67 Theoretical impact of workplace-based primary prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome in a french region: a pilot study. (24th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Roquelaure, Y; Petit, A; Chazelle, E; Descatha, A; Evanoff, B; Bodin, J; Fouquet, N
• Is Part Of: Occupational and environmental medicine. Volume 75(2018)Supplement 2
• Page Start: A272
• Page End: A272
• Publication Date: 2018-04-24
• Subjects: carpal tunnel syndrome -- simulation -- preventive efficiency; Medicine, Industrial -- Periodicals; Environmental health -- Periodicals; 616.980305
• DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2018-ICOHabstracts.778
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1351-0711

Abstract

Abstract : Introduction: To assess the theoretical impact of workplace-based primary interventions designed to reduce exposure to personal and/or work-related risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Methods: Cases of CTS were assessed using regional hospital discharge records for persons aged 20–59 in 2004. Using work-related attributable fractions (AFEs), we estimated the number of work-related cases of CTS (WR-CTS) in high-risk jobs. We simulated three theoretical scenarios of workplace-based primary prevention for jobs at risk: a mono-component work-centred intervention reducing the incidence of WR-CTS by 10% (10%-WI), and multicomponent global interventions reducing the incidence of all surgical cases of CTS by 5% and 10% by targeting personal and work risk factors. Result: Nine jobs at high risk of CTS were identified in the region, amounting to 1, 618 [1, 143–2, 233] CTS cases, of which 952 [488–1, 575] were WR-CTS. The 10%-WI, 5% GI and 10% GI hypothetically prevented 95 [49–158], 81 [57–112] and 162 [114–223] CTS cases, respectively. The hypothetical preventive efficiency varied depending on the job. The 10% GI had the greatest impact regardless of the job. The impact of the 10%-WI interventions was high only in jobs at highest risk and AFEs (e.g. food industry jobs). The 10%-WI and 5% GI had a similar impact for moderate-risk jobs (e.g. healthcare jobs). Discussion: This study found that work-related CTS cases were concentrated in several high-risk jobs. Simulated workplace-based WI and GI showed that preventive efficiency varied depending on the intervention design, the number of workers in different jobs and the proportion of work-related CTS. This suggests that prevention efforts to reduce exposure to work-related risk factors should focus on high-risk jobs. Reducing CTS rates will also require strategies to reduce personal risk factors, particularly in jobs with low levels of work-related risk of CTS.