Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology最新文献

{"title":"Burnout, anxiety and depression in secondary school teachers in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic scoping review & perspective of preventive occupational medicine.","authors":"Ursula Wild, Sarah Herman, Marius König, Thomas C Erren, Philip Lewis","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00488-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00488-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic added another layer of burden to what is already a demanding occupation; namely, secondary school teacher. OBJECTIVE: To review the published literature concerning burnout, anxiety, and depression in secondary school teachers in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic and to discuss the findings from the perspective of preventive occupational medicine. METHODS: A systematic scoping review using the Medline and Web of Science databases with narrative synthesis of findings. RESULTS: We identified 16 articles from seven European countries (Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal) though results from one study were uninterpretable. Of the 15 remaining, seven assessed burnout or emotional exhaustion, seven assessed anxiety, and seven assessed depression (there was overlap). Only two studies were longitudinal and they focussed on burnout; the remaining 13 were cross-sectional in design. Questionnaires were used to assess severity scores. Mean severity scores for all outcomes appear to fluctuate across the pandemic, but are always high. Loss-to-follow up – indicated in the longitudinal studies – could mean a healthy worker effect (e.g. workers who fall ill and drop out of the study) biases both severity scores per se and their associations with other factors toward null in studies. Differences in- and associations with- outcome scores are reported for sex, age, job experience, cognitive-, personality-, and emotional intelligence-associated factors (e.g. extraversion, presenteeism, openness, resilience, clarity, repair), work-related factors (e.g. student issues, professional support, technology), and COVID-19 associated factors (e.g. family member vulnerability). There are differences in some findings across studies. DISCUSSION: The COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique situation in which to study factors that contribute to -or provide protection against- burnout, anxiety, and depression. Female teachers may be a higher-risk group for depression. Potential factors that could be modified to mitigate outcomes, albeit identified as associating factors from mostly cross-sectional studies, include emotional intelligence training at the individual level and professional support at a systems level. Given the importance of the teaching profession and the high demands placed on teachers, future studies should consider interventions on such modifiable factors toward reducing health burden. </p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":" ","pages":"44"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12667120/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145641781","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 role of deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipoptena and Neolipoptena) in occupational and public health.","authors":"Markus Braun, Doris Klingelhöfer, Dörthe Brüggmann, Isabelle Marie Kramer","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00490-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00490-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipoptena and Neolipoptena) are bloodsucking arthropods that primarily feed on deer (family Cervidae) but can occasionally bite humans. The knowledge of their potential harm to wildlife, livestock, and pets is fragmentary. These ectoparasites have been historically understudied, as they were only considered nuisances to various occupational groups and the public. However, there is also mounting evidence that they may be pathogen vectors as several infectious disease agents, including Acinetobacter, Anaplasma, Bartonella, Borrelia, Coxiella, Francisella, Mycoplasma, Rickettsia, Chlamydia-like organisms, Trypanosoma, Babesia, and viruses such as Sigmavirus lipoptenae and Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus, have been detected in deer keds. In this context, deer keds should be considered a highly probable vector for Bartonella schoenbuchensis. Persons at risk include anyone who travels or resides in the habitats of deer keds, primarily forests and their immediate surroundings in the Northern Hemisphere, whether for leisure or work purposes, particularly in temperate regions of Europe, Siberia, China, and North America. They also occur in Central and South America, the Russian Federation, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Algeria, and Southern Spain. The ongoing rise in temperatures due to climate change is likely to favor the spread of deer keds, as it alters host distributions and increases their activity levels. Measures to prevent bites include avoiding areas with a high occurrence of deer keds, wearing protective clothing, including permethrin-treated clothing, and conducting a thorough body check for deer keds and bite sites after spending time or working in a risk area. Medical professionals should consider deer ked bites in their differential diagnoses. To ensure occupational and public health safety, it is crucial to educate and train at-risk workers (such as woodsman, foresters, employees of national parks, naturalists, farmers, and veterinarians) and those recreating in forests (such as walkers, hikers, hunters, or mushroom pickers) about deer ked bites, their symptoms, and possible zoonotic implications. This review summarizes the recent knowledge regarding the health risks posed by deer keds, applicable to both occupational groups and anyone who may encounter them within their geographic distribution.</p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":" ","pages":"45"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12690882/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145641694","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":"Collaboration between occupational health services and other health care: a scoping review.","authors":"Tuulia Varanka-Ruuska, Mari Immonen, Jari Lundmark, Hanna Hakulinen, Pauliina Kangas","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00489-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00489-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occupational health services play an important role in supporting employees' work ability and co-ordinating rehabilitation processes. However, they may operate quite separately from other health care systems, and the level of the collaboration between occupational health services and other health care varies across different countries. We aimed to evaluate how the co-operation between occupational health care and other health care providers has been studied.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was a scoping review. The literature search examined the databases of Scopus, Ovid Medline and Cinahl for original studies of collaboration between occupational health services and other social and health services from 2012 to 2022. The articles were evaluated on the basis of actor and form of collaboration.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Out of the 1008 articles we found, 26 articles met our inclusion criteria. After searching the reference lists of the included articles, we chose seven more articles, resulting in a total of 33 articles for our scoping review. The articles were categorized according to the main actors of collaboration into seven groups: (1) collaboration between occupational health physicians (OP) and general physicians, (2) collaboration between OPs and rehabilitation physicians, (3) collaboration between OPs and psychotherapists, (4) collaboration between occupational health physiotherapists and general physiotherapists, (5) collaboration between occupational health professionals (OHP) and general health professionals, (6) collaboration between OHPs and specialized health care professionals and (7) collaboration between OHPs and other work-related stakeholders.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The existing research on the collaboration between occupational health services and other health care appears to be mostly descriptive, highlighting the need for intervention studies of collaboration models.</p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":"20 1","pages":"43"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12659493/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145641488","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":"Metabolomic profiling of sweat VOCs for occupational stress surveillance in firefighters: a GC-MS pilot study.","authors":"Teerada Somphot, Thanaphol Sirithaweesuk, Luxsana Dubas, Nuttanee Tungkijanansin, Chavit Tunvirachaisakul, Michael Maes, Patthrarawalai Sirinara, Chadin Kulsing","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00486-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00486-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BACKGROUND: With limited access to mental health specialists for diagnosis, current stress tracking methods rely on questionnaire results. These self-report questionnaires often obtain untruthful answers, especially in beneficial situations such as career hiring or promotion. This study aimed to evaluate an alternative method for stress screening based on analysis of sweat volatile organic compounds. METHODS: Sweat samples of 44 firefighters were collected using headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME). Sweat VOCs were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The compounds were identified by comparing the experimental retention indices (I) and MS spectra with the database from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) library. RESULTS: The obtained data were correlated with the standardized questionnaire-based Thai version of the perceived stress scores (T-PSS-10) of the volunteers. The significant peaks were then selected based on the individual accuracy and t-test. Six possible volatile features for high stress (PSS score ≥ 32) samples were revealed. Their potential sources could involve human and microbiome metabolism/catabolism. By using partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), these markers could be combined into a single feature. The feature value thresholds were then varied for construction of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. With the optimum threshold, the combined marker offered the accuracy, sensitivity, selectivity and area under curve (AUC) of 84%, 87%, 81% and 91%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of using sweat VOC profiling via HS-SPME GC-MS as a rapid and non-invasive method for occupational stress screening. The technique provides objective biochemical markers that could enhance the reliability of conventional questionnaire-based assessments in high-risk occupational groups. </p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":"20 1","pages":"42"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12636193/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145565773","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":"Humor as a double-edged weapon in psychopathology: light and dark humor styles, coping, and personality in police mental health.","authors":"Royce Anders, Lauriane Willemin-Petignat, Benjamin Putois","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00485-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00485-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Police officers are at higher risk for mental health issues. Research that advances knowledge on job demands and resources remains crucial. Research on humor is sparse, despite it being commonplace in the workplace, and an accessible resource. In parallel with traditional demands and resource variables, this study thoroughly assesses humor and develops an integrative model.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 2291 officers from 24 agencies and 11 job roles participated. They responded to empirically-validated questionnaires on work demands (stress, trauma), 4 pathologies (post-traumatic stress disorder, burnout, anxiety, depression), 14 coping strategies, 8 humor styles, 5 personality traits, professional (work experience, management) and demographic variables (education). Prevalence analyses, t-tests, regression, clustering, and path modelling were performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The integrative model provides an overall account of the relationships between job demands, coping, humor, personality, pathology, and demographics. Dark comic styles were never associated with fewer pathological symptoms, only greater. Light comic styles, especially Humor and Jokes, are indicators of good mental health. Extraversion was linked to greater light humor use, and Conscientiousness and Agreeableness to less dark humor. Those tending towards adaptive coping strategies tend towards light humor, and inversely, maladaptive towards dark humor.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Humor, especially the observation of dark humor, may be a crucially convenient tool to rapidly and discreetly identify an officer carrying residual distress, and hence intervene preemptively. A more resilient force may be instilled by fostering, in agency culture, regular light humor use, and routinely encouraging adaptive coping examples.</p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":"20 1","pages":"41"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12632130/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145565760","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":"Exploring the impact of high reliability organization implementation on patient handling injury rates: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Michael Joshua G Morales, Pauline Hilton, OiSaeng Hong, Stella Bialous, Marie Martin, Mary Foley, Soo-Jeong Lee","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00487-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00487-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patient handling injuries (PHIs) are among the leading causes of workplace injuries among healthcare workers. High-reliability organization (HRO) programs aim to prevent detrimental errors and improve organizational safety. This study examined the relationship between HRO implementation and direct care staffs' PHI rates.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study used data from 124 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. HRO implementation was measured by program duration and HRO climate. Negative binomial regression models were used to examine the relationship between HRO implementation and PHI rates, progressively adjusting for staff-to-patient ratio, facility type, size, and complexity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A longer HRO program duration was associated with higher HRO climate (p = .01), but HRO implementation (duration and climate) was not associated with PHI rates. Higher staff-to-patient ratio was associated with lower PHI rates (p < .05). Ambulatory care service facilities had lower PHI rates than acute care facilities (β = -0.824, p = .03). The most clinically complex facilities (level 1a) had higher PHI rates than the level 3 least complex facilities (β = 0.806, p = .04).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>While this study did not observe a significant relationship between HRO implementation and PHI rate among direct care staff, the study findings highlight the importance of adequate staffing for injury prevention and the need to consider facility type and complexity in PHI prevention efforts. Future research is needed to explore the impact of HRO on worker safety, using more sophisticated measures to assess HRO programs and climate.</p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":"20 1","pages":"40"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12628515/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145551487","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 potential adverse human health effects of metal-containing nanoparticles: a scoping review.","authors":"Robert S Miller, Robert Goodnough, Timur S Durrani","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00491-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00491-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Human exposure to nanoparticles is increasing due to their widespread use in industry and consumer products. The unique physicochemical properties of these materials lead to novel toxicological effects, primarily driven by the induction of oxidative stress and inflammation, establishing nanotoxicology as a critical public health field. This scoping review synthesizes the current evidence from preclinical models to provide an overview of the mechanisms and end-organ toxicities associated with exposure to metal-containing nanoparticles.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A scoping review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The PubMed database was searched on August 11, 2024, using a detailed search string focused on nanoparticle inhalation, human toxicity, and metals. Inclusion criteria specified English-language articles reporting on in vivo or in vitro human tissue studies, while studies that were animal-only, reviews, or non-toxicological modeling were excluded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The initial search yielded 946 records; ultimately, 136 articles were analyzed based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A thematic analysis of the included studies reveals that research is heavily concentrated on the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and immune systems, with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide being the most frequently investigated nanoparticles. Across all organ systems, the principal mechanisms of toxicity were consistently identified as the generation of reactive oxygen species and the initiation of inflammatory cascades. Key organ-specific findings include disruption of the respiratory epithelial barrier, nanoparticle translocation to the cardiovascular and nervous systems, associated mitochondrial damage and protein aggregation, and dose-dependent genotoxicity, including DNA strand breaks and micronuclei formation.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The toxicity of metal-containing nanoparticles is highly dependent on their specific physicochemical characteristics, including size, chemical composition, and agglomeration state. While in vitro models have been invaluable for elucidating these mechanistic pathways, significant limitations remain, including a lack of standardization and challenges in translating findings to clinical outcomes in humans. Future research should focus on validating advanced, reproducible models, investigating complex mixed exposures, and identifying sensitive biomarkers to better inform risk assessment and protect public health.</p><p><strong>Clinical trial number: </strong>Not applicable.</p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":"20 1","pages":"39"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12628871/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145551444","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":"Predicting workplace absenteeism using machine learning: a pilot study in occupational health.","authors":"Pablo Llamas Blázquez","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00482-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00482-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Workplace absenteeism represents a significant challenge for organizations and occupational health practitioners, with substantial implications for productivity, healthcare costs, and employee well-being. Traditional approaches to absenteeism management remain largely reactive, highlighting the need for predictive models that enable proactive interventions.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To develop and validate machine learning models for predicting workplace absenteeism patterns and identifying risk factors associated with prolonged absence in a pilot study framework, thereby demonstrating feasibility for evidence-based occupational health interventions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This pilot study employed machine learning algorithms on a publicly available workplace absenteeism dataset from a Brazilian company (2007-2010) obtained from the UCI Machine Learning Repository. The dataset comprised 740 instances with 19 variables including demographic characteristics, clinical indicators (BMI, ICD-10 coded absence reasons), and occupational factors. Random Forest and Gradient Boosting algorithms were implemented for both classification of prolonged absences and regression of absence duration. Statistical outliers (> 30 h, 3.8% of cases) were excluded to focus on typical absence patterns.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The developed models demonstrated feasibility for workplace absenteeism prediction within this pilot framework. The Random Forest classification model achieved 84% accuracy (AUC = 0.89) for distinguishing between typical and prolonged absences. For duration prediction of typical absences (≤ 30 h), the Random Forest regression model yielded R² = 0.13, RMSE = 3.93 h, and MAE = 2.37 h. Key predictors included absence reason (ICD-10 classification), body mass index, and workload metrics, with notable interactions between workload intensity and specific absence categories.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of machine learning approaches for occupational health management by enabling identification of employees at risk for prolonged absenteeism. While showing promise for supporting personalized health interventions and resource allocation, implementation requires external validation across multiple organizations and careful consideration of ethical implications regarding employee privacy and algorithmic fairness.</p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":"20 1","pages":"38"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12604190/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145490682","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":"Cause-specific mortality among workers in asbestos mining and enrichment factories (Asbest Chrysotile Cohort Study) compared with the general population of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation.","authors":"Ann Olsson, Joachim Schüz, Igor Bukhtiyarov, Monika Moissonnier, Evgenia Ostroumova, Gilles Ferro, Eleonora Feletto, Graham Byrnes, Iraklii Tskhomariia, Kurt Straif, Tatiana Morozova, Hans Kromhout, Evgeny Kovalevskiy","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00484-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00484-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>OBJECTIVES: Complementing the previously published cohort-internal comparison we hereby compare the cause-specific mortality in workers of the Asbest Chrysotile Cohort study (ACC) with the general population of Sverdlovsk Oblast where the mine and factories are located. METHODS: The ACC cohort database and the regional Federal State Statistic Service for the Sverdlovsk Oblast population were used. We calculated sex-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the main ICD-10 disease groups and for selected cancer sites for the populations ≥ 15 years from 1980 to 2015. In relation to exposure, we applied the Sverdlovsk rates to the person-years in each exposure category to obtain expected numbers of lung cancer deaths. For comparing types of ACC workers (mine, enrichment factories, both), we calculated lung cancer SMRs in men by duration of employment (< 5 years, 5–14 years, and ≥ 15 years) and start of employment (before or after 1975) with miners as reference in each stratum. RESULTS: Overall mortality of men in the ACC was reduced by 14%, mainly because of the most common cause of death, circulatory disease; this effect was much weaker in women. Elevated mortality was observed for both sexes from diseases of the digestive system (10–30%) and blood and blood forming organs (121–181%). Lung cancer mortality in men was increased from the 3rd quartile of chrysotile containing dust and in the highest quartile with SMR 1.30, 95% CI 1.07–1.57, while the increase in high exposed women was not reaching statistical significance (SMR 1.69, 95% CI 0.87–2.96). No increased SMRs were seen for laryngeal, stomach or ovarian cancers. Male factory workers first employed before 1975 had higher lung cancer mortality compared to miners, but not when employed after 1974. CONCLUSIONS: The observed excess in lung cancer confirms previous observations in the ACC. Risk management measures in the enrichment factories may have reduced the lung cancer risk to the level of the miners in recent decades. </p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":"20 1","pages":"37"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12590735/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145460398","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":"Occupational zirconium and co-metal exposure - cobalt, nickel, and arsenic: an integrated air and biomonitoring assessment in Taiwanese industry.","authors":"Ting-An Yang, Chia-Chen Chang, Hung-Chi Su, Kuen-Yuan Chuang, Yu-Chung Tsao","doi":"10.1186/s12995-025-00483-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12995-025-00483-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Zirconium (Zr) compounds have increasingly been used as alternatives to traditional toxic metals in industrial processes, yet comprehensive exposure and biomonitoring data are scarce. This study aimed to assess occupational exposure to zirconium and co-metals (cobalt, nickel, arsenic) in Taiwanese manufacturing industries through integrated environmental and biological monitoring.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional investigation was conducted in eight metal surface treatment plants, with biomonitoring conducted among ten exposed workers. Personal and area air sampling were analyzed for zirconium and co-metals using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES); urine and blood samples were analyzed for internal exposure biomarkers (urinary zirconium, urinary/blood cobalt, urinary nickel, blood arsenic) by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Pulmonary effects were assessed using spirometry.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Airborne Zr concentrations varied substantially by process, with the highest levels observed in shelling and slurry mixing operations (up to 22.55 µg/m³). Urinary Zr was undetectable in all participants (< 0.2 µg/L), consistent with limited systemic absorption. In contrast, co-metals were consistently detected: cobalt and nickel were elevated in workers handling ceramic pigments and surface finishing tasks. Regression analyses indicated inverse associations between cobalt and hemoglobin, nickel and oxidative/inflammatory markers (8-OHdG, CRP), and positive associations between nickel and IgM, and arsenic and IgM. Spirometry indices remained within clinical reference ranges but tended to be lower among high-exposure workers.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study provides the first integrated dataset of zirconium and co-metal exposure in Taiwanese industry, showing measurable airborne Zr but undetectable urinary Zr under current conditions. Co-metals (cobalt, nickel, arsenic) demonstrated significant associations with hematologic, oxidative, and immunologic markers, underscoring the complexity of mixed-metal exposures. These findings support ongoing workplace surveillance and further research on health implications of zirconium and co-metal co-exposures.</p>","PeriodicalId":48903,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology","volume":"20 1","pages":"36"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12573892/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145402461","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}