Analysis of Various Factors Affecting Vibration-induced White Finger

Abstract

Forty-one stone quarriers were studied with regard to various factors affecting vibration-induced white finger (VWF), i. e., age, total operating time (TOT), body mass index (BMI), smoking, drinking, past history of diseases and sensitivity to cold in childhood. Subjects were asked about these factors by interview according to a questionnaire. TOT and BMI were significantly different between subjects with VWF (VWF group) and those without VWF (NON-VWF group). TOT was considered to be a great factor in stone quarriers. BMI was 21.6 (kg/m²) in VWF group against 24.0 (kg/m²) in NON-VWF group, which suggests that lean subjects may be susceptible to VWF. As for other factors such as age, smoking, drinking, past history of diseases and sensitivity to cold in childhood, our findings showed no significant difference between VWF group and NON-VWF group.