Gender differences in subjective responses to hand–arm vibration

There are fewer women than men working in occupations with high exposure to hand–arm vibration. Still there are tens of thousands of women employed in these occupations. The aim of this study was to investigate the gender differences in the subjective experience of hand–arm vibration. Absolute vibrotactile threshold measurements at four frequencies (8, 31.5, 63 and 125 Hz) in 20 participants (10 males, 10 females) were obtained as well as perceived intensity and discomfort ratings of hand–arm vibration made at four intensity levels (0.16, 0.5, 1.6 and 5 m/s2) for each frequency. No gender differences were found for threshold measurements. However, ratings of both perceived intensity and discomfort were higher for females. Females were significantly more subjectively sensitive than males to stronger physical intensity levels at the higher frequencies. Further, predicted rating values based on ISO frequency weighting underestimated female responses significantly more than male responses to perceived intensity. The results seen here indicate that there should be greater considerations to gender differences in studies of hand–arm vibration.Relevance to industryResults from this study demonstrate differential effects in subjective responses to hand–arm vibration in males and females. This may have implications for ISO frequency weighting currently used in industrial hygiene evaluations.