{"title":"Association between workplace-level awareness of Age-Friendly Guidelines and occupational safety and health measures for older workers.","authors":"Yuchi Maeda, Atsuhiko Ota, Yoshiji Katoh, Masaaki Matsunaga, Yuito Hosaka, Midori Takada, Young Jae Hong, Yukiko Nishita, Hiroshi Yatsuya, Rei Otsuka","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2026-0039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2026-0039","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare established the \"Guidelines for Ensuring the Safety and Health of Older Workers (the guideline)\" in 2020, little is known about the awareness of the guideline. This study examined the associations between workplace-level awareness of the guideline and workplace characteristics, as well as the association between guideline awareness and occupational safety and health measures for older workers, including occupational accident-prevention measures and workplace accommodations. A questionnaire survey was conducted between October and November 2024 in 500 workplaces affiliated with the Meihoku Labour Standards Association. Of the 260 workplaces that responded (52.0%), 107 workplaces (41.2%) reported guideline awareness. Implementation rates of occupational accident-prevention measures and workplace accommodations were higher in workplaces that were aware of the guideline. Guideline awareness differed significantly according to industry type and the presence of occupational health nursing professionals. Implementation rates of occupational accident-prevention measures and workplace accommodations were both associated with guideline awareness even after multivariable adjustment for workplace characteristics such as workplace size and industry type.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149165313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Industrial HealthPub Date : 2026-10-07DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.2026-0048
Yangwoo Kim
{"title":"What a biological exposure index is not: lessons from benzene for South Korea's special health examination.","authors":"Yangwoo Kim","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2026-0048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2026-0048","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biological exposure indices (BEIs) shape South Korea's special health examination system, yet the epistemological assumptions underpinning their regulatory use have received little scrutiny. In 2023, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) reduced the benzene threshold limit value-time-weighted average (TLV-TWA) from 0.5 to 0.02 ppm, a 25-fold decrease that exposed serious practical limitations in biomarker frameworks for low-level carcinogen monitoring. This narrative review analyzes the ACGIH BEI and DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) systems using primary sources, with benzene as the paradigm case for structural and operational differences between frameworks. ACGIH and DFG operationalize biological monitoring differently: ACGIH assigns benzene BEI values, whereas DFG declines to set a health-based tolerance value and instead provides exposure-response correlations (EKA) and nonsmoker population reference values (BAR). South Korea's system has structural defects, including the listing of S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) only as a recommended indicator, while the second-tier options retain confounding-prone biomarkers such as trans,trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA). No currently validated benzene biomarker can reliably monitor compliance at 0.02 ppm. BEIs are exposure assessment tools, not diagnostic thresholds or legal standards. Restoring this distinction requires interpretation within integrated surveillance, evidence-based biomarkers such as S-PMA, and analytical capacity for the 0.02 ppm era.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149127353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Monitoring of various particle emission sources in an industrial site equipped with an atmospheric plasma-spraying machine.","authors":"Sebastien Dieu, Laurent Meunier, Christophe Dutouquet, Alexis Vignes, Jessica Queron, Geoffrey Darut, Olivier LE Bihan","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2026-0031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2026-0031","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plasma spraying is widely used in industries such as aerospace and energy, yet quantitative data regarding its emissions of Nano Objects, Aggregates, and Agglomerates (NOAA) remains limited. This study assesses onsite particle emissions at an industrial facility, evaluating channeled emissions, filtering efficiency, diffuse emissions, and worker exposure. The results show that while mass-based filtering efficiency exceeds 90%, approximately 10<sup>6</sup> submicrometric particles cm<sup>-3</sup> still bypass the filters. Significant diffuse emissions (>10<sup>5</sup> particles cm<sup>-3</sup> above background) were detected when opening the spray booth doors. Furthermore, exposure measurements indicate a high risk for workers who enter the booth without sufficient abatement time, with particle counters reaching saturation at 10<sup>6</sup> particles cm<sup>-3</sup>. Notably, the dustiness of the process-generated powder was found to be 200 times higher than that of the raw material. Despite the current lack of specific NOAA regulations, these findings provide critical insights into the environmental and occupational health impacts of plasma spraying, serving as a baseline for future safety protocols and regulatory frameworks.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149109113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Industrial HealthPub Date : 2026-09-20Epub Date: 2026-02-05DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.2025-0151
Frøya B Almås, Satya P Sharma, Siri Waage, Ståle Pallesen, Bjørn Bjorvatn
{"title":"The association between musculoskeletal symptoms and work characteristics, demographic factors, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and shift work disorder: a cross-sectional study among Norwegian nurses.","authors":"Frøya B Almås, Satya P Sharma, Siri Waage, Ståle Pallesen, Bjørn Bjorvatn","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0151","DOIUrl":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0151","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms in a sample of Norwegian nurses, and to investigate whether work characteristics, demographic factors, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and shift work disorder were associated with such symptoms. A total of 1,875 nurses (67.5% response rate) completed a questionnaire which surveyed frequency of musculoskeletal symptoms in different body regions during the last year, work characteristics, including shift schedule and number of night shifts and quick returns (QRs), demographic factors including age, sex, marital status, children living at home, percentage of full-time equivalent, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and shift work disorder. Data were analyzed with χ<sup>2</sup> tests and crude and adjusted logistic regressions. Over half of the nurses (53.8%) reported musculoskeletal symptoms in one or more body regions. Compared with day only, two-shift rotation was associated with musculoskeletal symptoms (adjusted OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.20-2.14), whereas three-shift rotation and night only were not. Neither number of night shifts nor QRs were associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. Probable anxiety (aOR 2.23, 1.73-2.87), depression (aOR 2.08, 1.44-3.00), insomnia (aOR 2.45, 1.95-3.09), and shift work disorder (aOR 1.61, 1.28-2.02) were associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. Further research is necessary to elucidate causality.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":"456-469"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13600757/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Industrial HealthPub Date : 2026-09-20Epub Date: 2026-02-04DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.2025-0110
Kumi Hirokawa, Tetsuro Noda, Kyoko Tokunaga
{"title":"Association between changes in work environment and andropause symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japanese male workers: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Kumi Hirokawa, Tetsuro Noda, Kyoko Tokunaga","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0110","DOIUrl":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0110","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigated the association between changes in the work environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and andropause symptoms in Japanese male workers. A web survey of 374 employed male workers in Japan (mean age=45.6 yr, SD=13.2) was conducted in February 2023. Participants were asked about harassment at work, telecommuting hours, working hours, and communication with supervisors and coworkers. Andropause symptoms were measured using the Aging Males' Symptoms scale. Multiple regression analyses were conducted. Certain changes in the work environment were significantly associated with the total score of andropause symptoms, including increased (β=0.30), unchanged (β=0.19), and decreased (β=0.23) harassment at work, decreased communication with supervisors (β=-0.20), and telecommuting hours making up approximately half of (β=0.12) or almost all working hours (β=0.09) (all p<0.05). When stratified into younger (≤49 yr) and older (≥50 yr) groups, those associations were robustly significant in the younger group. Harassment at work worsened andropause symptoms in the younger group, while a reduction in communication with supervisors may have alleviated symptoms.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":"439-455"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13600755/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Industrial HealthPub Date : 2026-09-20Epub Date: 2026-01-12DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.2025-0126
Won Ho Shin, Ki Seog Lee, Chan-Seok Moon
{"title":"Perceptions of occupational safety and health among foreign construction workers in South Korea: a comparative analysis with Japan.","authors":"Won Ho Shin, Ki Seog Lee, Chan-Seok Moon","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0126","DOIUrl":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0126","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigated perceptions of occupational safety and health (OSH) among foreign construction workers in South Korea and compared structural challenges with Japan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 77 workers using a 48-item questionnaire adapted from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA). Descriptive statistics identified items scoring below 4.0 on a 5-point Likert scale as areas of concern. Comparative analysis was conducted using secondary data on Japan's OSH system for foreign workers obtained through a literature review. Fifteen items (31.3%) scored below 4.0, indicating deficiencies in communication, participatory training, and practical rule applicability. In contrast, tangible measures such as PPE provision and basic safety knowledge were rated highly. Both countries exhibited common OSH barriers, including language difficulties, limited training effectiveness, underreporting of accidents, restricted healthcare access, and insufficient mental health support. Korea's Employment Permit System provides structured legal employment but restricts job mobility, while Japan's Technical Intern Training Program reveals greater institutional weaknesses and partial exclusion from labor law protection. Foreign workers in both countries remain passive recipients of safety measures due to hierarchical structures and cultural isolation. Strengthening multilingual communication, participatory education, and inclusive leadership is essential to promote a proactive, worker-centered OSH culture.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":"411-420"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13600753/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145959156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Industrial HealthPub Date : 2026-09-20Epub Date: 2026-03-16DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.2025-0041
Nianzhi Tu, Zixin Cui, Sungju Maeng, Makoto Itoh
{"title":"Effects of meditation or walking as a microbreak on fatigue recovery during simulated air traffic control tasks.","authors":"Nianzhi Tu, Zixin Cui, Sungju Maeng, Makoto Itoh","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0041","DOIUrl":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Air traffic control (ATC) is a demanding domain characterized by intense operational demands, including high workload and task complexity that act as significant contributors to operator fatigue alongside other physiological and psychological factors. This study investigates the effects of different types of microbreak interventions on post-task fatigue recovery among air traffic controllers (ATCOs). Using a simplified simulated ATC task, we recruited ATC-naïve participants to evaluate two types of microbreaks-meditation and walking-as well as a control condition without microbreaks. We recorded participants' self-perceived fatigue, eye movements, heart rate variability (HRV), critical flicker fusion (CFF), heart rate, blood pressure, and performance metrics during the simulated task. The results indicate that taking a microbreak is effective in promoting subjective fatigue recovery. Furthermore, microbreaks had a significant effect on the preservation of task performance, with their effectiveness differing across microbreak types. The walking microbreak was particularly effective in reducing operational errors, whereas the meditation microbreak showed a non-significant trend toward mitigating declines in reaction time. The findings suggest that both microbreak types are beneficial for fatigue recovery, but walking microbreaks may confer additional benefits for sustaining operational performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":"501-516"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13600754/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147463277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The association between work-family conflict and psychomotor vigilance among women working in aged care services in Japan.","authors":"Tomohiro Ueno, Ai Ikeda, Setsuko Sato, Hadrien Charvat, Yuka Suzuki, Koutatsu Maruyama, Narihisa Miyachi, Hiroo Wada, Yasunari Koyama, Takeshi Tanigawa","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0114","DOIUrl":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0114","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Work-life imbalance is associated with occupational burnout and poor mental health outcomes, which may impair cognitive performance. However, few studies have investigated this association. Therefore, we examined the association between work-family conflict and cognitive performance using a 10-min psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) in a cross-sectional study of 437 women working in aged care services in Japan. Work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC) scores were divided into low, moderate, and high. PVT measurements included mean reaction time (RT), slowest 10% RT, and lapses (number of responses >500 ms), categorized by median values. Higher scores indicated impaired cognitive performance. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for impaired PVT performance were calculated using a multivariable logistic regression model. The ORs (95% CIs) for high WFC compared with low WFC regarding impaired PVT performance were 2.63 (1.26-5.45) for mean RT, 2.61 (1.25-5.46) for slowest 10% RT, and 3.21 (1.51-6.82) for lapses. However, no significant association was found for FWC. WFC was associated with impaired cognitive performance, whereas FWC was not. This is the first study that suggests managing WFC may improve cognitive performance. Further longitudinal studies are needed to examine causality and improve work environments for employees with high WFC.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":"479-490"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13600752/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147276273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is face shape associated with fitness of respiratory personal protective equipment-N95 masks?","authors":"Hsiang-Tai Chen, Chia-Ying Tsai, Chen-Cheng Yang, Chao-Ling Wang, Hung-Yi Chuang, Chih-Hsing Hung","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0109","DOIUrl":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0109","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigates the impact of face shape on the pass rate of personal protective equipment N95 mask fit tests among Taiwanese healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fit tests are crucial for controlling and preventing infection, but research indicates that face shape can affect the test's effectiveness. HCWs underwent a qualitative fit test and were categorized into round, square, long, and oval face shapes based on their profile pictures. A total of 352 HCWs participated the intervention, and 287 participants passed the test, among those participants, long shaped face had a passing rate of 80.2% and oval-shaped faces was 91.7%, while round-shaped faces had the lowest passing rate of 42.9%. This study reveals that long and oval shaped face participants in Taiwanese healthcare workers have a higher fitting rate than round-shaped participants, indicating better mask fit test pass rates.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":"517-522"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13600758/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147377181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Longitudinal association of nonrestorative sleep with subjective health and work performance: a cohort study in the Japanese construction industry.","authors":"Shota Matsunaga, Mitsuhiro Sado, Yoshitaka Kaneita, Miho Arai, Norio Sasaki, Katsutoshi Tanaka, Kenichi Kuriyama","doi":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0204","DOIUrl":"10.2486/indhealth.2025-0204","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Previous studies have reported associations between nonrestorative sleep (NRS) and various physical and mental illnesses. However, its long-term relationship with subjective health and work performance remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between NRS and subjective health and work performance among Japanese workers. A longitudinal cohort study was conducted using health examination and medical claims data from fiscal years 2018 to 2023, involving 36,160 workers. NRS was assessed at baseline based on responses to the question, \"Do you feel refreshed after a typical night's sleep?\" Longitudinal associations of NRS with subjective physical and mental health and work performance were analyzed using generalized linear models. The prevalence of NRS was 55.4%. NRS was significantly associated with poorer subjective physical health (aOR=1.77, 95% CI: 1.65-1.91) and mental health (aOR=1.66, 95% CI: 1.54-1.79). In addition, workers with NRS exhibited 3.6% lower work performance (95% CI: 3.25-3.88) compared with those with restorative sleep and incurred an estimated annual productivity-related economic loss of approximately JPY 160,000 per worker. These findings indicate that NRS is associated with decreased subjective health and reduced work performance. Early screening and intervention for NRS may help improve workers' health and productivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":13531,"journal":{"name":"Industrial Health","volume":" ","pages":"470-478"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13600751/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146142291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}