TY - JOUR
T1 - Peripheral neuropathy in military aircraft maintenance workers in Australia
AU - Guest, Maya
AU - Attia, John R.
AU - D'Este, Catherine A.
AU - Boggess, May M.
AU - Brown, Anthony M.
AU - Gibson, Richard E.
AU - Tavener, Meredith A.
AU - Ross, James
AU - Gardner, Ian
AU - Harrex, Warren
N1 - Funding Information:
This study reported in this article was funded by the Australian Department of Defence and administered by the Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs. This article has been reviewed by the Department of Defence and the Department of Veterans' Affairs prior to publication, and the views expressed are not necessarily those of the Australian Government. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
PY - 2011/4
Y1 - 2011/4
N2 - Objective: This study aimed to examine possible persisting peripheral neuropathy in a group who undertook fuel tank repairs on F-111 aircraft, relative to two contemporaneous comparison groups. Methods: Vibration perception threshold (VPT) was tested using biothesiometry in 614 exposed personnel, compared with two unexposed groups (513 technical trades and 403 nontrades). Regression modeling was used to examine associations, adjusting for possible confounders. Results: We observed that 26% of participants had chronic persistent increased VPT in the great toe. In contrast, statistically significant higher VPT of the great toe was observed in the comparison groups; however, the effect was small, about 1/4 the magnitude of diabetes. Age, height, and diabetes were all significant and strong predictors in most models. Conclusion: This study highlights chronic persisting peripheral neuropathy in a population of aircraft maintainers.
AB - Objective: This study aimed to examine possible persisting peripheral neuropathy in a group who undertook fuel tank repairs on F-111 aircraft, relative to two contemporaneous comparison groups. Methods: Vibration perception threshold (VPT) was tested using biothesiometry in 614 exposed personnel, compared with two unexposed groups (513 technical trades and 403 nontrades). Regression modeling was used to examine associations, adjusting for possible confounders. Results: We observed that 26% of participants had chronic persistent increased VPT in the great toe. In contrast, statistically significant higher VPT of the great toe was observed in the comparison groups; however, the effect was small, about 1/4 the magnitude of diabetes. Age, height, and diabetes were all significant and strong predictors in most models. Conclusion: This study highlights chronic persisting peripheral neuropathy in a population of aircraft maintainers.
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U2 - 10.1097/JOM.0b013e318212226d
DO - 10.1097/JOM.0b013e318212226d
M3 - Article
C2 - 21407097
AN - SCOPUS:79955055108
SN - 1076-2752
VL - 53
SP - 381
EP - 387
JO - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JF - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
IS - 4
ER -