Analysis of influencing factors of fingertip thermotactile perception threshold in healthy young adults / 中国职业医学

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the stability of test results of fingertip thermotactile perception threshold(TPT) among healthy individuals and the influencing factors of the TPT test. METHODS: Fifty healthy young volunteers aged 20-25 were selected as the study subjects using the convenience sampling method. The HVLab thermal aesthesiometer was used to perform the fingertip TPT test under the standard condition. Right index, middle, ring, little, left index and little fingers were tested. According to the method of random number table, we selected 25 subjects to receive second test after the interval of two weeks. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficient(ICC) for cold threshold of right little finger was bigger than 0.75, suggesting the test-retest reliability was excellent. The ICC for hot threshold of six test fingers, cold threshold of right and left index fingers, right middle and left little finges was in the range of 0.60-0.74, indicating the test-retest reliability was good. However, the ICC for cold threshold of right ring finger was less than 0.40, and the test-retest reliability was poor. The hot threshold of right middle, ring and little fingers, and the cold threshold of left little finger of males were higher than those of females(all P<0.05). The cold threshold of right index and little fingers were lower than those of left hand in males(all P<0.05). The cold threshold of right middle and ring fingers were lower than that of the right index finger in females(all P<0.05). The cold threshold of right little finger was lower than those of right index, middle and ring fingers in females(all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The stability of the fingertip TPT result is good in healthy young adults aged 20-25. The fingertip TPT test could be used for occupational health surveillance of workers exposed to hand-transmitted vibration. We should take into account the influence of gender, the right or left hand and different fingers when developing TPT reference values.