A preliminary study on the function tests of the vibration syndrome in tropical rain forest workers.

Working situations and health hazards directly related to the work of the tropical rain forest workers were studied in Papua New Guinea. The results of the function tests of the vibration syndrome were reported in the preliminary step of this study. Among 61 workers including 16 chain saw operators no clear evidence was found that was related to the health effects of hand-arm vibration, but a possibility existed of an occurrence of subclinical dysfunction of peripheral circulation and peripheral neuropathies. The principal component analysis suggests that the reactiveness of peripheral circulation significantly reflects the duration of the chain saw operation.