A longitudinal study of VDT work and health

Abstract

A longitudinal study on the use of visual display terminals (VDTs) was conducted with questionaire data obtained 1981 and in 1987–1988 from a cohort of office workers. The use of VDTs became more widespread in these offices during the intervening time period, but the time spent by individuals working at VDTs showed no general increase. The data suggested that VDT use was related to the risk of developing eye discomforts and hand and wrist problems. For skin problems and headache, risks for VDT and non‐VDT users were fairly similar, but indications of increased risks were found for certain groups and situations. The risks of developing neck, shoulder, shoulder joint, or upper arm problems were high for both VDT and non‐VDT users, but there were, in this study, no convincing suggestions that these risks were higher for VDT users compared to nonusers.