Technostress has been implicated in a variety of pathological conditions (pathema). However, the clinical aspects of this syndrome have rarely been investigated in a large population. In this study, we investigated the clinical aspects of the technostress syndrome in visual display terminal (VDT) operators, who were considered to be representative of computer operators. We selected 97 VDT operators (VDT group) who consulted our department of psychosomatic medicine between June 1986 and November 1988. The control group consisted of 97 patients who consulted our department during the same period, matched with the VDT group for age, sex and disease type. We analyzed and compared the medical records of the two groups for the period from the onset of the illness to the initial consultation, concerning the motives for the initial consultation, work performance at the time of the consultation and the results of psychological tests. We also noted the prognosis of the two groups of patients. The results indicate that the period from the onset of the illness to the first consultation was shorter in the VDT group. Less patients in the VDT group consulted us voluntarily. Patients in the VDT group bad more work related adjustment problems. The rate of improvement was 50.7% in the VDT group, it was not significantly different from the control group. It is suggested that the prognosis of VDT operators compares favorable with control patients.
