title: Prevalence and Related Characteristics of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Among Orchardists in the Gyeongsangnam-do Region.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence and related characteristics of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in orchardists and to investigate the association between electrodiagnostic severity and physical examinations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between July 2013 and September 2014, 377 subjects (174 men and 203 women) visited the Gyeongsang National University Hospital's Center for Farmer's Safety and Health. All the subjects underwent electrodiagnostic tests and physical examination, including Phalen's test, Tinel's sign, and Durkan's carpal compression test (CCT). The subjects were classified into 2 groups, the normal group and the CTS group, according to electrodiagnostic test results. To determine the related characteristics of CTS, potential variables, including age, sex, drinking, smoking, body mass index, waist circumference, and total work time, were compared between the 2 groups. The association between electrodiagnostic severity and physical examinations was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CTS was diagnosed in 194 subjects based only on electrodiagnostic test results, corresponding to a prevalence of 51.5%. Among the variables, mean age (p=0.001) and total work time (p=0.007) were significantly correlated with CTS. With respect to the physical examinations, low specificities were observed for Tinel's sign, Phalen's test, and Durkan's CCT (38.4%, 36.1%, and 40.9%, respectively) in the subjects aged ≥65 years. In addition, Phalen's test (p=0.003) and Tinel's sign (p=0.032) in men and Durkan's CCT (p=0.047) in women showed statistically significant differences with increasing CTS severity. The odds ratio was 2.066 for Durkan's CCT in women according to the multivariate logistic regression analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CTS prevalence among orchardists was high, and Durkan's CCT result was significantly quantitatively correlated with the electrodiagnostic test results. Therefore, Durkan's CCT is another reliable examination method for CTS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Ho-Yeon
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1963-2502
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Min Sik
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4121-5780
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Hun
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3596-9458
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Han
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8351-5226
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Min-Kyun
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0258-6298
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Shin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7764-1522
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Heesuk
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4181-2825
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Chul Ho
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4916-4180
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yoon
keywords: Carpal tunnel syndrome; Electrodiagnosis; Physical examination; Prevalence