Article
Smoking is associated with ulnar nerve entrapment: a birth cohort study
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Published: | February 6, 2020 |
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Objectives/Interrogation: Our aim was to study whether smoking is associated with ulnar nerve entrapment.
Methods: The study population consisted of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort with expected date of birth in 1966 (N=8716). History of smoking, pack years, body mass index (BMI) and socio-economic status were recorded at the 31-year follow-up in 1997. Data on hospitalizations due to ulnar nerve entrapment neuropathies was obtained from the Care Register for Health Care. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and population attributable risk percentages (PAR%) were calculated adjusted for gender, BMI and socio-economic status.
Results and Conclusions: A total of 66 patients were diagnosed with ulnar nerve entrapment in the follow-up between 1997 and 2016 (Table 1 [Tab. 1]).
Smoking ten or fewer pack years before the age of 31 years was associated with more than doubled (HR=2.57, 95% CI=1.29-5.15) and smoking over ten pack years before the age of 31 years more than five times higher risk (HR=5.61, 95% CI=2.80-11.23) for ulnar nerve entrapment later in life compared to non-smokers in the adjusted analyses. PAR% for smoking (reference of no smoking) was 53.6 in the adjusted analysis (Table 2 [Tab. 2], Figure 1 [Fig. 1]).
In our study, smoking was associated with an increased risk for ulnar nerve entrapment, accounting for a considerable proportion of increased risk.