Associations between biometric characteristics and occupational safety and health

Abstract

Any job comes with different occupational hazards. Office-bounded positions had become pervasive over the past years. Moreover, the pandemic crisis experienced in 2020 shifted these jobs to a home office, generating unexpected hazards. The case study presented below collected primary data from 409 university employees through biometric screenings and analyzed it using descriptive and inferential statistics. Chi-square tests established statistically significant associations between type of occupation and characteristics such as gender, body mass index, blood and urine sample laboratory results, and age. Logistic regression determined two significant factors that contribute to occupational diagnosis (gender and physical exam results). In addition, the study identified clinical problems and pathologies related to mental work. These results were pivotal for identifying specific work hazards such as obesity, musculoskeletal disorders, eye problems, and metabolic diseases and how they affect health and safety in the workplace.