Factors that increase your risk of developing CTS include:

• Job: Studies suggest that people who work in a job that involves assembly line work for long periods (e.g. manufacturing, sewing, finishing, cleaning, and meat, poultry, or fish packing) have three times greater risk of CTS than those who do not. Also, those whose job involves heavy use of vibrating power tools such as chippers, grinders, chain saws or jackhammers are also at increased risk. To date, there is no evidence that heavy computer use increases CTS risk. In general, the jobs that increase risk require a lot of pinching or gripping.
• Sex: Women are three times more likely to get CTS than men. This may be due to the fact that women naturally have smaller carpal tunnels, making it easier for the median nerve to become compressed.
• Age: The incidence of CTS peaks in middle age for both women and men.
• Heredity: If you have close relatives with CTS you are more likely to develop the disease yourself. One possible reason for this is that an anatomical difference in the wrist such as small carpal tunnels may be inherited.
• Health conditions: Certain health conditions including some thyroid problems, diabetes, obesity and rheumatoid arthritis can increase your risk, as well as fluid retention due to pregnancy or menopause. People who smoke cigarettes may experience worse symptoms and slower recovery from CTS than nonsmokers experience.