Journal of Occupational Health最新文献

Objectives: This study aimed to develop and validate two concise measures of workplace loneliness.

Methods: A three-item scale for loneliness at work (SLAW-3) and a single-item scale for loneliness at work (SLAW-1) were developed by modifying existing scales for general loneliness. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted of 1,228 full-time employees in Japan to test the reliability and validity of these scales. Internal consistency of the SLAW-3 was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and the construct validity was examined through correlations with established measures of workplace loneliness, psychological distress, well-being, self-rated health, and workplace social support.

Results: The SLAW-3 demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91) and unidimensionality. It correlated positively with established measures of workplace loneliness and psychological distress measures and negatively with well-being and workplace social support measures. The SLAW-1 also demonstrated significant correlation with the SLAW-3 and with psychological indicators such as distress, well-being, self-rated health, and workplace social support.

Conclusions: The SLAW-3 was found to be a reliable and valid measure of workplace loneliness. The SLAW-1 also demonstrated adequate construct validity, despite its single-item format. Both scales are short and may be effectively used to assess workplace loneliness in large-scale employee surveys or brief screenings.

Objectives: Essential workers, particularly in healthcare and social services were critical during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet their mental health outcomes remain understudied. We examined changes in (i) sickness absence (SA) due to common mental disorders (CMDs) and (ii) antidepressant prescription in health and social care workers during vs. pre-pandemic periods.

Methods: Using Swedish national registers, we included healthcare and social workers (19 - 65 years) from 2018 to 2021. We compared quarterly incidence rate (IR) trends for SA >90 days due to CMD and antidepressant prescription across two periods: pre-pandemic (Jan 2018-Feb 2020) and during the pandemic (Mar 2020-Dec 2021) using interrupted time-series analysis. Analyses accounted for seasonality and were stratified by age, sex, and education.

Results: There was no evidence of a difference in IR trends for SA >90 days or antidepressant prescription pre-pandemic vs. during the pandemic for the entire sector. However, trends of IR for antidepressant prescription increased among workers in medical laboratories (8.7% per quarter change; 4.4-13.1%), and hospitals (1.5%; 0.6-2.5%) and decreased per quarter for ambulance transports (5.4%; 0.4-1.0%). Women (10.9%; 7.2-14.7%) and highly educated individuals (10.0%; 4.1-16.1%) working in medical laboratories as well as 19-25-year-olds working in primary and dental care (7.3%; 1.7-13.1%) also experienced an increase in antidepressant prescription.

Conclusions: While overall trends in SA >90 days and antidepressant prescription remained stable, certain occupational and sociodemographic groups were found to be affected in regard to antidepressant prescription. These groups warrant targeted support in future health crises.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/joccuh/uiaf026.].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/joccuh/uiaf001.].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/joccuh/uiaf005.].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/joccuh/uiae069.].

Objectives: Previous research has indicated that shift workers exhibit fewer healthy behaviors than those working regular daytime hours. Although health literacy influences health behaviors, studies comparing health literacy levels between shift and fixed-day workers and investigating whether differences in health behaviors between these 2 groups are mediated by health literacy are lacking.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used a self-administered questionnaire in a large-scale manufacturing company. Overall, 2152 manual workers aged 18-64 years were enrolled in this study (961 and 1191 fixed-day and shift workers, respectively). Logistic regression structural equation models were used for analyzing the mediating role of health literacy in the relationship between shift work and health behaviors.

Results: Shift and fixed-day workers did not show differences in age-adjusted health literacy. Compared with fixed-day workers, the odds ratios of shift workers for leisure time exercise, not currently smoking, having breakfast, brushing their teeth, and eating green and yellow vegetables were 0.85 (95% CI, 0.70-1.02), 0.68 (95% CI, 0.56-0.80), 0.63 (95% CI, 0.52-0.76), 0.79 (95% CI, 0.65-0.95), and 0.58 (95% CI, 0.48-0.70), respectively. Mediation analysis showed that the odds ratios of the direct effects of shift work on favorable habits were almost the same as the total effect.

Conclusions: This study observed that health literacy did not mediate health behavior and shift work. Further research is needed to clarify the causes of these differences.

N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAC), which is widely used as an industrial solvent, can be absorbed via the respiratory tract and skin of humans exposed to DMAC. Hepatotoxicity is a main health risk of DMAC exposure in humans, and the relevant cases and epidemiological studies are reviewed herein. No hepatotoxicity was identified in workers exposed to approx. 3-ppm DMAC, and among workers exposed to > 9-ppm DMAC the DMAC exposure was not observed to contribute significantly to the liver damage. However, a case of liver damage was identified in which the calculated 8-hour weighted average was 12.8 mg/m3 (3.6 ppm). The skin absorption notation for DMAC is indicated based on human volunteer studies. The evidence regarding DMAC's potential carcinogenicity in humans is not sufficient, and our literature search identified no report of DMAC as a reproductive toxicant in humans. Further case reports and epidemiological studies are necessary to determine the acceptable DMAC exposure limit for workers and thus protect them from DMAC's toxicity.