Health effects of vibration on humans: an epidemiological overview

The health effects of occupational exposures to hand-transmitted vibration (HTV) and whole-body vibration (WBV) are reviewed. Excessive exposures to HTV from powered processes or tools are associated with an increased occurrence of symptoms and signs of disorders in the vascular, neurological and musculoskeletal systems of the upper limbs. The complex of these disorders is called hand-arm vibration syndrome. Long-term occupational exposure to WBV is associated with an increased risk for disorders of the lumbar spine and the connected nervous system. With a lower probability, the neck-shoulder, the gastrointestinal system, the female reproductive organs, the peripheral veins, and the cochleo-vestibular system are also assumed to be affected by WBV. However, there is a weak epidemiological support for WBV-induced disorders of organ systems other than the lower back. In addition to the health effects of human vibration, this paper reviews the currently available knowledge of the exposure-response relationships for HTV and WBV.