Background/Purpose: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is associated with high-repetition, forceful jobs. Additionally, non-occupational factors, such as arthritis, have been associated with CTS. There is conflicting evidence about the association between arthritis and CTS¹, probably due to studies with small samples, obtained from medical clinics rather than the general population, and “work-related” CTS populations. We used data from the 2010 National Health Information Survey (NHIS), representative of the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population, to determine the risk for CTS for people with arthritis after controlling for occupational and non-occupational factors.

Methods: We analyzed adults (age 18-65). CTS cases were defined as “Have you EVER been told by a doctor or other health professional that you have a condition affecting the wrist and hand called carpal tunnel syndrome?” Arthritis and diabetes were self-reported in a similar fashion. Obesity was those with Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥30, and smoking as those who never or ever smoked. To identify occupational type, respondents were categorized in five major Standard Occupational Classification System categories (SOC): 1) Management, professional, and related; 2) Sales and office; 3) Service; 4) Natural resources, construction and maintenance; and 5) Production, transportation, and material moving, each of which represent progressively greater exposure to high-repetition, forceful jobs. We completed a logistical regression using appropriate NHIS weights: Step 1 included age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, and employment status; Step 2 the SOC; Step 3 arthritis and other co-morbidities. NHIS weights were applied to all analyses.

Results: Of our sample of 22,012 adults, 7.5% (95%CI: 7.0, 7.9) had CTS. Older adults and females were more likely to report CTS, while Hispanic/Non-Hispanic Other were less likely than Non-Hispanic Whites (See Table 1). Only respondents working in Production were significantly more likely to report CTS than those in Management (OR 1.4: (95% CI 1.1, 1.8) (Table 1). Diabetes, obesity, and smoking were all independent risk factors for CTS, with odds ratios ranging from 1.3 to 1.5. The arthritis odds ratio was 3.1 (95%CI 2.7, 3.5).

Conclusion: Respondents with arthritis were 3 times more likely to report CTS than those without arthritis, and were at similar risk as older adults. Non-occupational factors such as diabetes, obesity and smoking are as likely to be risk factors for CTS as jobs that require high repetition and forceful hand exertions. While both occupation and non-occupational factors are important risk factors for CTS, arthritis is one of the prime risk factor for CTS in the general population. References: 1. Burger MC, et al. Non-Occupational Risk Factors for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Review. Women’s Health Bull. 2016;3(2):e34820.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/the-association-between-arthritis-and-carpal-tunnel-syndrome-national-health-interview-survey-2010/