BACKGROUND: The literature dealing with the health effects of VDU work identified right from the beginning a group of MSDs, mainly affecting the cervicobrachial region, so that VDU work could be considered a risk factor due to biomechanical overload of the upper limbs, OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of symptoms and diseases of VDU workers. METHODS: A cohort of 2022 workers (1125 males and 897 females) working at VDUs for a duration of time equal to or exceeding 20 hours per week, including insurance and bank employees (no desk activity), was submitted to clinical and functional assessment of the cervical spine and upper limbs following a structured protocol (case history, clinical and instrumental examinations), as used by occupational physicians, in order to identify "anamnestic cases" and diagnose upper limb biomechanical overload diseases. Besides medical data, a series of data was also collected in order to obtain details of the work task: time schedule, duration of VDU use, organizational autonomy, data entry method. RESULTS: The prevalence of subjects with UL-WMSDs was 1.9% for males and 5.8% for females, and basically similar to that found in non-exposed working populations. However, there did seem to be a correlation between cervical disorders and computer use, only for females. CONCLUSIONS: In the sample studied no association was shown between VDU work and onset of upper limb diseases, which was confirmed even considering the different exposure variables. Analysis of"anamnestic cases" made by comparison with non-exposed populations, confirmed the lack of association between upper limb diseases and VDU work.
BACKGROUND: The literature dealing with the health effects of VDU work identified right from the beginning a group of MSDs, mainly affecting the cervicobrachial region, so that VDU work could be considered a risk factor due to biomechanical overload of the upper limbs, OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of symptoms and diseases of VDU workers. METHODS: A cohort of 2022 workers (1125 males and 897 females) working at VDUs for a duration of time equal to or exceeding 20 hours per week, including insurance and bank employees (no desk activity), was submitted to clinical and functional assessment of the cervical spine and upper limbs following a structured protocol (case history, clinical and instrumental examinations), as used by occupational physicians, in order to identify "anamnestic cases" and diagnose upper limb biomechanical overload diseases. Besides medical data, a series of data was also collected in order to obtain details of the work task: time schedule, duration of VDU use, organizational autonomy, data entry method. RESULTS: The prevalence of subjects with UL-WMSDs was 1.9% for males and 5.8% for females, and basically similar to that found in non-exposed working populations. However, there did seem to be a correlation between cervical disorders and computer use, only for females. CONCLUSIONS: In the sample studied no association was shown between VDU work and onset of upper limb diseases, which was confirmed even considering the different exposure variables. Analysis of"anamnestic cases" made by comparison with non-exposed populations, confirmed the lack of association between upper limb diseases and VDU work.