Total, gender- and age-specific incidence rates of upper extremity nerve injuries in Finland

Nerve injuries of the upper extremity can cause significant motor and sensory deficits that may lead to personal suffering and work disability with increased healthcare costs. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of nerve injuries of the upper extremity in the whole population of Finland (1998–2016). Data based on diagnosis codes were obtained from the Care Register for Health Care, including incident cases of median, radial, ulnar, musculocutaneous, axillary, and digital nerves. Age- and gender-specific incidence rates, both crude and standardised (for the European normal population in 2011), were calculated as well as the level of the nerve injuries in the upper extremity. Our study included 13,458 patients with upper extremity nerve injury. The mean standardised incidence rate of any upper extremity nerve injury was 1.18 among men and 0.05 among women per 100,000 person-years over the study period. The incidence peaked among men at working age. The most common nerve injury level was the fingers and thumb, with 5,533 cases and mean standardised incidence rates per 100,000 person-years of 0.51 among men and 0.19 among women.