Characteristics of the study population at the first examination
| Construction workers (n = 10) | Caulkers (n = 11) | Grinders (n = 30) | Welders (n = 9) | Mechanics (n = 13) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VWF symptoms are staged according to a modified Stockholm scale (see methods). Values are given as medians (quartiles) or numbers (%). | |||||
| BMI, body mass index. | |||||
| Kruskal-Wallis test: *p < 0.05, **p = 0.025; χ2 test: †p < 0.05 | |||||
| Age (y) | 53 (46–54) | 49 (45–52) | 48 (43–52) | 50 (44–52) | 46 (44–53) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 26 (24–30) | 27 (24–29) | 26 (24–28) | 25 (24–26) | 27 (24–28) |
| Smokers | 1 (10.0) | 6 (54.6) | 16 (53.3) | 3 (33.3) | 5 (38.5) |
| Drinkers | 7 (70.0) | 6 (54.6) | 20 (66.6) | 4 (44.4) | 9 (69.2) |
| Exposure | |||||
| h/day | 2 (1–3) | 4 (3–5) | 2.5 (2–5) | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3)** |
| days/y | 100 (80–200) | 200 (150–220) | 200 (150–220) | 150 (100–180) | 200 (150–220)* |
| years | 20 (4–30) | 20 (16–24) | 21 (16–29) | 34 (30–36) | 23 (15–30)* |
| VWF symptoms | |||||
| Stage 1 | 1 (10.0) | 2 (18.2) | 3 (10.0) | 0 (0) | 2 (15.4) |
| Stage 2 | 0 (0) | 2 (18.2) | 5 (16.7) | 0 (0) | 4 (30.8) |
| Stage 3 | 0 (0) | 2 (18.2) | 7 (23.3) | 1 (11.1) | 0 (0) |
| Stage 1+2+3 | 1 (10.0) | 6 (54.6) | 15 (50.0) | 1 (11.1) | 6 (46.2)† |
| Sensorineural symptoms | 10 (100) | 11 (100) | 27 (90.0) | 9 (100) | 13 (100) |