Search strings for the study of putative occupational determinants of disease.

Objective: To identify efficient PubMed search strategies to retrieve articles regarding putative occupational determinants of conditions not generally considered to be work related.

Methods: Based on MeSH definitions and expert knowledge, we selected as candidate search terms the four MeSH terms describing 'occupational disease', 'occupational exposure', 'occupational health' and 'occupational medicine' (DEHM) alongside 22 other promising terms. We first explored overlaps between the candidate terms in PubMed.

Risk factors for operated carpal tunnel syndrome: a multicenter population-based case-control study.

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a socially and economically relevant disease caused by compression or entrapment of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel. This population-based case-control study aims to investigate occupational/non-occupational risk factors for surgically treated CTS.

Methods: Cases (n = 220) aged 18-65 years were randomly drawn from 13 administrative databases of citizens who were surgically treated with carpal tunnel release during 2001.

[Progress of studies promoted by the MODS collaborative group].

In industrialised countries, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is considered an epidemic work-related disease. We have set up the MODS (Malattie Occupazionali Da Sovraccarico biomeccanico, biomechanical overload-related occupational diseases) collaborative group, formed by epidemiologists, ergonomists and occupational physicians to investigate CTS in Italy, applying the methods that epidemiologists commonly use to understand epidemics. Several studies are already ongoing.