Occupational disorders of diurnal biorhythms of locomotive crew workers

Abstract

Introduction. Work of locomotive crew members (engine drivers and engine driver assistants) in railway transport is associated with exposure to complex of occupational hazards including psychoemotional stress and shiftwork (with night shifts) along with noise and vibration.Objective. To study influence of shift work (with irregular alternation of day and night shifts) on biorhythms disturbances in locomotive crew workers.Materials and methods. Polls, simulators of occupational activities with training complex «Cabin of engine driver EP1M», daily monitoring of blood pressure, statistic data processing by SPSS–20 software.Results. Findings are that 953 locomotive crew workers (94%) experienced sensations of temporary disorientation, slight dizziness, sleepiness, interpreted as monotony and sensor deprivation. 61% of the examinees demonstrated frustration signs, in 30% of the cases there were certain manifestations of mental ill-being — irritability, fatigue, weariness, absent-mindedness, anxiety; 27.2% of the testees experiences various sleep disorders; 13.8% of the workers complained of «light sleep», 2% of those — restless sleep, 0.6% — sleeplessness. In occupationally related biorhythms disturbance, the body undergoes occupational adaptation, with partial transformation for atypical schedule of sleep and wakefulness.Results. To preserve health, efforts should be aimed at adaptation to shifted occupational activities with safe adaptogenic medications, low-caloric diet for individuals working at irregular shifts, create conditions for adequate physical activity of the workers between shifts. Necessities also are individual norms for blood pressure parameters in engine drivers with night shiftwork, specification of antihypertensive treatment for patients with irregular shifted work.