Journal of occupational and environmental medicine最新文献

Objective: Law enforcement officers (LEOs) face numerous stressors that exacerbate cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk. The current study examined novel and classic risk factors among a cohort of LEOs to better understand relationships between biomarkers of stress, oxidative stress, inflammation, and CMD risk.

Methods: Associations between measures of cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, body composition, and cardiometabolic health with novel/classic CMD risk factors were assessed among 66 male LEOs.

Results: Muscular fitness and cardiorespiratory fitness were significantly associated with reduced insulin resistance. Moreover, higher fat mass and body fat percentages were significantly associated with increased markers of inflammation and insulin resistance.

Conclusions: Maintaining high cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness levels and improving body composition profiles can ameliorate cardiometabolic health.

Objective: Describe the relation between clinic visits for symptoms of heat-related illness (Heat-Related Visits, HRV) and ambient Heat Index among aluminium smelters in the Arab Gulf States.

Methods: Four smelters provided HRV data. Meteorological data from nearby airports provided data for Heat Index (HI). Three approaches to finding a smelter-specific trigger for heat stress management were examined.

Results: The rate ratios from Poisson regressions were 1.2/°C for one smelter, 1.1/°C for two others and 0.96 (not significant) for the fourth; all showed no carry-over effect from preceding day. Using a logistic distribution provided a reasonable trigger.

Conclusions: HRVs increased with the Heat Index for three of the four smelters. In this limited study, the trigger point based on the logistic distribution at p = 0.05 was the most protective.

Structured abstract:

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of exercise therapy using social networking services (SNS) to reduce non-specific low back pain (NLBP) among healthcare and transportation workers.

Methods: A total of 40 participants, 20 in the control group and 20 in the intervention group were enrolled in the study. The intervention group received exercise therapy after answering questions regarding NLBP and classifying it into seven categories. The intervention group was asked to perform therapeutic 15-minute exercises suitable for each type of NLBP, as demonstrated by a physical therapist, the first author of this paper, through YouTube, three times a week for 8 weeks.

Results: The results revealed that the SNS-based exercise therapy was significantly effective in reducing NLBP (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Exercise therapy utilizing SNS effectively improved NLBP among healthcare and transportation workers.

Objective: Firefighters display elevated risk for diagnoses of mental health illnesses. Psychedelic-assisted therapies show promise in the treatment of clinically challenging conditions. This observational case series analyzed data from firefighters with mental health diagnoses who participated in a 12-week ketamine-assisted group therapy treatment plan.

Methods: Questionnaire scores (GAD-7; PHQ-9; PCL-5; B-IPF) collected throughout the program were scored and statistically analyzed for changes. Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis.

Results: Significant decreases with large effect sizes were detected in GAD-7 and PCL-5 scores post-completion in the 12-week treatment plan, which persisted 6 months later. Participants noted it was beneficial being in a cohort with fellow firefighters.

Conclusions: Statistically and clinically significant improvements to PTSD and anxiety diagnoses were detected in the cohort of firefighters after the RTT-KAT program, with results retained six months post treatment.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between menstruation-related symptoms and presenteeism.

Methods: The study was conducted under a cross-sectional design using an Internet survey of working women from December 7 to 18, 2023. The analysis included 3332 working women with menstruation. Questions listing specific symptoms were used to identify menstrual symptoms. The Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun) was used to measure presenteeism. Poisson regression analysis with robust variance was performed with presenteeism as the dependent variable and each menstrual symptom as the independent variable.

Results: Prevalence ratio for presenteeism increased with increasing symptom severity for each menstrual symptom on both age-adjusted and multivariable analysis (all p-values for trend <0.001).

Conclusions: This study found that the greater the severity of menstrual symptoms, the higher the level of presenteeism.

Objective: Assess the utilization and costs of physical therapy (PT) and rotator cuff repair (RCR) in the treatment of work-related rotator cuff tears (RCT).

Methods: 8,814 lost-time RCT claims filed to a nationwide workers' compensation insurance carrier from 2007 to 2022 were investigated.

Results: 89.1% of claimants with RCTs received both PT and RCR, 8.6% received PT only, and 2.0% had only an RCR. PT accounted for 19.9% of medical costs on average. RCT claimants, who had RCR without PT and no PT or RCR, had the shortest times out from work. Increasing amounts of PT treatment was associated with longer lost time and higher claim costs.

Conclusion: The addition of PT to RCR is associated with increasing time off work and claim costs proportionate to the duration of PT rendered.

Abstract: Objective: We investigated the impact of workplace heat and cold on work time loss. Methods: Field experiments in different industrial sectors were conducted in multiple countries across all seasons between 2016 and 2024. Hundreds of workers were video-recorded and their full shifts (n = 603) were analyzed on a second-by-second basis (n = 16,065,501 sec). Environmental data were recorded using portable weather stations. The Workplace Environmental Labor Loss (WELL) functions were developed to describe work time loss due to workplace temperature. Results: The WELL functions revealed a U-shaped relationship whereby the least work time loss is observed at 18 °C (64 °F), and increases for every degree above or below this optimal temperature. Conclusions: The WELL functions quantify the impact of workplace temperature on work time loss, extending to temperatures previously believed to be unaffected.

Objective: AI becomes increasingly integrated into the workplace, its associated job substitution risks for employees are more evident, resulting in significant repercussions for their well-being. This study tries to elucidate the effects of AI-driven job substitution risks on employees' mental health.

Methods: Data was collected through questionnaires and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships between variables.

Results: The job substitution risk of AI and Digital self-efficacy can positively influence job insecurity, which in turn adversely affects mental health. And job substitution risks of AI can amplify the negative impact of digital self-efficacy on job insecurity.

Conclusions: it provides an in-depth exploration of the specific processes and mechanisms through which AI-driven job substitution impacts employees' mental health. Practically, it offers insights for the implementation of AI and strategies to safeguard employee mental health.

Abstract: Objective: To improve estimates of the association between acute kidney injury (AKI) and ambient heat exposure through better case ascertainment and by isolating community-acquired AKI.Methods: We conducted a case-crossover study using data on AKI-related emergency department (ED) visits in Atlanta. Daymet meteorology was used to assess exposure. We compared effect estimates for seven approaches (definitions) for identifying AKI.Results: There were between 5,868 and 64,269 AKI cases depending on the definition. Higher temperatures were associated with AKI for all case definitions. Associations were strongest for cases with an ICD-coded AKI as a primary diagnosis (OR 1.15, 95%CI 1.01 - 1.31). We also observed significant (p < 0.05) heat associations among cases identified using lab results but without an ICD-coded AKI diagnosis.Conclusion: Many AKI cases are not diagnosed; these cases are associated with heat.