Industrial Health最新文献

Previous studies have reported associations between nonrestorative sleep (NRS) and various physical and mental illnesses. However, its long-term relationship with subjective health and work performance remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between NRS and subjective health and work performance among Japanese workers. A longitudinal cohort study was conducted using health examination and medical claims data from fiscal years 2018 to 2023, involving 36,160 workers. NRS was assessed at baseline based on responses to the question, "Do you feel refreshed after a typical night's sleep?" Longitudinal associations of NRS with subjective physical and mental health and work performance were analyzed using generalized linear models. The prevalence of NRS was 55.4%. NRS was significantly associated with poorer subjective physical health (aOR=1.77, 95% CI: 1.65-1.91) and mental health (aOR=1.66, 95% CI: 1.54-1.79). In addition, workers with NRS exhibited 3.6% lower work performance (95% CI: 3.25-3.88) compared with those with restorative sleep and incurred an estimated annual productivity-related economic loss of approximately JPY 160,000 per worker. These findings indicate that NRS is associated with decreased subjective health and reduced work performance. Early screening and intervention for NRS may help improve workers' health and productivity.

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms in a sample of Norwegian nurses, and to investigate whether work characteristics, demographic factors, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and shift work disorder were associated with such symptoms. A total of 1875 nurses (67.5% response rate) completed a questionnaire which surveyed frequency of musculoskeletal symptoms in different body regions during the last year, work characteristics, including shift schedule and number of night shifts and quick returns (QRs), demographic factors including age, sex, marital status, children living at home, percentage of full-time equivalent, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and shift work disorder. Data were analyzed with chi-square tests and crude and adjusted logistic regressions. Over half of the nurses (53.8%) reported musculoskeletal symptoms in one or more body regions. Compared with day only, two-shift rotation was associated with musculoskeletal symptoms (adjusted OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.20-2.14), whereas three-shift rotation and night only were not. Neither number of night shifts nor QRs were associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. Probable anxiety (aOR 2.23, 1.73-2.87), depression (aOR 2.08, 1.44-3.00), insomnia (aOR 2.45, 1.95-3.09), and shift work disorder (aOR 1.61, 1.28-2.02) were associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. Further research is necessary to elucidate causality.

This study investigated the association between changes in the work environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and andropause symptoms in Japanese male workers. A web survey of 374 employed male workers in Japan (mean age=45.6 yr, SD=13.2) was conducted in February 2023. Participants were asked about harassment at work, telecommuting hours, working hours, and communication with supervisors and coworkers. Andropause symptoms were measured using the Aging Males' Symptoms scale. Multiple regression analyses were conducted. Certain changes in the work environment were significantly associated with the total score of andropause symptoms, including increased (β=0.30), unchanged (β=0.19), and decreased (β=0.23) harassment at work, decreased communication with supervisors (β=-0.20), and telecommuting hours making up approximately half of (β=0.12) or almost all working hours (β=0.09) (all p<0.05). When stratified into younger (≤49 yr) and older (≥50 yr) groups, those associations were robustly significant in the younger group. Harassment at work had significant effects on andropause symptoms among the younger group. Harassment at work worsened andropause symptoms in the younger group, while a reduction in communication with supervisors may have alleviated symptoms.

This study examines the role of trade unions and social dialogue in shaping the Italian prevention system for occupational health and safety (OHS) risks associated with heatwaves. Drawing on the European project Adaptheat, it addresses a research gap on the short-term impacts of climate change on the workforce and the interventions of social actors to address them. The methodology combined literature review, documentary analysis, and qualitative interviews with different stakeholders, including workers, in Apulian agriculture and in logistics warehouses. Findings show that trade unions have been pivotal in translating scientific evidence-particularly from the Worklimate project-into institutional measures and into collective bargaining agreements. Despite regulatory progress, the system relies mainly on regional ordinances, resulting in fragmented and reactive prevention rather than integrated and proactive planning. Compared with international benchmarks, the Italian case underscores the need to strengthen the regulatory framework, linking heatwave related OHS protection with broader labour and social rights.

Heat reduces labor productivity, leading employers to adjust work schedules. However, no international climate service exists for managing heat-related productivity losses. This study estimated summer workability loss (WL) across Italy for various 8-h work shifts and integrated the data into a WebGIS tool providing municipal-level insights. Global ERA5 climatological data (2009-2017) was downscaled to a 2.5 km grid over Italy and the workability equation calculated WL for different shifts (5am-1pm, 6am-2pm, 7am-3pm, 8am-4pm, 9am-5pm). The data was integrated into the Google Earth Engine (GEE) App for improved visualization. Compared to WL for workers performing high metabolic rate tasks in the sun, WL decreased significantly (p<0.01) for moderate metabolic rate tasks in the sun (60%) and for high metabolic rate tasks in the shade (over 90%). Starting shifts earlier than 9am reduced WL: by 4% starting 1 h earlier and nearly halving WL starting 4 h earlier (5am). The GEE "Worklimate 2.0 App" (https://ee-worklimate.projects.earthengine.app/view/workabilityloss) visualizes these findings. This study shows that rescheduling work hours and providing shade can significantly reduce WL in Italy, though additional heat adaptation strategies are needed to fully mitigate WL. The GEE App is the first international climate service for analyzing heat-related WL across working shifts.

This study evaluated the effects of evaporative cooling using a water-soaked inner t-shirt with a ventilation garment on physiological and perceptual responses during walking in Hot/Dry (40°C, 30% relative humidity) and Warm/Humid (32°C, 80% relative humidity) environments (wet-bulb globe temperature [WBGT] 31.5°C). Eight men performed a 60-min moderate-intensity exercise protocol under control (CON, fan-off of a ventilation jacket while wearing a dry inner t-shirt) and evaporative cooling conditions (EVA, fan-on of a ventilation jacket while wearing an inner t-shirt soaked with 350 ml of tap water) in each environment. Rectal temperature was ~0.4°C lower during exercise in EVA than CON in both Hot/Dry (37.7 ± 0.4 vs. 38.1 ± 0.3°C, p=0.001) and Warm/Humid (37.8 ± 0.4 vs. 38.2 ± 0.4°C, p=0.002), with no difference between environments. Whole-body sweat loss in EVA was halved compared to CON in both Hot/Dry (0.56 ± 0.12 vs. 1.08 ± 0.23 kg, p<0.001) and Warm/Humid (0.47 ± 0.10 vs. 1.12 ± 0.21 kg, p<0.001). Thermal sensation and discomfort were lower in EVA than in CON in both environments (both p<0.05). Thus, wearing a water-soaked inner t-shirt with a ventilation garment helps mitigate thermophysiological and perceptual responses in environments where ambient temperature exceeds skin temperature and in high humidity (≤ WBGT 31.5°C).

The prediction of physiological strain is essential for the safety of personnel in high-risk environments especially when wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). This study aimed to develop a usability-enhanced variant of the Heat Strain Decision Aid (HSDA), named HSDA-FL (FAME Lab), by implementing automatic workload estimations, alternative environmental inputs, and a revised initialization delay logic. The second aim was to evaluate whether these modifications preserved the original model's validity. The third aim was to evaluate the performance of HSDA, HSDA-FL, and the PHS-FL models while wearing chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) PPE. Eleven acclimatized participants completed a 40-min simulated CBRN reconnaissance scenario involving walking and inspection tasks. The HSDA-FL was tested with both the original and the revised delay logic, demonstrated significantly lower residual errors than the original HSDA (p<0.001), with the revised delay logic variant achieving the highest accuracy (MAE=0.151°C, RMSE=0.191°C, bias=0.011°C). In contrast, the PHS-FL performed significantly worse than all HSDA-based models (p<0.001). These findings confirm that HSDA-FL maintains and slightly exceeds the predictive validity of the original HSDA while improving usability, whereas PHS-FL was not deemed sufficiently reliable for use with CBRN clothing.

This paper explores the current landscape of collective bargaining agreements in Greece, alongside the broader legislative framework governing occupational heat stress. The findings reveal that the existing framework regulating occupational heat exposure remains general and insufficient. The specific circulars on heat stress prevention do not carry the same legal weight as laws or presidential decrees. Therefore, the adoption of dedicated legislation addressing occupational heat stress is considered essential. Effective protection requires the implementation of preventive measures across all sectors, for all categories of workers, and throughout all periods-not only during officially declared heatwaves. Labour inspectorate workplace inspections should be intensified, as implementation legislation remains limited. Heat stress provisions are rarely included in collective bargaining agreements. The weakening of collective bargaining following the economic crisis has contributed to this gap. The role of trade unions and workers' occupational safety and health (OSH) representatives is critical in strengthening collective bargaining and safeguarding workers from occupational risks. To improve heat stress management, the study highlights the need for expanded awareness-raising initiatives, sector-specific training, enhanced understanding and use of the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index, systematic recording of worker morbidity and mortality, and strengthened research efforts on heat stress prevention.

Climate change is already not only a global problem, but also poses a growing risk to the health and safety of workers. For this reason, this study analyses the measures taken as part of the ADAPTHEAT (Led by Fundación 1º de Mayo (Spain), with participation from Fondazione Di Vittorio (Italy), ELINYAE (Greece), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Netherlands), and the Hungarian Trade Union Confederation MASZSZ (Hungary)) project in Hungary to mitigate heat-related risks in the workplace. The research focuses on legislation and employers' practices, which were analysed on the basis of risk assessments, collective agreements and case studies. The findings highlight that workplace heat stress is not only a concern in traditionally high-risk sectors such as agriculture but affects nearly all workplaces. Despite recent legislative changes in Hungary, the regulatory framework and employer obligations remain rather general. Therefore, raising awareness among employers and employees remains essential. The study also emphasizes the important role of trade unions and health and safety representatives in advocating for improved protection.

Dutch occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation is characterized by its reliance on very general legal stipulations. The idea is that these broad, goal-oriented provisions leave room for tailor-made regulations at the company or sectoral level, leading to more effective risk management. This also goes for OSH legislation pertaining to heat at work. The general legal provisions on heat at work are to be fleshed out via social dialogue, in either collective labor agreements or 'OSH catalogues' at the sectoral level, or more specific arrangements at the company level. Analysis of all relevant labor agreements and 'OSH catalogues' reveals that these do seldom give proper guidance in managing heat at work. Most importantly, hardly any of these collective agreements contain a clear, science-based threshold for working in heat. Risk-assessment tools too are rather poor, and the proposed risk management measures in the 'OSH catalogues' do seldom follow the industrial hygiene strategy (prevention first, personal protection as a final resort). The Dutch approach of social dialogue at a sectoral level or company therefore is not very effective. Also, negotiating OSH standards at many different is not very efficient, and is at odds with common notions such as legal certainty, legal equality and transparency.