Socioeconomic status associated with carpal tunnel syndrome: A retrospective nationwide 11-year population-based cohort study in South Korea

Abstract

AbstractImportanceThere have only been a few large-scale studies that have included a risk factor analysis for CTS. No prior study has investigated the relationship between the occurrence of CTS and stratified socioeconomic status, which is closely related to a person’s type of job.ObjectiveTo confirm the known risk factors for CTS and also to determine the correlation between stratified socioeconomic status and the occurrence of CTS.DesignWe conducted this study using a retrospective cohort model based on the combined databases of the Korean National Health Insurance System from 2003–2013, a database compiled using information from a national periodic health-screening program that is used for reimbursement claims.SettingThe setting was a population-based retrospective cohort study.ParticipantsFirst, we randomly sampled 514,795 patients who represented 10% of the 5,147,950 people who took part in periodic health screenings from 2002–2003. Existing CTS patients were excluded from this group. Therefore, this study finally included 512,942 participants and followed their medical records from 2003–2013.Main Outcomes and MeasuresDesired outcomes were the incidence rate of CTS and the hazard ratios according to stratified socioeconomic status.ResultsA correlation analysis showed that CTS was more likely to occur in patients from a lower socioeconomic status.Conclusions and RelevanceCTS was associated with people of a lower socioeconomic status who work in simple but repetitive manual labor jobs. We believe that the results of our study will be helpful to determine the pathophysiology of CTS and to set up a new industrial health policy for this condition.Key PointsQuestionWhat is the relationship between stratified socioeconomic status and the incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)?FindingsIn this retrospective population-based cohort study that included 512,942 participants sampled from the Korean National Health Insurance System(KNHIS) database, the incidence rate and hazard ratios for CTS tended to increase with lower socioeconomic status.ImplicationsLow socioeconomic status was identified as a risk factor for the incidence of CTS.