Table 4

Biomechanical and psychosocial job factors and risk of CTS-related work disability, HR and 95% CIs adjusted for age, gender, BMI and Consortium research site

	Cutoffs	Pace/quality change				Lost time				Job change
	Cutoffs	Cohort (N)	Cases (n)	HR	95% CI	Cohort (N)	Cases (n)	HR	95% CI	Cohort (N)	Cases (n)	HR	95% CI
Force measures (adj. for total repetition rate, % duration all exertions, % time ≥30° Wrist Flexion)
Peak Borg CR-10: Worker (0–10 scale)		276	142			309	89			305	105
Lower tertile	≤3		48	1.00			31	1.00			35	1.00
Middle tertile	>3 and ≤4.5		46	1.24	0.81 to 1.92		27	1.07	0.62 to 1.85		36	1.17	0.71 to 1.93
Upper tertile	>4.5		48	1.09	0.72 to 1.65		31	1.15	0.67 to 1.99		34	1.14	0.69 to 1.91
Peak Borg CR-10: Analyst (0–10 scale)		287	144			323	89			320	105
Lower tertile	≤2.3		46	1.00			26	1.00			35	1.00
Middle tertile	>2.3 and ≤3.8		58	1.17	0.74 to 1.84		36	1.14	0.66 to 1.97		39	0.91	0.54 to 1.56
Upper tertile	>3.8		40	0.99	0.62 to 1.59		27	1.43	0.81 to 2.56		31	1.25	0.70 to 2.25
Repetition measures (adj. for analyst rated peak CR-10, % time ≥30° Wrist Flexion)
Hand activity level (HAL Scale: analyst (0–10 scale)		287	145			323	89			320	105
Lower tertile	≤4		41	1.00			24	1.00			18	1.00
Middle tertile	>4 and ≤6		71	1.45	1.00 to 2.13		37	0.84	0.48 to 1.48		56	2.37	1.34 to 4.21
Upper tertile	>6		33	1.09	0.68 to 1.77		28	1.17	0.67 to 2.06		31	2.17	1.18 to 4.02
Total repetition rate (reps/min)		287	144			323	89			320	105
Lower tertile	≤13.6		40	1.00			20	1.00			21	1.00
Middle tertile	>13.6 and ≤24.0		50	1.36	0.90 to 2.09		37	1.43	0.81 to 2.54		40	1.87	1.09 to 3.23
Upper tertile	>24.0		54	1.20	0.79 to 1.85		32	1.45	0.82 to 2.58		44	1.75	1.02 to 3.02
Forceful repetition rate* (reps/min)		293	145			329	89			326	105
Lower tertile	≤2.3		41	1.00			25	1.00			26
Middle Tertile	>2.3 and ≤8.1		49	1.09	0.70 to 1.72		30	1.44	0.82 to 2.55		33	1.14	0.66 to 2.00
Upper tertile	>8.1		55	1.28	0.79 to 2.09		34	1.36	0.81 to 2.30		46	1.62	0.94 to 2.80
Duty cycle (adj. for analyst rated CR-10, % time ≥30°Wrist Flexion)
% duration all exertions (0%–100%)		287	144			323	89			320	105
Lower tertile	≤58.6		44	1.00			29	1.00			27	1.00
Middle tertile	>58.6 and ≤75.8		46	0.90	0.61 to 1.36		30	0.96	0.56 to 1.65		43	1.82	1.09 to 3.06
Upper tertile	>75.8		54	1.62	1.03 to 2.56		30	1.15	0.69 to 1.93		35	2.20	1.22 to 4.01
% duration forceful exertions* (0%–100%)		293	145			329	89			326	105
Lower tertile	≤11.0		39	1.00			27	1.00			28	1.00
Middle tertile	>11.0 and ≤28.6		52	1.29	0.83 to 2.02		27	1.17	0.68 to 2.06		33	1.12	0.65 to 1.96
Upper tertile	>28.6		54	1.51	0.95 to 2.41		35	1.38	0.83 to 2.33		44	1.74	1.02 to 2.98
Posture measures (adj. for analyst rated CR-10, total repetition rate, % duration all exertions)
% time ≥30° wrist extension (0%–100%)		287	144			323	89			320	105
Lower half	≤3.3		66	1.00			45	1.00			45	1.00
Upper half	>3.3		78	1.04	0.72 to 1.50		44	0.84	0.52 to 1.35		60	1.11	0.72 to 1.73
% time ≥30° wrist flexion (0%–100%)		287	144			323	89			320	105
Lower half	≤0.8		76	1.00			42	1.00			48	1.00
Upper half	>0.8		68	0.93	0.66 to 1.33		47	1.00	0.65 to 1.57		57	1.26	0.83 to 1.91
Other (adj. for analyst rated peak CR-10, total repetition rate, % duration all exertions, % time ≥30° Wrist Flexion)
Vibration		276	139			306	88			303	104
None	≤0		61	1.00			32	1.00			43	1.00
Some	>0		78	0.84	0.57 to 1.24		56	1.05	0.67 to 1.66		61	0.88	0.57 to 1.38
2018 ACGIH TLV for hand activity		287	145			323	89			320	105
Lower tertile	<PFI_AL		20	1.00			14	1.00			13	1.00
Middle tertile	≥PFI_AL and <PFI_TLV		43	1.24	0.70 to 2.22		20	0.79	0.40 to 1.56		28	1.02	0.50 to 2.07
Upper tertile	≥PFI_TLV		82	1.37	0.79 to 2.39		55	1.27	0.72 to 2.25		64	1.56	0.80 to 3.04
Work psychosocial exposures
Psychological job demands*		142	38			175	12			176	16
Low demands	<32		15	1.00			4	1.00			4	1.00
High demands	≥32		23	1.53	0.82 to 2.89		8	2.15	0.60 to 7.73		12	3.39	1.04 to 11.08
Decision latitude		141	38			173	12			174	16
Low latitude	<60		20	1.00			8	1.00			9	1.00
High latitude	≥60		18	0.64	0.33 to 1.28		4	0.32	0.11 to 1.01		7	0.45	0.16 to 1.28
Job strain		141	38			173	12			174	16
Low strain			9	1.00			2	1.00			2	1.00
Passive strain			9	1.12	0.45 to 2.81		2	1.75	0.27 to 11.39		5	3.18	0.64 to 15.98
Active strain			6	1.09	0.41 to 2.95		2	2.83	0.45 to 18.2		2	2.09	0.33 to 13.29
High strain			14	2.15	0.95 to 4.91		6	4.82	1.04 to 22.54		7	6.58	1.27 to 34.25

Bold text denotes statistical significance at p<0.05.
*Only adjusted for posture (% time ≥30°Wrist Flexion).
BMI, body mass index; HAL, hand activity level; PFIAL, Peak Force Index action limit; TLV, threshold limit value.