title: Carpal tunnel syndrome among ewe dairy farmers in Sardinia, Italy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The region of Sardinia, Italy is known internationally for the production of cheeses made from ewe's milk. Although the use of automated milking equipment is available in ewe dairy operations, traditional hand milking is still performed on many ewe farms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among farmers that manually milk ewes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Worker demographics, upper limb symptoms, and electrophysiologic studies were obtained on 76 ewe farmers recruited from a random sample of 109 in northern Sardinia. Characteristic hand symptoms and electrophysiologic studies were used in the case definition of CTS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 76 farmers evaluated, 42 (55.3%) fit the case definition of CTS in at least one hand. Assuming that all non-respondents did not have CTS, the CTS prevalence ratio would have been 38.5% (42/109) among the randomized sample of ewe farmers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that CTS is a significant occupational health issue for ewe farmers that continue the traditional methods of manual milking. The recent trend in automated ewe milking machines may help reduce the prevalence of CTS among the next generation of Italian ewe farmers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA. john.rosecrance@colostate.edu
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rosecrance
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marras
authors.forename: Lelia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murgia
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tartaglia
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baldasseroni
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003612:Dairying; D004568:Electrodiagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012756:Sheep; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: agriculture; carpal tunnel syndrome; epidemiology; occupational