International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health最新文献

Objectives: To determine the relationship between occupational noise, and obesity and body mass index (BMI) changes.

Methods: Baseline data were collected from participants (n = 1264) who were followed for 6 years in a retrospective study. The noise exposure level (L_Aeq,8h) was determined by equivalent continuous weighted sound pressure levels using the fixed-point surveillance method for noise monitoring. The cumulative noise exposure (CNE) level was determined using the equal energy formula, which is based on exposure history and level.

Results: The incidence of obesity at low (RR = 2.364, 95% CI 1.123-4.739]), medium (RR = 3.921, 95% CI 1.946-7.347]), high (RR = 5.242, 95% CI 2.642-9.208]), and severe noise levels (RR = 9.322, 95% CI 5.341-14.428]) was higher risk than the L_Aeq,_8h control level. The risk of obesity among participants exposed to low (RR = 2.957, 95% CI 1.441-6.068]) and high cumulative noise levels (RR = 7.226, 95% CI 3.623-14.415]) was greater than the CNE control level. For every 1 dB(A) increase in L_Aeq,8h, the BMI increased by 0.063 kg/m² (95% CI 0.055-0.071], SE = 0.004). For every 1 dB(A) increase in the CNE, the BMI increased by 0.102 kg/m² (95% CI 0.090-0.113], SE = 0.006).

Conclusions: Occupational noise is related to the incidence of obesity. The occupational noise level and occupational noise cumulative level were shown to be positively correlated with an increase in BMI.

Purpose: Workers' health can be influenced by risk factors from their family environments as well as their work environments. This paper sought to examine how the association between long working hours and depressive symptoms differs based on the level of FWC after being stratified by worker's gender.

Methods: We used the dataset of 20,384 full-time wage workers from the sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2020). Long working hours were defined as working 52 h or more per week. FWC was measured using a 2-item questionnaire, and depressive symptoms were measured using the WHO-5 well-being index. Applying modified Poisson regression, we evaluated how the association between long working hours and depressive symptoms differs by the level of FWC male and female workers separately.

Results: In the analysis of the female workers, long working hours were associated with depressive symptoms in the high FWC group (PR 1.35, 95% CI 1.17, 1.55) after adjusting for potential confounders whereas no association was observed in the low FWC group. Among the male workers, a statistically significant association was observed in both high FWC (PR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07, 1.38) and low FWC (PR 1.28, 95% CI 1.12, 1.47) groups.

Conclusion: FWC may act as a workplace stressor that potentially amplifies the health impact of long working hours among female workers.

Objective: Understanding the impact of physical capacity in combination with high physical workload could be beneficial for the prevention of health-related exits from work. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the separate and combined effects of low cardiorespiratory fitness and high physical workload on disability pension (DP) due to any cause, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), and cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

Methods: A total of 279 353 men born between 1951 and 1961 were followed regarding DP between 2006 and 2020, ages 45-64. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed during military conscription, using an ergometer bicycle test. Physical workload was based on a job-exposure matrix (JEM) linked to occupational title in 2005. Cox regression models estimated separate and combined associations with DP.

Results: Low cardiorespiratory fitness and high physical workload were associated with increased risk of DP. For all cause DP, the fully adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval for those with low cardiorespiratory fitness was 1.38 (1.32-1.46) and for those with high physical workload 1.48 (1.39-1.57). For all cause and MSD DP, but not for CVD DP, the combination of low cardiorespiratory fitness and high physical workload resulted in higher risks than when adding the effect of the single exposures.

Conclusion: Both low cardiorespiratory fitness in youth and later exposure to high physical workload were associated with an increased risk of DP, where workers with the combination of both low cardiorespiratory fitness and a high physical workload had the highest risks (all-cause and MSD DP).

Objective: Ageing populations and poor care workforce availability are causing increasing job demands for home care nurses across Europe. While recovery from work helps sustain work ability and wellbeing, past research has relied mainly on self-reported measures of health, stressors, and recovery. This study aims to examine how objective and subjective job demands are associated with measured day-time recovery among home care nurses.

Methods: Heart rate variability recording was conducted for 95 Finnish home care nurses. The study participants documented their work tasks throughout the workday and filled a wellbeing questionnaire. The amount of care time, breaktime, number of different weekly clients, and their care needs were obtained from the survey. The associations between job demands and measured day-time recovery were analysed using multivariate linear regression.

Results: The amount of day-time recovery was on average 75 min. The number of different clients during the workday (e.g., care continuity) and higher care needs of the clients were associated with lower day-time recovery. Additionally, something slightly disrupting the course of the workday was associated with increased recovery.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate that reducing especially the objective job demands (workday characteristics) can contribute to better day-time recovery among home care nurses. To help sustain work ability and improve wellbeing, day-time recovery can be promoted with better work scheduling that supports care continuity and ensures sufficient care resources and support for nurses with many clients or clients with high care needs.

Purpose: Exercise is considered a strategy to promote mental health among workers. However, the optimal exercise conditions that promote mental health benefits for workers are still unclear. This study examined the cross-sectional associations of weekly exercise time duration, social context of exercise, and exercise motivation levels with the mental health among Japanese workers.

Methods: A web-based cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 18,902 workers, aged 20-59 years. The mental health variables (psychological distress, psychological stress reaction, physical stress reaction, job satisfaction, and work engagement), exercise participation (non-exercisers, exercisers), and demographic factors of all responders were measured. Weekly exercise time, social context of exercise (alone only, with others only, both alone and with others), and exercise motivation (non-regulation, external/introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation, and internal regulation) were also measured amongst exercisers. After adjusting for demographic factors, multiple regression analyses were conducted.

Results: Exercisers had significantly lower psychological distress, lower psychological and physical stress reactions, higher job satisfaction, and higher work engagement than non-exercisers. Among exercisers, while weekly exercise time duration and social context of exercise were not clearly and robustly associated with mental health variables, respondents with intrinsic regulation had significantly lower psychological distress, lower psychological and physical stress reaction, higher job satisfaction, and higher work engagement than those with lower self-determined motivations.

Conclusions: This study found that more self-determined exercise motivation is closely associated with advantageous mental health variables, than the duration or the social context of exercise among Japanese workers.

Background: A growing number of epidemiological studies have shown that daily temperatures are associated with urticaria. However, the relationship between daily changes in temperature and urticaria is unclear.

Objectives: To assess the diurnal temperature difference (DTR) effects on urticaria outpatient visits in Lanzhou, China.

Methods: Urticaria outpatient visits data during 2011-2019 were collected from three major tertiary hospitals in Lanzhou. Daily temperature data from the official website of China Meteorological Administration. Assessment of the relationship between urticaria outpatient volume and DTR in Lanzhou City using a distributed lag nonlinear model.

Results: A total of 83,022 urticaria visits were enrolled. There was a nonlinear relationship between DTR and urticaria outpatient visits and a lagged effect of DTR impact. The effects of high DTR on urticaria visits were not seen in all populations but in the male population and in the 15-59 age group. High DTR (P95: 18.2 °C) was associated with a 27% (95% CI: 0.01, 60.53%) and 31% (95% CI: 1.60, 68.99%) increase in the number of urticaria visits in the 21-day lag effect for the male cohort and the 15-59 year old cohort, respectively, compared with 11.5 °C, respectively.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that DTR is a potential risk factor for urticaria. The results of this study may provide a scientific basis for local governments to improve preventive measures in the health care system.

Objective: The symptoms of insomnia are defined as difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and early awakening. Although also a symptom of insomnia, nonrestorative sleep (NRS) is clearly more associated with objective indices than other insomnia symptoms. However, the link between NRS and overtime work duration is poorly understood.

Methods: The results of a single year's medical examinations were investigated for 26,144 Japanese office workers who were 30 to 59 years old. NRS status and lifestyle were collected through a computer-assisted medical interview. The subjects were asked about the presence or absence of NRS and their lifestyles in the most recent two to three months. The subjects were asked about their sleep times and average overtime durations per month (< 20 h/month, ≥ 20 but < 40 h/month, ≥ 40 but < 60 h/month, and ≥ 60 h/month). The relationships between NRS and overtime work duration adjusted for sleep time were also analyzed.

Results: The proportion of subjects with NRS showed a stepwise increase as overtime work hours increased. A logistic regression analysis was performed using NRS as an objective variable. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that overtime work duration (OR, 1.13; 95% CI 1.10-1.17; P < 0.001; per one-category increase) was an independent determinant of NRS.

Conclusion: For office workers, long hours of overtime work increased the NRS prevalence at any sleep duration.

Purpose: As climate change accelerates, healthcare workers (HCW) are expected to be more frequently exposed to heat at work. Heat stress can be exacerbated by physical activity and unfavorable working requirements, such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Thus, understanding its potential negative effects on HCW´s health and working performance is becoming crucial. Using wearable sensors, this study investigated the physiological effects of heat stress due to HCW-related activities.

Methods: Eighteen participants performed four experimental sessions in a controlled climatic environment following a standardized protocol. The conditions were (a) 22 °C, (b) 22 °C and PPE, (c) 27 °C and (d) 27 °C and PPE. An ear sensor (body temperature, heart rate) and a skin sensor (skin temperature) were used to record the participants´ physiological parameters.

Results: Heat and PPE had a significant effect on the measured physiological parameters. When wearing PPE, the median participants' body temperature was 0.1 °C higher compared to not wearing PPE. At 27 °C, the median body temperature was 0.5 °C higher than at 22 °C. For median skin temperature, wearing PPE resulted in a 0.4 °C increase and higher temperatures in a 1.0 °C increase. An increase in median heart rate was also observed for PPE (+ 2/min) and heat (+ 3/min).

Conclusion: Long-term health and productivity risks can be further aggravated by the predicted temperature rise due to climate change. Further physiological studies with a well-designed intervention are needed to strengthen the evidence for developing comprehensive policies to protect workers in the healthcare sector.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and effects of a simple-to-implement multicomponent intervention to reduce sedentary time of office workers.

Methods: Six groups of eight to ten office workers took part in the two-week Leicht Bewegt intervention. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline (T0, n = 52), after 2 weeks (T1, n = 46), and after 5 weeks (T2, n = 38), including subjective sedentary measures and social-cognitive variables based on the health action process approach (HAPA). Objective sedentary measures were obtained using activPAL trackers.

Results: The intention to reduce sedentary behavior during work increased significantly from T0 to T1. Participants' objective and subjective sitting time decreased significantly from T0 to T1, corresponding to an average decrease per 8-h-workday of 55 min (d = - .66) or 74 min (d = - 1.14), respectively. This reduction persisted (for subjective sitting time) at T2 (d = - 1.08). Participants indicated a high satisfaction with the intervention.

Conclusions: The Leicht Bewegt intervention offers a feasible and effective opportunity to reduce sedentary behavior at work. Randomized controlled trials including longer follow-up time periods are needed to validate its benefits in different workplaces.

Purpose

The air health index (AHI) captures the combined effects of air pollution and non-optimal temperatures and helps assess the atmospheric environment’s overall health risk. Shandong Province is a crucial industrial base in China, and the health effects of air pollution and non-optimal temperature cannot be ignored. To construct an AHI for Shandong Province and assess the district-level mortality burden due to AHI in the study area.

Methods

Daily district-specific mortality, meteorological, and air pollution data over 2013–2018 were collected in Shandong Province, China. The AHI construction eventually incorporated PM_2.5 and NO₂, O₃, and non-optimal temperatures. Attributable fraction (AF) and attributable number (AN) were used to estimate the district-specific mortality burden attributable to AHI.

Results

The average AHI value observed in Shandong Province was 6. Our research revealed a positive association between the total AHI and total mortality, with an overall trend of a slow increase followed by a rapid increase. The exposure–response curves, when stratified by gender, age, and cause of death, were approximately consistent with the overall trend. The provincial attributable fraction (AF) was 5.31% (95% CI 4.58%, 5.91%), and the attributable number (AN) was 188,246 (95% CI 162,396, 209,533). Overall, higher ANs mainly appeared in the southwestern area, while higher values of AF were observed in the central-eastern and central-northern areas.

Conclusions

The air health index performs well in predicting death burden and can convey health risks related to exposure to the ambient environment to the public.