International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health最新文献

Objective: In the current study, we explored the associations between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) constituents and full-term small for gestational age (SGA) in different periods.

Methods: We included 155,897 participants, and matched the exposure concentrations of PM_2.5 and its constituents [sulfate (SO₄^2-), nitrate (NO₃^-), ammonium (NH₄⁺), organic matter (OM), and black carbon (BC)] according to participants' geographical location. To explore the associations of prenatal exposure to PM_2.5 and its constituents with the risk of full-term SGA, we used logistic regression, restricted cubic spline regression (RCS) and quartile g-computation (QGCOMP).

Results: We found that individual exposure to PM_2.5 and its constituents was positively associated with the risk of full-term SGA (P < 0.05), whether in the year before pregnancy or the entire pregnancy. These associations were more pronounced in the second trimester. We found that the risk of full-term SGA was positively and linearly related to the concentrations of PM_2.5 and its constituents (P_overall < 0.05, P_nonlinear > 0.05). The associations of PM_2.5 and its constituents with full-term SGA were stronger in multiparous mothers. Moreover, full-term SGA was associated with exposure to mixtures of SO₄^2-, NO₃^-, NH₄⁺, OM, and BC before pregnancy and in the second and third trimester. Among these, BC was positively associated with full-term SGA at each of the aforementioned stages.

Conclusions: The risk of full-term SGA was positively and linearly related to concentrations of PM_2.5 and its constituents, and these associations were more pronounced in the second trimester. BC was the most hazardous constituent of PM_2.5 that was associated with full-term SGA.

Background: Bushfires (also known as wildland or forest fires) expose emergency responders to occupational hazards under exceptional circumstances. Whilst the health impacts of structural firefighting have been studied, less is known about the non-respiratory health impacts or risk of mortality amongst bush firefighters, who can be volunteers. More information about health risks is needed to generate effective prevention strategies.

Objective: To critically evaluate and synthesise the published evidence about the non-respiratory health risks and risk of mortality associated with bushfire fighting.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in Medline, Scopus, and Embase to identify studies evaluating morbidity or mortality or associated risk factors among bushfire fighters. The quality of included studies was evaluated twice independently using a specific quality assessment tool.

Results: Twenty-seven studies were included. 11(41%) were assessed as moderate quality and 16(59%) as low quality. There is a growing body of evidence for adverse short-term impacts of bushfire fighting on mental health and injuries. Linkage studies showed that volunteer firefighters had lower mortality and cancer risk in their late forties compared to the general population.

Conclusion: Most studies relied on cross-sectional and retrospective designs without comparison groups, limiting the ability to draw robust conclusions. It is essential to conduct higher-quality research using prospective designs and longer-term follow-up to better understand the health outcomes of bushfire fighting, particularly given the anticipated increase in the frequency and severity of bushfires.

Objective: Overall, police officers have higher rates of several adverse health conditions (e.g., cardiovascular health profiles and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) compared to persons in many other occupations. Our objective was to conduct a comparative study of occupational exposures and health outcomes among police officers across: (a) a 7-year period, from the baseline examination (2004-2009) to the 1st follow-up examination (2011-2015) and (b) a 12-year period, from baseline to the 2nd follow-up examination (2015-2019).

Methods: Participants were from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) Study. Variables were assessed through self-report, standardized validated questionnaires, or standardized medical procedures. We computed the 7- and 12-year changes in mean values (for continuous/numeric variables) or prevalence (for categorical variables) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using MIXED and GENMOD procedures in SAS.

Results: Occupational stress significantly increased over 12 years [3.4; (95% CI 1.2, 5.6)]. The percentage of officers who reported excellent/very good health significantly decreased across both time periods: [- 11.8%; (- 17.8, - 5.9)] across seven years and [- 17.3%; (- 24.2, - 10.4)] across 12 years. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased over seven years [10.7%; (5.3-16.0)] and over 12 years [7.4%; (0.1-14.0)]. Abdominal obesity and glucose intolerance significantly increased over both time periods while hypertension and elevated triglyceride levels increased slightly but not significantly over both time periods.

Conclusion: Occupational stressors and some health outcomes of officers worsened over time indicating the need for self-health monitoring and wellness programs for police.

Objective: Few studies have investigated the relationship between post-pandemic hybrid work-from-home (WFH), mental health, and work-life balance. We examined the association between hybrid WFH, mental distress, availability demands, work-life conflict, and life-work conflict.

Methods: Data from 24,763 office workers in the public sector in Norway were analyzed by linear and logistic regressions.

Results: Employees practicing flexible hybrid WFH (i.e., when needed/desired) were less likely to report mental distress (measured by the Hopkins Symptom-Checklist; HSCL-5) than those not practicing WFH. WFH being self-chosen was associated with less distress. Flexible WFH was also associated with availability demands, work-life conflict, and life-work conflict, which were, in turn, linked to distress. The risk of distress increased with the number of weekly days of flexible WFH. Workers with fixed agreements to regularly WFH did not report significantly less distress than those with no WFH. However, fixed WFH was associated with lower availability demands, not with work-life conflict, and was more often self-chosen than flexible WFH.

Conclusion: Flexible WFH may alleviate distress but may also indicate attempts to cope with taxing availability demands, and may even introduce stressors that could reverse beneficial effects. Our results should motivate nuanced, multifactorial assessments of WFH in organizational practice and research.

Objective: To describe work practices and exposures among sugarcane farm workers on smallholder cooperatives in eSwatini, being subcontracted (cane cutters) or directly employed (pesticide applicators).

Methods: Data were collected at mid-harvest using repeated field observations and wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) measurements. Questionnaires were administered to 267 sugarcane cutters and 125 pesticide applicators. Individual work output was defined as the length of the row of sugarcane cut over the workday, which also determined the monthly remuneration. The Quick Exposure Check was used to assess exposure to musculoskeletal risks. Pesticide handling practices were described with a focus on personal protection safety practices. Additionally, heart rate was measured in 20 pesticide workers for estimation of workload and core temperature.

Results: Sugarcane sites generally had no provision for rest in shade. Few workers were provided with drinking water and thus used personal containers or took water from the irrigation system. The mean water intake over the workday was as low as 1.4 L. Most workers (87%) described their work as physically demanding. For workers with a high workload (cane cutters), the observed daily average maximum WBGT of 28.6 °C was above the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL) of 26 °C. Pesticide applicators had a moderate workload. A minority of the applicators had access to proper personal protective equipment such as air respirators (4%), chemical gloves (17%), and chemical overalls (21%); still, their protective clothing hindered heat dissipation and thus increased heat stress.

Conclusion: Workplace interventions are needed to protect workers' health and safety.

Objective: This study examines noise-induced hearing injuries, among active component service members in Military Working Dog (MWD) handler occupations compared to active component veterinary personnel, military police, and all other active component service members between 2012 and 2023.

Methods: A total of 3,373,990 active component service members were included, with 5,112 service members in the MWD handler occupation. 2,726 veterinary personnel, and 157,811 service members working as military police. Crude incidence rates and adjusted incidence rate ratios were calculated for any noise-induced hearing injury, as well as for significant threshold shifts, sensorineural hearing loss, noise-induced hearing loss, and tinnitus.

Results: During the surveillance period, MWD handlers sustained the highest incidence rate of noise-induced hearing injuries (416.84 cases per 10,000 person-years) compared to veterinary personnel, military police, and other military occupations. Incidence rates of tinnitus were higher than other noise injury types for all occupations and were highest among MWD handlers (262.51 cases per 10,000 person-years). During the surveillance period, incidence rates of tinnitus among MWD handlers steadily increased from 2016 (150.37 cases per 10,000 person-years) until it peaked in 2023 (607.80 cases per 10,000 person-years). Regardless of occupation, the incident rate ratio of any hearing injury increased with increasing age and was highest among MWD handlers who were 45 years and older [IRR = 5.63 (95%CI: 2.89-10.98)].

Conclusions: This study is among the first investigations into MWD handlers' noise-induced hearing injuries.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess the incidence of job loss related to health issues (fitness for work) over one year within the population of construction trades, to analyze the medical diagnoses associated with these unfitness for work situations, and to define the demographic and professional characteristics associated with them at the regional level in France (Occitania).

Methods: This prospective multicenter study was conducted between September 2019 and September 2020 and included employees monitored by 23 inter-company occupational health services in Occitania, France.

Results: In total, 71,772 employees from the construction sector were followed. The incidence of work unfitness during this period was estimated at 6.69 per thousand (95% CI [6.11; 7.32]). The two main causes of work unfitness were related to mental pathologies or musculoskeletal disorders. The identified risk factors, considering all causes, notably included age, particularly within the age intervals of 56-60 years (adjusted OR = 3.78, 95% CI [2.94-4.85]) and 61-62 years (adjusted OR = 6.17, 95% CI [4.17-8.91]) (reference 14-40 years), as well as the nature of the occupation, especially if it involved higher physical demands.

Conclusion: This study highlights the personal and professional determinants associated with job loss for medical reasons among workers in the construction sector. These findings provide further insights into the risk factors leading to work unfitness and thus enable the development of targeted preventive actions aimed at promoting workers' health and retention in employment.

Objective: The potential contribution of psychosocial work exposures to skin problems is largely overlooked in the occupational health literature. To address this knowledge gap, we examined cross-sectional and prospective associations between six psychosocial work exposures (i.e., quantitative demands, job control, social support, emotional demands, role conflict, and interpersonal conflict) and self-reported skin problems.

Methods: Data came from a probability sample of the general working population in Norway surveyed in 2016 (N = 7833) and 2019 (N = 8038). The prospective sample comprised 3430 participants. Data were analysed with ordered logistic regression, adjusting for age, sex, occupation, and exposure to cleaning products, water, and dry indoor air.

Results: Cross-sectional analyses indicated statistically significant associations with skin problems for emotional demands, role conflict, and interpersonal conflict in 2016 and 2019, and for social support in 2019. In prospective analyses, emotional demands (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01-1.23), role conflict (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.00-1.29), and interpersonal conflict (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01-1.52) significantly predicted subsequent skin problems. Interpersonal conflict (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.01-1.57) was a significant predictor above and beyond baseline levels of skin problems. Quantitative demands and job control was generally non-significant, except for a significant interaction in the 2019 sample.

Conclusion: Exposure to certain psychosocial work stressors may be a risk factor for experiencing skin problems, particularly if you are exposed to interpersonal conflict. Preventive efforts to reduce the occurrence of skin problems in work settings should also target psychosocial stressors.

Purpose: The construction sector has the highest risk of fatal and non-fatal injuries worldwide. This study examined the impact of risk mitigation strategies implemented in Qatar's construction sector between 2013 and 2021 on non-fatal injuries.

Methods: This study employed quantitative and qualitative methods. Data on implemented strategies were gathered through a systematic website search and structured interviews with Safety and Occupational Health officers. Retrospective injury data were obtained from Hamad Trauma Center medical records. Systematic website search identified key legislation and guidelines. Interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Injury data were categorized into pre- and post-implementation data. Differences were assessed using means, standard deviations, percentages, effect sizes, and confidence intervals.

Results: Eight safety legislation/policies and guidelines were issued. Interview analysis identified technical, behavioral, and organizational measures as key themes in risk mitigation strategies. Comparing pre- and post-implementation data, non-fatal injury incidence (effect size (ES): 0.21, 95% CI 0.19-0.28) and severity (ES: 0.32, 95% CI 0.25-0.40) were reduced. Hospital and ICU stays were shorter post-implementation (ES: 0.2, 95% CI 0.12-0.27 and 0.014, 95% CI 0.010-0.021). Injury reductions were observed across major affected areas, except for the chest and skin. Non-fatal injuries remained more common among general laborers (ES: - 0.26, 95% CI - 0.34, 0.18) and those wearing protective devices (ES; - 0.1, CI - 0.12, - 0.07).

Conclusion: Implemented risk mitigation strategies collectively reduced non-fatal injury incidence and severity and improved outcomes in the construction sector. Future research should explore observed trends through prospective studies and job hazard analysis.

Purpose: Air pollution has been an important risk factor for human health. However, little is known about the impacts of air pollutants on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in men. We aimed to explore the association of long-term exposure to air pollutants with BPH among men.

Methods: We leveraged the nationally representative data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a total of 8,826 participants aged 45 years and above from 125 Chinese cities were enrolled in 2015. Annual fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), coarse particles (PM_2.5-10), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone were estimated using satellite-based models. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the risk of BPH associated with air pollutants. The restricted cubic spline model was performed to explore the exposure-response relationships with BPH.

Results: Of the 8,826 participants (mean age: 60.3 years), the prevalence of BPH was 14.5%. Each 10 µg/m³ rise in PM_2.5 (odds ratio 1.04, 95% confidence intervals: 1.01-1.07) and PM_2.5-10 (1.06, 1.02-1.10) were associated with prevalent BPH. Compared with the lowest quartile levels, higher PM_2.5 and PM_2.5-10 exposure were related to an increased risk of BPH. There were non-linear relationship between PM_2.5-10 and NO₂ exposure with prevalent BPH. The association with BPH was more pronounced in participants who were overweight/obesity.

Conclusion: This study suggests that long-term air pollutants exposure, especially for PM_2.5 and PM_2.5-10, is associated with BPH among middle-aged and older men. Our findings provide epidemiological evidence for policymakers and researchers to improve prostate health by reducing air pollution.