Is carpal tunnel syndrome a slow, chronic, progressive nerve entrapment?

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the presenting profile of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) at various ages.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of CTS, analysing the correlation between severity and age.

Results: We examined 3108 subjects with CTS, whose frequency increased from 20.9% for the age group 20-29 years to 61.7% for the age group 50-59 years. It remained at almost 50% in people aged over 80 years (49.2%). More than 50% of people younger than 30 years had mild CTS. Severe CTS progressively increased, reaching more than 50% of the CTS diagnoses in people over 80 years. Of the total number of cases, 80.8% of subjects had bilateral CTS. Mild NCS-EMG abnormalities were seen in 74.1% of patients with unilateral involvement, whereas moderate and severe CTS appeared in 70.3% of patients with bilateral involvement.

Conclusion: There was a clear trend of deterioration with advancing years when comparing severity to age.

Significance: CTS seems to be a chronic condition whose signs and symptoms may vary and progress, becoming worse over time.