Medicina Del Lavoro最新文献

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) can be relevant in achieving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal of decent work by 2030. However, further OSH actions are needed. This paper identifies the role of OSH in addressing two of many determinants of decent work: new forms of work/innovative technologies and worker aging. The authors conducted a discursive analysis of the two determinants and provided examples for consideration. New forms of work/innovative technologies can not only promote but also undermine the future of decent work, and unhealthy aging impedes longer working lives. With a focus on the OSH aspects of new forms of work/innovative technologies and aging, decent work is more likely to be achieved.

Background: Whether hours on shift might impact adaptation to night shift work is still controversial.

Methods: We conducted a pooled analysis of two studies, including 170 hospital nurses working night shifts, 116 from a United Kingdom study working 12-hour rotating shifts, and 54 from Italy working 8-hour shifts. Both studies used the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to detect sleepiness during routine daytime activities as an indicator of fatigue. We compared the prevalence of daytime sleepiness, as indicated by an ESS score≥11, resulting from either shift work schedule. We used logistic regression to calculate the risk of daytime sleepiness associated with 12-hour vs. 8-hour nightshifts, adjusting by age, sex, and parenting children aged≤4.

Results: When comparing similar work circumstances, nightshifts prolonged to 12 hours did not increase the risk of daytime sleepiness compared to 8 hours (OR=0.9, 95% CI 0.32, 2.59).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that 12-hour rotating nightshifts with additional rest days and 8-hour rotating shift schedules do not differ in their impact on daytime sleepiness. Further research is warranted on what strategies might effectively contrast fatigue, circadian misalignment, and the related metabolic changes leading to adverse health outcomes, including cancer.

The Italian Interministerial Decree of February 11, 2021, introduces the diesel engine exhaust (DDE) among the carcinogenic occupational compounds, also establishing an occupational exposure limit. Elemental carbon (EC), improperly called black carbon, has been proposed as a tracer of DDE exposure; EC is the carbon that is quantified in the ambient matrixes after all the organic carbon has been removed; traditionally, EC is measured with a thermo-optical analytical technique. EC determination and relative interpretation are challenging for the following reasons: (i) the scarce availability of equipped laboratories hampers EC analysis, (ii) EC interpretation is not easy due to the lack of reference values. Finally, (iii) the limit value of 0.050 mg/m3 of EC in the workplace appears too high compared to recently published exposure data. All these aspects stimulate a reflection on the significance of EC data in the context of both occupational hygiene and occupational medicine.

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a rare but lethal cancer strongly associated with asbestos exposure. This retrospective study examines trends in asbestos exposure in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy. Between 1996 and 2023, 3,513 cases of MM were recorded, predominantly in males (72%) and in older than 65 years (79%). Occupational exposure accounted for 82% of cases, with a significant increase observed over time from 71% to 88% in the most recent period. A greater definition of professional exposure indicates that certain exposure has gone from 49% in the first period to 62% and 58% in the last two periods; probable exposure showed a decrease from 21% to 16% while possible exposure decreased from 16% to 13%. Familiar exposure remained relatively constant at around 8%, environmental exposure showed a slight decrease from 4% to 2%, while non-occupational exposure remained stable at 2%. Among patients with exclusively occupational exposure (1,826 cases), 87% were male and aged between 65 and 75 years (36%) and 75+ (41%). The exposure rates for the province of residence see the province of Reggio Emilia with the highest occupational exposure rate (2.5 x 100,000 residents), followed by Ravenna (2.3 x 100,000 residents) and Parma and Piacenza which have similar exposure rates with 2.2 x 100,000 residents. Professional sectors such as construction, railway maintenance and metalworking are identified as high-risk industries. Despite efforts to mitigate exposure, non-occupational and environmental exposures persist. The study highlights the importance of continuous surveillance and exposure monitoring to guide effective interventions and legal recognition of MM.

Background: Work-related fatalities represent an important global public health threat, accounting for over 300,000 deaths annually. Despite preventive strategies, fatalities persist, necessitating comprehensive investigations. Autoptic investigations, when ordered, offer comprehensive data on fatal accidents, in particular with detailed information about the type of accident, lesions, and type of work, enabling a thorough analysis of various factors contributing to workplace deaths. This study investigates work-related fatalities in Milan and Monza Brianza, Lombardy, analyzing patterns, industries, and factors leading to death among workers.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed all fatal work accident data from the Autopsy Database of the Legal Medicine Institute of Milan from January 2000 to December 2022. We also estimated the risk of fatal accidents per 1.00.000 workers using ISTAT data for the different work sectors.

Results: Of the 17,841 violent deaths in Milan and Monza Brianza, 308 resulted from work-related accidents. The majority were male (95.1%). The secondary sector showed the higher estimated risk (27 /106 vs. 19/106 in primary and 2.3/106 in tertiary sector) accounted for 78.5% of fatalities, with specialized workers (35.1%) and construction workers (25%) being the most affected. Falls from above were the leading cause of death (36.7%). A decreasing trend in fatal accidents over the study period was observed, with July having the greatest frequency. The most common causes of death were polytrauma (36.4%) and head injuries (19.2%). Non-Italian workers constitute a noteworthy percentage of fatal cases (24%).

Conclusions: The secondary sector has the most fatal accidents at work despite a decrease in accidents over the observed time period. There is a need for rigorous analysis and interventions, using forensic autopsy case data to help understand causes, and collaboration between institutions is encouraged to develop effective preventive policies.

Work preservation is crucial for the reintegration of ex-prisoners and the prevention of recidivism. We describe the application of an interdisciplinary diagnostic protocol (occupational health visit, psychiatric interview, psychological counselling and testing) in the case of a dairy industry worker (female, 45-year-old), released on half-freedom after approximately a year of detention in prison for attempted murder. This crime can seriously hamper job resumption. The evaluation revealed a slightly depressed mood (consistent with recent life events), in the absence of major psychiatric disorders or other disturbances that could compromise working abilities or represent a danger for the coworkers. The patient was, therefore, judged able to resume her job. At six months follow-up, she had fully served her sentence and had returned to her previous job, with good relations with her colleagues. However, she encountered hostility from her employer, which induced her to find a new job as a secretary. Her mental health status was improved. The interdisciplinary approach described here may allow ex-prisoners to return to work by helping the company physician to formulate the judgement of job fitness, offering at the same time suggestions for a rational occupational reintegration.

Background: The study aimed to ascertain the effect of sleep hygiene training on nursing students' sleep quality.

Methods: The research study group consisted of 80 nursing students studying in the nursing department. A quasi-experimental model with a pretest-posttest control group was used. Sleep hygiene training was given to nursing students in the experimental group. The sociodemographic data form for nurse students and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to collect data. The t-test for independent groups was used to compare the PSQI pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental and control groups, and the dependent group t-test was used to compare the PSQI pre-test and post-test scores within groups.

Results: There was a difference in the sleep-related data of the nursing students in the experimental and control groups and between the PSQI pretest and posttest score averages according to the groups. No significant difference between the pre-test and post-test mean scores was observed in the control group for subjective sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and daytime dysfunction.

Conclusions: Sleep hygiene education helps nursing students develop regular sleep behaviors.

Background: Colleague violence experiences of students negatively affect their vocational education in the short term and their desire to stay in the profession in the long term. This study aims to determine the levels of colleague violence experienced by nursing students and the affecting factors in Türkiye.

Methods: This study was conducted with second-, third-, and fourth-year nursing students (N = 703) from three state universities in three different provinces in Turkey. The data were collected using the "Student Information Form" and "The Scale of Exposure to Colleague Violence" with an online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, the Independent Samples t-test, and the ANOVA test were employed for data analysis.

Results: students' total mean score on the scale was 46.72 ± 21.30. The "exposure to verbal/psychological violence" and "effect of violence on physical and mental health" subscales were 21.62 ± 10.09 and 25.10 ± 12.02, respectively. The most common reaction to the violence they were exposed to was "remain silent" (34.7%).

Conclusions: nursing students were exposed to moderate levels of verbal/psychological colleague violence, and students' physical and mental health were moderately affected by this violence. Most students remained silent as a response to colleague violence. This study contributed to the emergence of factors that affect and are related to colleagues' violence. The results highlighted the need for programs that educate people about colleague violence and what should be done.

Background: Work-related quality of life (WRQoL) is a multidimensional concept related to life satisfaction. Evaluating WRQoL is essential in healthcare settings since employee satisfaction affects patient service quality. Only a few studies have focused on the quality of life of rehabilitation health workers. We aimed to validate the Italian version of the WRQoL scale on a population of rehabilitation health professionals; the secondary objective was to investigate the work-related quality of life of professionals concerning the work settings in which they operate.

Methods: Participants were recruited from January 2022 to December 2023 according to specific inclusion criteria. Questionnaires were administered through an online survey requiring also personal employment data, and together with the SF-12 questionnaire, a test-retest was performed on 30 therapists. Reliability was assessed with Cronbach's alpha, test-retest stability through intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and concurrent validity was calculated using Pearson's correlation.

Results: We enrolled 284 individuals. Internal consistency analysis showed statistically significant results: Cronbach's alpha was > 0.70; construct validity analyses revealed statistically significant data for total scores and subscales, compared to SF-12 scores.

Conclusion: The WRQoL scale is a valid and reliable tool to assess the quality of working life of rehabilitation professionals.

Background: This study aimed to explore the association between occupational exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) and gynaecological and breast cancers.

Methods: A systematic review was performed to identify cohort studies reporting results on the association between occupational exposure to DE and risk of gynaecological and breast cancers. STROBE guidelines and PECOS criteria were followed. We identified 6 studies for breast cancer (BC), 4 for cervical cancer (CC), 4 for endometrial cancer (EC) and 7 for ovarian cancer (OC). Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on the relationship between DE exposure and BC, CC, EC, and OC risk; 95% confidence intervals (CI) and prediction intervals (PI) were reported. We investigated between-study heterogeneity and potential publication bias using Egger's test.

Results: No associations were observed between occupational DE exposure and risk of BC [RR=0.93; CI: 0.77-1.13; PI:0.50-1.73, I2=80.31%], EC [RR=0.89; CI: 0.75-1.05; PI:0.61-1.30, I2=0.78%], and OC [RR=1.08; CI: 0.89-1.32, PI: 0.76-1.56, I2=11.87%]. A weak association was observed for CC [RR=1.41; CI: 1.17-1.17; PI:0.85-2.30, I2=6.44%]. No between-study heterogeneity or publication bias was detected.

Conclusions: This study identified an association between DE exposure and CC, which was not adjusted for potential confounders. No evidence of an association was found with BC, EC, and OC.