Peter Bager, Md Zohorul Islam, Tinna Ravnholt Urth, Luca Guardabassi, Peter Damborg, Carmen Espinosa-Gongora, Anne Mette Madsen, Raphael Niklaus Sieber, Poul Bækbo, Robert Skov, Jesper Larsen
{"title":"Association between biosecurity and zoonotic transmission of LA-MRSA CC398 from industrial pig farms to farm workers and their household members.","authors":"Peter Bager, Md Zohorul Islam, Tinna Ravnholt Urth, Luca Guardabassi, Peter Damborg, Carmen Espinosa-Gongora, Anne Mette Madsen, Raphael Niklaus Sieber, Poul Bækbo, Robert Skov, Jesper Larsen","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109620","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2024-109620","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Zoonotic transmission of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> clonal complex 398 (LA-MRSA CC398) from industrial pig farms to farm workers and their household members and secondary transmission to elderly and immunocompromised persons has led to a growing number of serious infections and even death.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>We tested the hypothesis that conventional pig farms confer a higher risk for LA-MRSA CC398 carriage among farm workers and their household members than specific pathogen-free (SPF) farms, which follow a set of stringent rules concerning biosecurity, health control and transportation of pigs between herds.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a cross-sectional study of farm workers and their household members from 25 Danish pig farms positive for LA-MRSA CC398. Questionnaires were designed to obtain information about each farm and participant. Nasal samples from pigs and human volunteers were screened for LA-MRSA CC398. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to calculate adjusted ORs (aORs) and 95% CIs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study included 25 pig farms, 154 farm workers screened at the farm (93 of whom were also screened at home) and 173 household members. The risk of LA-MRSA CC398 carriage among farm workers at the farm (aOR=5.40, 95% CI 1.05 to 27.80) and household members (aOR=8.32; 95% CI 2.81 to 24.63) was significantly higher in conventional pig farms than in SPF farms.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study shows that strict biosecurity measures reduce the risk of LA-MRSA CC398 carriage among farm workers and their household members and thereby the disease burden in the general population.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143059467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tytti P Pasanen, Pekka Tiittanen, Nina Roswall, Kerstin Persson Waye, Jenny Selander, Nestor Sanchez Martinez, Mattias Sjöström, Natalia Vincens, Mikael Ögren, Gunn Marit Aasvang, Jorunn Evandt, Norun Hjertager Krog, Kjell Vegard Weyde, Jibran Khan, Mika Gissler, Jonas Christoffer Lindstrøm, Aslak Harbo Poulsen, Göran Pershagen, Mette Sorensen, Timo Lanki
{"title":"Occupational noise exposure and maternal pregnancy complications: register-based cohort from urban areas in four Nordic countries.","authors":"Tytti P Pasanen, Pekka Tiittanen, Nina Roswall, Kerstin Persson Waye, Jenny Selander, Nestor Sanchez Martinez, Mattias Sjöström, Natalia Vincens, Mikael Ögren, Gunn Marit Aasvang, Jorunn Evandt, Norun Hjertager Krog, Kjell Vegard Weyde, Jibran Khan, Mika Gissler, Jonas Christoffer Lindstrøm, Aslak Harbo Poulsen, Göran Pershagen, Mette Sorensen, Timo Lanki","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109724","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2024-109724","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess the role of occupational noise exposure on pregnancy complications in urban Nordic populations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A study population covering five metropolitan areas in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden was generated using national birth registries linked with occupational and residential environmental exposures and sociodemographic variables. The data covered all pregnancies during 5-11 year periods in 2004‒2016, resulting in 373 184 pregnancies. Occupational noise exposure was based on a Swedish-developed job-exposure-matrix, containing measured A-weighted annual 8 hour noise levels (L<sub>Aeq8h</sub>), and linked with person-specific job-history. Outcomes included diagnosed gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, mild pre-eclampsia and severe pre-eclampsia. The data were analysed with logistic regression models separately in each country, adjusting for maternal (age, parity, birth year, education and marital status) and residential environmental factors (low neighbourhood income, NO<sub>2</sub> and green and blue space). The results were combined by meta-analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Occupational noise exceeding 80 dB, compared with less than 70 dB, was associated with an increased odds of gestational diabetes in all countries, with a combined OR of 1.26 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.51), and mild pre-eclampsia in all countries except Finland, resulting in a combined OR of 1.22 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.51). Further adjustment by maternal body-mass index attenuated these associations. No association with gestational hypertension or severe pre-eclampsia was found.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Register data from four nationalities show that gestational diabetes and, tentatively, mild pre-eclampsia was increased among pregnant workers working in occupations where noise levels exceed 80 dB L<sub>Aeq8h</sub> but not in occupations with lower noise levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142978783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Somayina C Ezennia, Laura E Beane Freeman, Vicky C Chang, Shuai Xie, Dale P Sandler, Gabriella Andreotti, Christine G Parks, Melissa C Friesen, Jonathan N Hofmann
{"title":"Estimated exposure to endotoxin and circulating immunological markers among male farmers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study.","authors":"Somayina C Ezennia, Laura E Beane Freeman, Vicky C Chang, Shuai Xie, Dale P Sandler, Gabriella Andreotti, Christine G Parks, Melissa C Friesen, Jonathan N Hofmann","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109646","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2024-109646","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occupational exposure to endotoxin has been associated with reduced lung cancer risk. The mechanisms underlying this association are unclear, though immunological alterations likely play a role. Farmers who perform certain tasks (eg, raising hogs) can be highly exposed to endotoxin. We, therefore, leveraged measurements of circulating immune markers from a prior investigation among male farmers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study to evaluate associations with newly developed estimates of endotoxin exposure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Our investigation included 122 non-smoking farmers from Iowa, oversampling those raising hogs. Serum levels of 60 markers were measured using multiplex bead-based assays and ELISA. Based on an algorithm linking measurement-based task intensity estimates with self-reported task frequency, we estimated cumulative endotoxin exposure in the 30 days up to sample collection. We used multivariable linear regression to estimate geometric mean ratios of immune markers across exposure quartiles.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Higher endotoxin exposure in the last 30 days was associated with increased levels of fibroblast growth factor-2, macrophage inflammatory protein-3 alpha/CCL20 and sIL-4R (P<sub>trend</sub>≤0.02) and decreased levels of macrophage-derived chemokine/CCL22 (P<sub>trend</sub>=0.02). We also identified novel associations with several additional markers; those with the highest (vs lowest) exposure to endotoxin had decreased levels of TARC/CCL17, sCD27 and IL-1B.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Several circulating immune markers were associated with endotoxin levels in an exposure-response manner. Our findings are consistent with prior work on hog farming and suggest possible biological mechanisms through which endotoxin may confer a reduced risk of lung cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142922374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christian Hoover, Amal N Trivedi, Anila Bello, William J Culpepper, Joseph Gasper, Rachel Gaither, Lan Jiang, Christopher Rennix, Aaron Schneiderman, Gregory A Wellenius, Susan R Woskie, David A Savitz
{"title":"Deployment to bases with open burn pits and mortality of US Military Veterans.","authors":"Christian Hoover, Amal N Trivedi, Anila Bello, William J Culpepper, Joseph Gasper, Rachel Gaither, Lan Jiang, Christopher Rennix, Aaron Schneiderman, Gregory A Wellenius, Susan R Woskie, David A Savitz","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109704","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109704","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Five million US Veterans had possible exposure to open burn pits used for waste disposal through service in Iraq (2003-2011) and Afghanistan (2001-2014). Burn pits generate toxic exposures that may be associated with adverse health outcomes. We examined all-cause and cause-specific mortality in relation to deployment to bases with open burn pits.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analysed a cohort of 474 634 Veterans who received some healthcare from the Veterans Health Administration, linked to Department of Defense deployment records to identify assignments to bases with burn pits. In multivariable logistic regression models, we assessed the association between duration of deployment to bases with burn pits and all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality from the six most common causes among this population of Veterans.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Duration of deployment to bases with burn pits was modestly related to all-cause mortality, with adjusted ORs of 1.07 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.15), 1.08 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.16) and 1.16 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.27) across tertiles, but not associated with mortality due to cancer, heart disease or chronic liver disease/cirrhosis. Positive associations were also found for unintentional injuries, suicide and stroke.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These data are suggestive of an association between duration of deployment to bases with burn pits and overall mortality, but not from cancer or heart disease. Unexpected associations with injury and suicide call for a more detailed evaluation. Conclusions are restricted by the broad aggregations of causes of death, a limited number of deaths in this relatively young cohort and the lack of more detailed information on exposure to burn pits.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142896505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kathryn Badarin, Lluís Mangot-Sala, Nuria Matilla Santander, Bertina Kreshpaj, Julio César Hernando Rodríguez, Amanda Emma Aronsson, Signild Kvart, Emelie Thern, Virginia Gunn, Per-Olof Ostergren, Mireia Julia, Sherry Baron, Carles Muntaner, David H Wegman, Theo Bodin
{"title":"Precarious employment, strenuous working conditions and the long-term risk of diagnosed chronic musculoskeletal disorders.","authors":"Kathryn Badarin, Lluís Mangot-Sala, Nuria Matilla Santander, Bertina Kreshpaj, Julio César Hernando Rodríguez, Amanda Emma Aronsson, Signild Kvart, Emelie Thern, Virginia Gunn, Per-Olof Ostergren, Mireia Julia, Sherry Baron, Carles Muntaner, David H Wegman, Theo Bodin","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109867","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109867","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate the effect of precarious employment (PE) on the risk of diagnosed chronic musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among Swedish workers in occupations with strenuous working conditions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This nationwide register-based cohort study included workers registered as living in Sweden in 2005, aged 21-60 at the 2010 baseline. Three samples were included: workers with high biomechanical workload (n=680 841), repetitive work (n=659 422) or low job control (n=703 645). PE was evaluated using the SWE-ROPE (2.0) construct, which includes: contractual insecurity, temporariness, multiple jobs, income and collective bargaining agreement from 2010. Three exposure groups were created: PE, substandard and standard employment (SE). MSD data were obtained from outpatient registers (2011-2020). Cox proportional-hazards models estimated crude and adjusted sex-specific HRs with 95% CIs. Various outcomes were investigated for the different samples.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among workers with heavy biomechanical workload, results suggest increased risks of back MSDs in PE compared with those in SE. No association was found between PE and tendonitis in repetitive work, but PE was associated with an increased Carpal Tunnel Syndrome risk among men. Among workers with low job control, PE was associated with increased risks of soft tissue disorders among men and fibromyalgia among women.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>PE was associated with an increased risk of MSDs among workers with strenuous working conditions, with variations depending on disorder and sex. The findings suggest a differential exposure to biomechanical workload within occupations. Targeted interventions and strengthened workplace safety regulations are needed to protect the musculoskeletal health of workers in PE.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142882583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Barrak Alahmad, Andreas D Flouris, Zachary J Schlader, Jacob Berry, Fabiano Amorim, Vidhya Venugopal, Rebekah A I Lucas, Heath J Prince, David H Wegman, Jason Glaser
{"title":"Roadmap to effective and attainable workplace heat standards in the USA and beyond.","authors":"Barrak Alahmad, Andreas D Flouris, Zachary J Schlader, Jacob Berry, Fabiano Amorim, Vidhya Venugopal, Rebekah A I Lucas, Heath J Prince, David H Wegman, Jason Glaser","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109735","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109735","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"543-544"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142471226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Role of female sex and occupational exposures when examining the rates and risks of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).","authors":"Annette Leclerc, Bradley Evanoff, Alexis Descatha","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109800","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109800","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"545-546"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142731153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benjamin Stroebel, Zaynab Rezania, Duzong Yang, Stephanie J Yendell
{"title":"Presence and concentration of lead in keys and keyring items.","authors":"Benjamin Stroebel, Zaynab Rezania, Duzong Yang, Stephanie J Yendell","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109726","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109726","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Environmental lead is a persistent hazard that disproportionately affects children. Keys are known sources of lead exposure in children, but little is known about the specific lead content or frequency of lead in keys. We identified differences in lead concentration and frequency across items with different physical characteristics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study tested a convenience sample of keys and keychain objects using an X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean lead concentration across 362 objects tested was 1722 ppm (SD 3657 ppm; range 95.5-44 400 ppm). Lead was present in the majority (64%) of objects tested. Door keys had the highest concentration of lead (mean 2646 ppm; SD 3701 ppm). Door keys had significantly more lead than both vehicle keys (p<0.0001) and electronic fobs (p=0.0004). Gold-coloured keys contained significantly more lead than silver-coloured keys (p<0.0001). Copied keys were significantly more likely to contain detectable levels of lead compared with original keys (p<0.0001); however, this relationship was not significant when controlling for key type. There was a positive association between key age and lead concentration (p=0.009).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Keys were less likely to contain lead if they were silver-coloured; car keys or electronic fobs; and newer. However, several categories of keys with less lead contained high lead levels, and the majority of items tested (64%) contained more lead than limits on lead in keys that were implemented in Minnesota after data collection (90 ppm). The levels of lead identified highlight the need for public education and potential additional regulatory guidelines for keys.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"592-594"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142546585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jussi Lantto, Hille Suojalehto, Hanna Jantunen, Irmeli Lindström
{"title":"Long-term clinical follow-up of irritant-induced occupational asthma.","authors":"Jussi Lantto, Hille Suojalehto, Hanna Jantunen, Irmeli Lindström","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109540","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109540","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occupational exposure to irritants is associated with poor asthma control, but the long-term clinical characteristics of irritant-induced occupational asthma (IIA) are poorly known.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate whether any distinguishable features contribute to IIA patients' poor outcomes and whether clinical characteristics change over time.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We re-evaluated 28 IIA patients with a median of 6.8 years (IQR 4.6-11.1) after their diagnosis at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in 2004-2018. We measured their lung function, non-specific bronchial hyper-responsiveness, inflammation profile and exercise capacity using an ergometric bicycle test. The participants also underwent an Asthma Control Test (ACT) and responded to questionnaires assessing their laryngeal hypersensitivity (LHQ) and dysfunctional breathing (Nijmegen Questionnaires, NQ).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At follow-up, 22 (79%) participants used inhaled corticosteroids, 4 (14%) had asthma exacerbation within 1 year, 11 (39%) had ACT<20 (ie, poor asthma symptom control), 7 (26%) had abnormal spirometry and 8 (36%) had a positive methacholine challenge test result. 17 (61%) participants showed at least one elevated eosinophilic inflammation marker. Six (23%) had an abnormal LHQ score and 7 (26%) had an abnormal NQ score. 15 (58%) participants showed reduced physical capacity that was related to extensive asthma medication, poor asthma symptom control and acute IIA phenotype. A higher ACT score was the only significant change between diagnosis and follow-up (p=0.014).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Most of the IIA patients had normal lung function at follow-up, which had only changed a little over time. Reduced physical capacity was a common finding and appears to be related to poor asthma symptom control.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"588-591"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142624074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matthew Gittins, Jacques Wels, Sarah Rhodes, Evangelia Demou, Richard J Shaw, Olivia K L Hamilton, Jingmin Zhu, Bożena Wielgoszewska, Anna Stevenson, Ellena Badrick, Rebecca Rhead, George Ploubidis, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Martie van Tongeren
{"title":"COVID-19 risk by work-related factors: pooled analysis of individual linked data from 14 cohorts.","authors":"Matthew Gittins, Jacques Wels, Sarah Rhodes, Evangelia Demou, Richard J Shaw, Olivia K L Hamilton, Jingmin Zhu, Bożena Wielgoszewska, Anna Stevenson, Ellena Badrick, Rebecca Rhead, George Ploubidis, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Martie van Tongeren","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2023-109391","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2023-109391","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>SARS-CoV-2 infection rates vary by occupation, but the association with work-related characteristics (such as home working, keyworker or furlough) are not fully understood and may depend on ascertainment approach. We assessed infection risks across work-related characteristics and compared findings using different ascertainment approaches.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants of 14 UK-based longitudinal cohort studies completed surveys before and during the COVID-19 pandemic about their health, work and behaviour. These data were linked to the National Health Service digital health records, including COVID-19 diagnostic testing, within the UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC) research environment. Poisson regression modelled self-reported infection and diagnostic test confirmed infection within each cohort for work-related characteristics. Relative Risk (RR) were then combined using random effects meta-analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Between March 2020 and March 2021, 74 757 individuals completed 167 302 surveys. Overall, 15 174 survey responses self-reported an infection, whereas 3053 had a linked positive test. Self-reported infection risk was greater in keyworkers versus not (RR=1.24 (95% CI 1.17, 1.31), among non-home working (1.08 (0.98, 1.19)) or some home working (1.06 (0.97, 1.17)) versus all home working. Part-time workers versus full time (0.94 (0.89, 0.99)) and furlough versus not (0.93 (0.88, 0.99)) had reduced risk. Results for the linked positive test outcome were comparable in direction but greater in magnitude, for example, a 1.85 (1.56, 2.20) in keyworkers.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The UK LLC provides new opportunities for researchers to investigate risk factors, including occupational factors, for ill-health events in multiple largescale UK cohorts. Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 illness appeared to be associated with work-related characteristics. Associations using linked diagnostic test data appeared stronger than self-reported infection status.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"564-573"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142780731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}