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Work disability after diagnosis of hand-arm vibration syndrome

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Abstract

Purpose

Our aim was to study the course of vasospastic and sensorineural symptoms after the clinical diagnosis of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), and the association of current HAVS symptoms with occupational status, self-evaluation of health, quality of life, and work ability.

Methods

We gathered all HAVS cases diagnosed at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki and Tampere during 1990–2008. A questionnaire was sent to all these patients (n = 241). Altogether 149 of them (62 %) returned the questionnaire. Cumulative lifelong vibration exposure was evaluated on the basis of the data in the patient files.

Results

On average, 8.5 years after the diagnosis of HAVS, approximately one-third of the patients reported improvement in symptoms of vibration-induced white finger (VWF) and the sensorineural symptoms. Young age and shorter exposure time were associated with improvement in VWF symptoms (p = 0.033 and p < 0.001, respectively). Persistent or deteriorated symptoms of both VWF and sensorineural symptoms were associated with lowered work ability, quality of life (EQ-5D), and general health, also after adjusting for age, smoking, and diseases other than HAVS. The patients’ own prediction of work ability in 2 years was more negative if the VWF symptoms or sensorineural symptoms had continued after diagnosis of HAVS (p = 0.065 and p = 0.001, respectively).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that in about two-thirds of the patients, the HAVS symptoms may stabilize or deteriorate in the follow-up. Considering the effects on work ability, timely prevention measures should be taken more actively to help patients continue their working careers.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinic of Occupational Medicine, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland

    Riitta Sauni & Jukka Uitti

  2. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, PO Box 486, 33101, Tampere, Finland

    Riitta Sauni, Pauliina Toivio, Rauno Pääkkönen & Jukka Uitti

  3. MediVita Terveyspalvelut Oy, Helsinki, Finland

    Jari Malmström

  4. School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    Jukka Uitti

Authors
  1. Riitta Sauni
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  2. Pauliina Toivio
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  3. Rauno Pääkkönen
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  4. Jari Malmström
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  5. Jukka Uitti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Riitta Sauni.

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Sauni, R., Toivio, P., Pääkkönen, R. et al. Work disability after diagnosis of hand-arm vibration syndrome. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 88, 1061–1068 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-015-1034-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-015-1034-1

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