Journal of Occupational Health最新文献

{"title":"Effectiveness of Exercise Interventions for Chronic Low Back Pain Among Office Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.","authors":"Hiroaki Yamano, Ryunosuke Urata, Kimihiro Ogawa, Takuya Hatade, Ryuichi Shimada, Hiroki Yokoyama, Hikaru Tanaka, Kazuaki Mori, Shinsuke Suetake","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/joccuh/uiag058","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Chronic low back pain (LBP), largely attributable to prolonged sitting and low levels of physical activity, is prevalent among office workers and constitutes a major occupational health concern. Although exercise therapy is widely recommended for chronic LBP, limited studies specifically target office workers. In this study, we systematically evaluated the effectiveness of exercise interventions for office workers with chronic LBP, focusing on pain intensity, functional disability, physical activity level, and work-related outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted. Electronic databases were searched for RCTs published through March 31, 2025. Primary outcomes were pain intensity and work productivity; secondary outcomes were functional disability and physical activity level. Meta-analyses were performed using a random-effects model, and the certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>we included 4 RCTs, involving 263 participants, in this review. At short-term follow-up, the pooled estimate suggested that exercise interventions may reduce pain intensity compared with control conditions. However, the certainty of evidence was very low, and evidence for functional disability and physical activity level was insufficient. None of the included studies assessed work productivity or presenteeism using validated instruments. The certainty of evidence for pain and functional disability outcomes was rated as very low.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Exercise interventions may reduce short-term pain in office workers with chronic LBP; however, evidence regarding functional and work-related outcomes remains insufficient. High-quality, long-term studies incorporating work productivity and presenteeism as primary outcomes are required.</p>","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149025242","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":"Development of an artificial intelligence model to estimate psychiatrist-assessed mental health-related presenteeism.","authors":"Shotaro Doki, Masakazu Hirokawa, Taiga Noguchi, Daisuke Hori, Soma Nishimura, Katsuya Hotta, Yuya Iwata, Naoko Kouda, Shota Matsumoto, Kenji Suzuki, Shin-Ichiro Sasahara","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/joccuh/uiag055","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to contribute to the development of an AI-based system that supports worker health and productivity by enabling early detection of presenteeism. We tested whether an AI model could assess mental health-related presenteeism with accuracy comparable to that of psychiatrists and whether the frequency of application use was comparable between avatar-based and real-person interfaces.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study aimed to design a multivariable prediction model among white-collar employees in a Japanese company. The participants comprised 117 white-collar workers who provided a total of 1,631 video responses to a standardized health-status question over a period of 10 working days. The primary outcome measure was the accuracy of the AI model in estimating workers' mental health-related presenteeism. The secondary outcome was the frequency of application use when inquiring about workers' health conditions, comparing the avatar-based interface with the real-person interface.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The AI model achieved an overall accuracy of 72.2%, a macro F1 score of 0.64, and a weighted F1 score of 0.73 compared with psychiatrists' ratings. Agreement between the two psychiatrists was 84.5%. Participants were allocated to either an avatar-based interface or a real-person interface, with no significant differences observed between groups in baseline characteristics or frequency of application use, whereas a significant difference was observed in the frequency of missing values.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The developed AI model demonstrated performance comparable to psychiatrists in estimating mental health-related presenteeism from video data. This approach offers a novel, objective alternative to traditional questionnaire-based methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149012455","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":"Validity and Utility of Self-Reported Weight Gain Since Age 20 in a 30-Year-Old Japanese Working Population.","authors":"Satsue Nagahama, Ai Hori, Bibha Dhungel, Takehiro Michikawa, Keiko Asakura, Yuji Nishiwaki","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/joccuh/uiag052","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>We examined the validity of a questionnaire item on self-reported weight gain of ≥ 10 kg since age 20 among Japanese workers undergoing occupational health examinations. In addition, we performed the utility analysis to examine whether the associations with metabolic components at age 30 differ when using self-reported weight gain versus objectively measured weight gain as the exposure variable.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants were 6,272 men and 2,055 women aged 30 with objectively measured body weight data at ages 20 and 30. Weight gain (≥ 10 kg vs. < 10 kg) was defined using both self-reported and objectively measured data. The validity of the questionnaire item on self-reported weight gain was assessed using objectively measured weight gain as the reference standard. To evaluate its utility, we used modified Poisson regression to examine the associations with cardiometabolic components at age 30, separately for men and women, and compared these associations between the two exposure definitions: self-reported and objectively measured weight gain.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At age 30, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value were 80.1%, 79.7%, and 52.9% in men, and 73.3%, 89.1%, and 48.5% in women, respectively. Associations of self-reported weight gain of ≥10 kg with cardiometabolic components at age 30 were similar in magnitude to those based on objectively measured weight gain.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The self-reported questionnaire item showed acceptable validity and may serve as a practical alternative when historical body weight data are unavailable.</p>","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148945254","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":"Is the right to disconnect a testable organizational hypothesis for physiological recovery? A comment on after-hours ICT use.","authors":"Carlo Aresti","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/joccuh/uiag045","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":"68 1","pages":"uiag045"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13540716/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148887685","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":"Artificial intelligence in occupational health: aligning technological innovation with occupational safety and health policies in Malaysia.","authors":"Rosdin Samad, Nur Athirah Diyana Mohammad Yusof, Putri Anis Syahira Mohamad Jamil","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag030","DOIUrl":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag030","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":"68 1","pages":"uiag030"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13371955/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148456203","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":"Response to \"Association between health literacy and behaviors among shift workers: an observational cross-sectional study with mediation analysis\".","authors":"I Wayan Gede Suarjana, Hanifa M Denny","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag009","DOIUrl":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":"68 1","pages":"uiag009"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13082225/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147698602","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":"Reduced physical activity during submarine deployment: health and performance consequences and feasible countermeasures-a narrative review.","authors":"Benjamin J C Kirk, Georgios Mavropalias, Anthony J Blazevich, Jodie L Cochrane Wilkie, Aus Molan, Kazunori Nosaka","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag026","DOIUrl":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Submarine environments pose unique challenges to maintaining physical activity due to space constraints, operational demands, and prolonged confinement. This review aims to synthesize existing literature on the health and performance consequences of reduced physical activity in submarine personnel and to examine feasible strategies to mitigate these effects during deployment.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A narrative overview methodology was adopted, with peer-reviewed studies identified from PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Articles examining physical activity patterns, health outcomes, and exercise or movement-based interventions in submarine environments and comparable confined operational settings were included.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Submarine deployments are consistently associated with reduced physical activity, low step counts, and limited opportunities for structured exercise. Prolonged inactivity during deployment may contribute to unfavorable changes in body composition, including increases in fat mass, potential reductions in muscle mass, and in some contexts, alterations in bone health. Collectively, these changes may increase longer-term cardiometabolic and musculoskeletal risk, particularly with repeated deployments. Practical, low-burden strategies such as increasing daily movement, no-load or bodyweight resistance exercise, and minimal-dose eccentric-focused training appear feasible within submarine constraints and may help preserve health and physical function.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Maintaining physical health during submarine deployments requires proactive, context-specific approaches compatible with the operational environment. Low-resource exercise strategies that emphasize maintenance of activity, rather than performance optimization, may provide a practical means of mitigating health and performance declines during deployment. Further research is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness and implementation of these approaches in submarine populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13251739/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147973130","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":"Effects of a telework environment intervention on work setup behaviors and somatic symptoms among Japanese teleworkers: a secondary analysis of the TELEWORK cluster randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Satoru Kanamori, Aya Wada, Jihoon Kim, Wataru Umishio, Takahiko Yoshimoto, Rumi Tsukinoki, Natsumi Yoshioka, Kaori Yoshiba, Masahiko Gosho, Yoshio Nakata, Yuko Kai","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag042","DOIUrl":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag042","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Home workspace ergonomics may influence telework-related somatic symptoms; however, evidence regarding interventions promoting teleworkers' self-directed environment setup remains limited. We examined the effects of a behavioral science-based educational intervention on telework environment setup behaviors and somatic symptoms among Japanese employees.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a secondary analysis of the TELEWORK cluster randomized controlled trial (UMIN000053861). Workplace departments were randomized as clusters (1:1) to intervention/control. The 12-week program comprised educational emails, short videos, individualized feedback sheets, and supportive supervisor messages. The primary and secondary outcomes were the Telework Environment Setup Behavior (12 items) and Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8) scores, respectively. Analyses used a modified intention-to-treat approach with mixed-effects models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twelve clusters from 6 companies participated (182 and 188 in the intervention and control groups, respectively). No significant between-group differences were observed in environment setup (difference, 1.34; 95% CI, -1.67 to 4.35; P = .345) or SSS-8 (difference, -1.10; 95% CI, -2.59 to 0.38; P = .129) scores at follow-up. In the process evaluation, over half of intervention participants who completed the follow-up reported satisfaction, nearly 90% read the emails, and approximately 40% viewed the videos. Among video viewers, approximately two-thirds reported adopting recommended behaviors, while >80% rated the content useful.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This secondary analysis did not detect statistically significant improvements in telework environment setup behaviors or somatic symptoms. Statistical conclusions regarding intervention effects remain inconclusive, underscoring the need for organizationally supported, multifaceted strategies to strengthen telework environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13502406/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148592207","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":"Health and occupational environment of Japanese expatriates in the United States: medical interview analysis using text mining.","authors":"Yuchi Maeda, Masaaki Matsunaga, Yuito Hosaka, Koji Ishikawa, Atsuhiko Ota","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag017","DOIUrl":"10.1093/joccuh/uiag017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>While the health issues of expatriates have predominantly been investigated in the context of assignments to developing countries, there is a paucity of research addressing Japanese expatriates stationed in the United States, which is a developed country.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study employed quantitative content analysis, using the text mining software KH Coder 3 on records obtained from 17 Japanese expatriates who participated in interviews with an occupational physician during a US medical tour in May 2025.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The interview records comprised 7856 words and 440 sentences. Co-occurrence network analysis extracted 6 factors: The following subjects were examined: \"Family life and daily challenges,\" \"Extended working hours and meetings between Japan and the United States,\" \"Comprehensive health checkups (Ningen Dock) and patterns of health care utilization,\" \"Health checkups and test results,\" \"Workload and stress,\" and \"Physical inactivity and weight gain.\" Among these, the factor with the highest frequency of constituent terms was \"Extended working hours and meetings between Japan and the United States.\"</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Japanese expatriates encounter considerable health challenges, including difficulties in daily life, limited access to medical care, insufficient physical activity, and the substantial burden of work and meetings that extend late into the night owing to time differences. Global companies should ensure appropriate management of health- and work-related issues, even in assignments to developed countries, with particular attention to support systems, such as adjusting meeting schedules and providing family support.</p>","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13220334/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147674347","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":"Development and validation of brief measures of workplace loneliness.","authors":"Izumi Ayase, Akihito Shimazu, Masahito Tokita, Kentaro Sakamaki, Norito Kawakami","doi":"10.1093/joccuh/uiaf068","DOIUrl":"10.1093/joccuh/uiaf068","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to develop and validate 2 concise measures of workplace loneliness.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A 3-item scale for loneliness at work (SLAW-3) and a single-item scale for loneliness at work (SLAW-1) were developed by modifying existing scales for general loneliness. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted of 1228 full-time employees in Japan to test the reliability and validity of these scales. Internal consistency of the SLAW-3 was assessed using Cronbach α coefficient, and the construct validity was examined through correlations with established measures of workplace loneliness, psychological distress, well-being, self-rated health, and workplace social support.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The SLAW-3 demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach α = .91) and unidimensionality. It correlated positively with established measures of workplace loneliness and psychological distress measures and negatively with well-being and workplace social support measures. The SLAW-1 also demonstrated significant correlation with the SLAW-3 and with psychological indicators such as distress, well-being, self-rated health, and workplace social support.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The SLAW-3 was found to be a reliable and valid measure of workplace loneliness. The SLAW-1 also demonstrated adequate construct validity, despite its single-item format. Both scales are short and may be effectively used to assess workplace loneliness in large-scale employee surveys or brief screenings.</p>","PeriodicalId":16632,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13057720/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145634928","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}