title: Is carpal tunnel syndrome a slow, chronic, progressive nerve entrapment?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to investigate the presenting profile of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) at various ages.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a cross-sectional study of CTS, analysing the correlation between severity and age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We examined 3108 subjects with CTS, whose frequency increased from 20.9% for the age group 20-29 years to 61.7% for the age group 50-59 years. It remained at almost 50% in people aged over 80 years (49.2%). More than 50% of people younger than 30 years had mild CTS. Severe CTS progressively increased, reaching more than 50% of the CTS diagnoses in people over 80 years. Of the total number of cases, 80.8% of subjects had bilateral CTS. Mild NCS-EMG abnormalities were seen in 74.1% of patients with unilateral involvement, whereas moderate and severe CTS appeared in 70.3% of patients with bilateral involvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a clear trend of deterioration with advancing years when comparing severity to age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CTS seems to be a chronic condition whose signs and symptoms may vary and progress, becoming worse over time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universidade Luterana do Brasil ULBRA, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Neurology Service, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul PUCRS, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Electronic address: jeffersonbecker@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jefferson
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Neurology Service, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul PUCRS, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata Siciliani
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Scalco
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universidade Luterana do Brasil ULBRA, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Franciane
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pietroski
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universidade Luterana do Brasil ULBRA, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Felippe S
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Celli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Universidade Luterana do Brasil ULBRA, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Neurology Service, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul PUCRS, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Irenio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gomes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Ageing; Carpal tunnel syndrome; Nerve conduction studies; Severity