and the reliability of any one session met the minimum criterion for excellent reliability, which was .75. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) confirmed that there was no statistically significant difference between sessions (p < .05). Calculations using the standard error of measurement (SEM) indicated that an individual tested once, on one day and with a PRRI score of 25, required a change of at least 8 points in order to be confident that a true change in score had occurred. The significant results from the reliability tests indicated that the PRRI was a reliable measurement tool that could be used by occupational health practitioners on the job site.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Evaluation of myopia in a group of people working with video terminals: first results].

UNLABELLED: Since the 70's the occupational use of electronic systems equipped with visual display terminals (VDTs) became wide-spread also in Italy. Some longitudinal studies on large samples of VDT workers found no significant changes of myopia (M) with regard to years and daily hours spent working at a VDT. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and the time course of M in 209 VDT workers employed in the service sector. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After obtaining workers' informed consent their work, social, family and personal medical histories were collected. Myopia was defined as need of >0.25 D negative spherical correction. Average daily hours duringfollow-up and overall years spent working at a VDT were calculated as exposure indexes. RESULTS: The mean baseline age was 39.2 years (SD: 8.7, min-max: 22-62) and the mean education was 14 years (SD: 2.2). The mean follow-up period was 5.5 (3-9) years. The prevalence of M was 45.5% at the start and 49.8% at the end of the study. It was higher in workers with >13 years of education and in those < 40 year-old. A slight but significant increase of the degree of M (dioptres) occurred during the follow-up. The change in the degree of M was not different between the classes of VDT exposure (< or = 4 and >4 daily hours; < or =15 and >15 years spent), of education and of age at the end of follow-up. DISCUSSION: The high mean educational level can partly explain the higher prevalence of M detected in the workers on study with respect to the one described elsewhere on VDT workers and general population. The progression of the M seems not to be related to the professional and personal variables analyzed, but to depend on the natural evolution of M. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary data in larger groups of VDT workers.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Coping and self-image in patients with visual display terminal-related skin symptoms and perceived hypersensitivity to electricity.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to measure coping resources and self-image in patients with visual display terminal (VDT)-related skin symptoms and hypersensitivity to electricity (HE). METHODS: From 1980 to 1998, 350 patients with electrical sensitivity were registered. The patients were subdivided into two groups: patients with skin symptoms evoked by VDTs, television screens, and fluorescent-light tubes and patients with so-called hypersensitivity to electricity with multiple symptoms evoked by exposure to different electrical environments. A questionnaire was sent to all patients and contained the coping resources inventory (CRI) and the structural analysis of social behaviour (SASB) in order for us to measure coping resources and self-image, respectively. The CRI and SASB scores were compared with those of control groups. Two hundred and fifty respondents (73%) returned the questionnaire, 200 (78.5% women) in the VDT group and 50 (62% women) in the HE group. RESULTS: The patient group rated high on the CRI spiritual/philosophical scale and high on the SASB spontaneous, positive and negative clusters but low on the controlled cluster. The female patients scored high on the CRI emotional scale. The VDT group rated lower than the controls on the SASB controlled cluster and higher on both the positive and negative cluster. The HE group scored higher than the control group on the SASB spontaneous and positive clusters. The women in the HE group scored higher on the CRI cognitive and CRI total scale than the VDT group and control group and higher on the CRI emotional scale than the controls. The women in the HE group rated higher than both the women in the VDT and control groups on the SASB spontaneous and positive clusters. CONCLUSIONS: The deviant self-image found in these patients, especially the female HE patients, support the view that VDT and HE symptoms can be stress related. In the clinic, a trustful alliance should be established with the patient in order for a more realistic view to be achieved of the capacity.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Video display terminals and the risk of spontaneous abortion.

BACKGROUND: The relation between spontaneous abortion and the use of video display terminals (VDTs) is of great public health concern. Previous investigators of this issue have reported inconsistent findings. METHODS: To determine whether electromagnetic fields emitted by VDTs are associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, a cohort of female telephone operators who used VDTs at work was compared with a cohort of operators who did not use VDTs. To obtain reliable estimates of exposure, we determined the number of hours of VDT use per week from company records and measured electromagnetic fields at VDT workstations and, for purposes of comparison, at workstations without VDTs. Operators who used VDTs had higher abdominal exposure to very-low-frequency (15 kHz) electromagnetic fields (workstations without VDTs did not emit very-low-frequency energy). Abdominal exposure to extremely-low-frequency fields (45 to 60 Hz) was similar for both operators who used VDTs and those who did not. Among 2430 women interviewed, there were 882 pregnancies that met our criteria for inclusion in the study. RESULTS: We found no excess risk of spontaneous abortion among women who used VDTs during the first trimester of pregnancy (odds ratio = 0.93; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.63 to 1.38), and no dose-response relation was apparent when we examined the women's hours of VDT use per week (odds ratio for 1 to 25 hours per week = 1.04; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.61 to 1.79; odds ratio for greater than 25 hours per week = 1.00; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.61 to 1.64). There continued to be no risk associated with the use of VDTs when we accounted for multiple pregnancies, conducted separate analyses of early abortion, late abortion, and all fetal losses, or limited our analyses to spontaneous abortions for which a physician was consulted. CONCLUSIONS: The use of VDTs and exposure to the accompanying electromagnetic fields were not associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion in this study.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed2002

Paper or screen, mother tongue or English: which is better? A randomized trial.

CONTEXT: To compare family physicians' ability to retain information when reading a review article on paper vs on screen, and in their mother tongue vs in English. METHODS: Randomized trial of 114 Scandinavian family physicians who read a review article in October or November 2000 from the Journal of Trauma for 10 minutes either on paper and in English, on screen and in English, on paper in their mother tongue, or on screen in their mother tongue. To assess comprehension, they immediately completed a questionnaire with 6 open questions about 13 key facts from the review article. Sum score was on a scale from 0 (no correct answers) to 13 points (all questions answered correctly). RESULTS: There was no significant difference between readers of paper vs screen versions, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 4 (2-6) vs 4 (2-5), respectively (P =.97). Physicians who read in their mother tongue scored significantly higher than those who read in English, with a median (IQR) of 4 (3-6) vs 3 (2-4) (P =.01). CONCLUSION: The medium (paper vs screen) did not influence the ability of family physicians to retain medical information. They best retained medical information when reading in their mother tongue.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Effect of four computer keyboards in computer users with upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders.

Eighty computer users with musculoskeletal disorders participated in a 6-month, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the effects of four computer keyboards on clinical findings, pain severity, functional hand status, and comfort. The alternative geometry keyboards tested were: the Apple Adjustable Keyboard [kb1], Comfort Keyboard System [kb2], Microsoft Natural Keyboard [kb3], and placebo. Compared to placebo, kb3 and to a lesser extent kb1 groups demonstrated an improving trend in pain severity and hand function following 6 months of keyboard use. However, there was no corresponding consistent improvement in clinical findings in the alternative geometry keyboard groups compared to the placebo group. Overall, there was a significant correlation between improvement of pain severity and greater satisfaction with the keyboards. These results provide evidence that keyboard users may experience a reduction in hand pain after several months of use of some alternative geometry keyboards.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Elbow and wrist/hand symptoms among 6,943 computer operators: a 1-year follow-up study (the NUDATA study).

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine relations between computer work aspects and elbow and wrist/hand pain conditions and disorders. METHODS: In a 1-year follow-up study among 6,943 technical assistants and machine technicians self-reported active mouse and keyboard time, ergonomic exposures and associations with elbow and wrist/hand pain were determined. Standardized clinical examinations were performed among symptomatic participants at baseline and at follow-up. RESULTS: For continuous duration of mouse time adjusted linear effects were statistically significant for all investigated pain conditions. For continuous duration of keyboard time the corresponding effects were statistically significant for wrist/hand pain conditions except incident 'severe' wrist/hand pain. There were no threshold effects above 0 hr per week (hr/w) of mouse exposure in association with pain conditions, while keyboard exposure showed a threshold effect with 12-month wrist/hand pain at follow-up. Clinical diagnoses were not associated with exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Detailed examination of self-reported exposures showed that mouse and keyboard time predicted elbow and wrist/hand pain from low exposure levels without a threshold effect, but mouse and keyboard time were not predictors of clinical conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Extremely-low-frequency and very-low-frequency magnetic fields emitted by video display units.

Extremely-low-frequency (ELF) and very-low-frequency (VLF) magnetic fields as emitted by monochrome and multichrome video display units (VDUs) were measured for their frequency domains. The rms magnetic-flux densities (MFDs) were measured as a function of distance from all six sides of VDUs of four types. The MFDs at a distance of 30 cm from the screen (defined as the operator's position) were between 0.06 and 0.6 microT in the ELF range and between 0.02 and 0.06 microT in the VLF range. The contribution of harmonics to the total MFD was the same for both frequency ranges, less than 6%. For the first three harmonics, the MFD of each higher harmonic was one-half that of the immediately lower harmonic.

Computer Terminals↗
PubMed2004

MR thermometry-based feedback control of laser interstitial thermal therapy at 980 nm.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to explore the feasibility of magnetic resonance thermal imaging (MRTI)-based feedback control of intracerebral laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), using a computer workstation and 980-nm diode laser interfaced to an MR scanner. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: A computer-controlled laser thermal therapy system was used to produce 12 ex vivo lesions in 3 canine and porcine brains and 16 in vivo lesions in 6 canines with diffusing tip fiberoptic applicators and energies from 54 to 900 J. MRTI predictions of thermal damage were correlated with histopathologic analysis. RESULTS: Under feedback control, no carbonization, vaporization, or applicator damage was observed. MRTI-based prediction of thermal dose was not significantly different from histological evaluation of achieved thermal necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: The computer-controlled thermal therapy system was effective at regulating heating, eliminating carbonization and vaporization, and protecting fiberoptic applicators. MRTI estimation of thermal dose accurately predicted achieved thermal necrosis.

Animals↗