Occupational hand-arm vibration syndrome in Korea.
OBJECTIVE
It is suspected that there is a large number of patients suffering from hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) in Korea. However, no cases have been reported since 1992. This study was conducted to identify HAVS cases and determine the characteristics of the syndrome.


METHODS
In April 2001, the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeong-Nam Province Occupational Disease Surveillance System (BUGODSS) was established to identify work-related HAVS and other occupational diseases. In the 2 years of this project, occupational physicians from five hospitals in these provinces collected information by way of interviews and questionnaires during mandatory occupational medical examinations. Among the initial 189 suspected HAVS cases, 58 volunteers were given cold-water provocation tests in order to diagnose the vascular component of the disorder.


RESULTS
One hundred fifty-four approximately occupational HAVS cases were identified from ca. 21,000 workers. One hundred fifty about of these cases were male. The cases were most often found in workers from the shipbuilding industry, and the grinder was the most common source of vibration exposure. Cases of sensorineural disorder (SD) were more common than cases of vascular disorder (VD). The mean values of the finger skin temperature and its recovery rate at 5 min and 10 min after cold-water provocation were significantly lower in the group with the VD than in the group with the SD.


CONCLUSIONS
We identified 154 occupational HAVS cases, although no cases have been reported during the occupational medical examinations mandated by the state. The majority of the cases were in workers that used grinders in the shipbuilding industry. We determined that peripheral VD and peripheral SD can progress independently of each other. We conclude that exposure to hand-transmitted vibration (HTV) and HAVS cases are common in shipbuilding industry in Korea. The recovery rate of finger skin temperature after cold-water provocation is one of the useful methods for diagnosing the vascular component of HAVS.
Yoo
Cheolin
C
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Dong-Gu, Ulsan, 682-714, South Korea. ciyoo62@hanmail.net
Lee
Ji-Ho
JH
Lee
Choong-Ryeol
CR
Kim
Yangho
Y
Lee
Hun
H
Choi
Younghee
Y
Kim
Young Wook
YW
Chae
Chang Ho
CH
Kim
Hyokyoung
H
Koh
Sang Baek
SB
Kim
Euna
E
Lee
Lu Jin
LJ
Lee
Kiyoung
K
D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010808:Physical Examination; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014732:Vibration / Q000009:adverse effects*