Incidence rates of in-hospital carpal tunnel syndrome in the general population and possible associations with marital status

• Main Authors: Melani Carla (Author), Fateh-Moghadam Pirous (Author), dell'Omo Marco (Author), de Giacomi Giovanna (Author), Bena Antonella (Author), Cooke Robin MT (Author), Curti Stefania (Author), Baldasseroni Alberto (Author), Mattioli Stefano (Author), Biocca Marco (Author), Buiatti Eva (Author), Campo Giuseppe (Author), Zanardi Francesca (Author), Violante Francesco S (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: BMC, 2008-10-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a socially relevant condition associated with biomechanical risk factors. We evaluated age-sex-specific incidence rates of in-hospital cases of CTS in central/northern Italy and explored relations with marital status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seven regions were considered (overall population, 14.9 million) over 3-6-year periods between 1997 and 2002 (when out-of-hospital CTS surgery was extremely rare). Incidence rates of in-hospital cases of CTS were estimated based on 1) codified demographic, diagnostic and intervention data in obligatory discharge records from all Italian public/private hospitals, archived (according to residence) on regional databases; 2) demographic general population data for each region. We compared (using the χ_scoretest) age-sex-specific rates between married, unmarried, divorced and widowed subsets of the general population. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for married/unmarried men and women.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Age-standardized incidence rates (per 100,000 person-years) of in-hospital cases of CTS were 166 in women and 44 in men (106 overall). Married subjects of both sexes showed higher age-specific rates with respect to unmarried men/women. SIRs were calculated comparing married vs unmarried rates of both sexes: 1.59 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.57-1.60) in women, and 1.42 (95% CI, 1.40-1.45) in men. As compared with married women/men, widows/widowers both showed 2-3-fold higher incidence peaks during the fourth decade of life (beyond 50 years of age, widowed subjects showed similar trends to unmarried counterparts).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This large population-based study illustrates distinct age-related trends in men and women, and also raises the question whether marital status could be associated with CTS in the general population.</p>

Item Description

10.1186/1471-2458-8-374
1471-2458