Neurosensory and vascular symptoms and clinical findings in the hands of Arctic open-pit miners in Sweden and Norway – a descriptive study

ABSTRACT

This cross-sectional study aimed to describe exposure to cold climate and hand-arm vibration (HAV) as well as neurosensory and vascular symptoms and clinical findings among open-pit Arctic miners. It was based on data from questionnaires and physical examinations, including 177 men and 75 women from two open-pit mines in Sweden and Norway (response rate 54%). Working outdoors or in an unheated building or machine for at least two hours per day was reported by 44% and HAV exposure of the same duration by 10%. Neurosensory symptoms (e.g. reduced perception of touch) in the hands were reported by 47% and Raynaud’s phenomenon by 14%. In brief conclusion, the study showed that Arctic miners were commonly exposed to both cold temperatures and HAV. They also reported a broad range of neurosensory and vascular symptoms in their hands and had abnormal clinical findings related to the symptoms. The results emphasise the need for additional preventive measures in this occupational setting.

KEYWORDS:

• Cold climate
• vibration
• mining
• Sweden
• Norway
• peripheral nervous system diseases
• Raynaud disease

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the valuable contributions of all members of the MineHealth consortium.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

AS researched the literature, conceived the study, and formulated the aims. MJ, IL, AA, JW, TN, and HP developed the protocol and collected the data. AA and TN performed clinical examinations. AS, AA, and HP aided in database construction. AS performed data analyses and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved the final version.

Data availability statement

The dataset used during the current study can be made available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by the European Union (Kolarctic ENPI CBC 02/2011/043/KO303 – MineHealth), The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE; grant 2011-0494), and Region Västerbotten (grant 967266 and 979090).