Radiographic Hand Osteoarthritis in Relation to Exposure to Hand-Transmitted Vibration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This systematic review on radiographic hand osteoarthritis (HOA) covering publications in the databases Medline and Embase for the period 1947 to April 2021, with a final selection of 10 studies, revealed a high prevalence of hand osteoarthritis among both vibration-exposed men and non-exposed. The results show a non-significant, unadjusted risk-increase of about 50% for X-ray-diagnosed hand osteoarthritis for those who work with vibrating machinery compared to referents. The risk estimate does not provide reliable support that working with exposure from vibrating machines increases the risk of radiographic changes in the hands.