VDT Work Affects Urinary Excretion of Catecholamines in the Young.

Urinary excretions of catecholamines in young volunteers were examined during VDT work to evaluate whether VDT work affected sympathetic and adrenal function. The time course of work performance was also monitored. The excretion of catecholamines did not increase after the reference work with hard copy. Adrenaline excretion tended to increase after VDT work with large print, although the noradrenaline excretion did not change. After VDT work with small print, noradrenaline excretion increased significantly; and adrenaline excretion tended to increase. The work speed of the VDT group using small print in the early period was slower than that of the hardcopy group or the VDT group using large print, but the difference diminished in the late period. Abrupt decreases in work speed, considered a result of exhaustion, did not appear in any group. These results suggest that VDT work may act as a stronger workload for the sympathoadrenal system than hard-copy work, and it also suggests that VDT workload may be worsened by small print size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]