Industrial Health最新文献

The aim of this scoping review was to provide an overview and classification of existing studies on strategies and measures to reduce the workload of nuclear industry main control room operators and emergency response organization personnel to support their wellbeing and functional capacity during crises. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) statement guidelines were followed. All the 49 studies included involved main control room operators. No studies were found on emergency response organizations. Forty studies addressed technical systems, interfaces and/or algorithms, 11 addressed guides, procedures and protocols, and three addressed training as workload management measures. Yet, only 11 studies evaluated the workload empirically. In conclusion, a large number of studies on technically oriented support measures, protocols and procedures was found. The empirical evidence on the effects of workload management measures was scarce. Further research is needed to truly evaluate the effects of these workload management strategies and measures on employees' workload, wellbeing, and functional capacity. Also, more research is needed on other measures such as management models, working hour arrangements, and social and psychological support measures. Further, the workload management of emergency response organization personnel should also be studied.

Sleepiness is a significant workplace safety hazard and prevalent in shift workers including bus drivers. Several aspects of professional driving can result in shortened sleep and increased sleepiness, which has the potential to result in workplace injuries, incidents and crashes. Caffeine is an effective sleepiness countermeasure; however, private and professional drivers also report using potentially ineffective countermeasures such as sugar. By identifying factors which predict use of specific countermeasures (e.g., sugar, caffeine), educational initiatives could be targeted towards encouraging effective use. A subset of data was analysed from a driver sleepiness survey with London bus drivers (n=1,335). Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to determine which factors separately predicted use of sugar (n=238) or caffeine (n=238) as a sleepiness countermeasure. Being female, having higher self-reported sleep quality and waking indexes and actively doing something to stay awake were predictive of sugar use. Age, sleeping pill use and actively doing something to stay awake were the strongest predictors of caffeine. However, many predictors from the univariate analyses were the same for both sugar and caffeine. Although tailored initiatives could be developed, broader education relating to managing sleepiness should be implemented for all bus drivers to encourage effective countermeasure use.

After the report of 17 patients with occupational cholangiocarcinoma caused by long-term exposure to high concentrations of 1,2-dichloropropane and/or dichloromethane in a printing company in Osaka in 2014, additional five patients were diagnosed to have such cholangiocarcinoma. Cholangiocarcinoma was detected during regular health examination or follow-up for liver dysfunction in four of the five patients. Nearly all five patients presented with clinicopathological findings such as an elevated γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity at the diagnosis, regional dilatation of intrahepatic bile ducts without tumor-induced obstruction, chronic bile duct injury, and precancerous/early cancerous lesions (biliary intraepithelial neoplasia and intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct) at various sites of the bile duct. These findings were similar to those of the previous 17 patients. In total, cholangiocarcinoma developed in 22 of 95 workers exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane in the printing company. Of 22 patients with cholangiocarcinoma, 18 patients were members of 19 high exposure workers (≥1,500 ppm-yr). These findings strengthen further the theory that 1,2-dichloropropane causes occupational cholangiocarcinoma. Regular health examination of workers exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane and/or dichloromethane is necessary to detect such cholangiocarcinoma because the potential of the carcinogenesis risk persists over the long term.

We investigated the implementation of safe work practices for preventing low back pain (LBP) among care workers (CWs) to ascertain the interrelationships between appropriate device use and the frequency of working postures/movements that cause LBP. This cross-sectional study used an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire of CW team leaders (one per facility) working at long-term care facilities in Japan. Data on bed-height adjustment, the use of devices for repositioning in bed and bed- and wheelchair-transfer assistance, and the frequency of awkward postures/movements were cross-tabulated and analyzed using Haberman's residuals. Among the LBP prevention measures adopted by the facilities, 79.1%, 61.6%, and 30.9% involved bed-height adjustment, the use of repositioning/transferring devices, and the use of mechanical lifts, respectively. However, only 12.8% of the facilities had thorough bed-height adjustments, and 79.5% and 86.5% repositioned residents on the bed without assistive devices or transferred residents between the bed and wheelchair without assistive devices, respectively. Facilities that enforce bed-height adjustment and device use had fewer incidences of awkward posture/movement than those that did not. Our study revealed a discrepancy between the facility's policy and the implementation of LBP prevention measures. Additionally, bed-height adjustment and device use were related to reduced working postures/movements that cause LBP.

Migrant workers constitute nearly one-third of Saudi Arabia's population, with a significant portion engaged in low-skilled manual labour. Limited data exists on work-related injuries and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among workers. The current cross-sectional survey focused on seven occupational groups, (i.e., auto-repair workers, city cleaners, construction workers, hairdressers, hospital cleaners, poultry factory workers, and restaurant workers) in the Al-Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. The sample of 2,123 workers were predominantly men (85.3%) and from the Indian subcontinent (64.9%). Among the workers, 21.5% reported having one or more work-related injuries, with cuts (27%), slipping/falling (17%), and thermal injuries (9%) being the most common. Compliance with PPE varied across professions, with city cleaners (86.1%) and restaurant workers (85%) being the most compliant. The study highlights a concerning prevalence of injuries and insufficient PPE usage among migrant workers, emphasizing the need to enhance workplace safety.

The study aimed to assess the relationship between andropause, or male menopause, and work functioning in aging Japanese male workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 561 male employees from two Japanese companies. We measured andropause symptoms using the Aging Male's Symptoms (AMS) scale, and work functioning impairment using the Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun). The data were analyzed using Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate the relationship between andropause severity and work functioning impairment. The findings indicated a significant association between severe symptoms of andropause and increased work functioning impairment among male workers. Higher AMS scores, reflecting more severe symptoms, correlated with greater work functioning impairment, particularly with regard to physical and psychological health issues, such as muscle weakness and depressive symptoms. This study highlights the need for workplace health programs that include middle-aged and older male workers to address and manage symptoms of andropause. Further, it emphasizes the importance of recognizing andropause as a significant health issue that can adversely affect work performance and productivity. Future studies should incorporate the measurement of testosterone to ensure the more accurate assessment of andropause and its impact on work functioning.

This study sought to investigate whether association between customer verbal abuse and depressive symptoms differed by workload. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 795 cosmetics sales workers at department store in South Korea. Experience of customer verbal abuse over the past one month was measured by using a yes/no question. Depressive symptoms during the preceding week were assessed by using 20 items from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. Workload during the past week was measured by asking the number of customers a worker dealt with on average in a day and classified into two categories: 1) Low (15 people or less), and 2) High (more than 15 people). Cosmetics sales workers' experience of customer verbal abuse was associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms (PR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.15-1.63). After being stratified by workload, customer verbal abuse showed a statistically significant association with depressive symptoms among high workload groups (PR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.19-1.79), whereas the association was not statistically significant among low workload group (PR: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.91-1.65). Our findings suggest that experience of customer verbal abuse could have a negative influence on depressive symptoms among high-workload cosmetics sales workers in South Korea.

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners are at an increased risk of mental disorders in addition to stress directly related to their business performance. However, steps to protect SME owners' mental health are lacking, and no occupational stress scale has been developed to accurately understand the real-world situation. Based on a nationwide internet survey of 1,000 Japanese SME owners aged 20-79 yr with five or more employees, we developed a novel occupational stress scale for SME owners. The 43-item scale assesses job stress factors and modifying factors (individual, non-work, and buffering factors). The validity and reliability of the scale were verified. The job stress factors were unique among SME owners and differed from those of employees, with moderate positive correlations with both psychological distress and presenteeism. Further, the study revealed the roles of modifying factors; work-family conflict increased presenteeism and psychological distress, while self-care and social support decreased them. The findings provide important insights for assessing psychological stress among SME owners, informing future mental health intervention strategies among this population.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) caused substantial morbidity among occupationally active populations. However, data regarding the longitudinal burden of CVD were limited, particularly among school teachers. The objectives of our study were to estimate the incidence rate of CVD and determine its predictors among school teachers in Peninsular Malaysia through a prospective cohort study. We followed 14,046 eligible school teachers recruited between 2013 and 2014 until 31st December 2021. We accessed three computerised, country-level registries to determine incident CVD cases during the study period from 2013 to 2021. Baseline sociodemographic, lifestyle, work-related and clinical characteristics were recorded. Cox proportional hazard regression models with adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval were reported. With a median follow-up of 7.71 yr, we observed 209 incident CVD cases (or 195.7 CVD cases per 100,000 person-years). Male gender, age ≥40 yr old, Indian or others ethnicity (as compared to Chinese), family history of CVD, laboratory-confirmed diabetes mellitus, self-reported hypertension, high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high triglyceride were predictors for incident CVD among school teachers. Neither work-related nor lifestyle factors were significantly associated with incident CVD. Screening at-risk teachers for diabetes mellitus, hypertension or dyslipidemia is recommended to delay the onset or progression of CVD.

This study aims to determine the factors that encourage older workers to continue working. This study had an exploratory sequential design using a mixed-methods approach, including interviews and questionnaire surveys. In the interview survey, we targeted 30 workers aged between 60-65 across three manufacturing companies. After using the results of the content analysis in the interviews, we conducted an online questionnaire survey with 1,500 workers aged between 60-89 across the country. We analyzed whether the 15 factors were related to intention to continue working using logistic regression analysis. We identified factors affecting job continuity from three perspectives: individual, company, and life. We determined several factors: health condition, job performance, self-esteem, conservatism, employment system, workload, medical insurance and welfare programs, monetary and non-monetary rewards, relationships, attachment to the organization, distance between living and work, social support, economic situation, and employment policy. In the questionnaire survey, some factors had no relationship with job continuity, including conservatism, employment systems, monetary rewards, and the distance between living and work. Employers and policymakers can use the findings to consider appropriate ways of supporting older workers.