medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health最新文献

{"title":"Occupational differences in COVID-19 hospital admission and mortality risks between women and men in Scotland: a population-based study using linked administrative data","authors":"Serena Pattaro, Nick Bailey, Chris Dibben","doi":"10.1101/2024.01.25.24301783","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.25.24301783","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Introduction</strong> Occupations vary with respect to workplace factors that influence exposure to COVID-19, such as ventilation, social contacts and protective equipment. Variations between women and men may arise because they have different occupational roles or behavioural responses. We estimate occupational differences in COVID-19 hospital admission and mortality risks by sex.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"204 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139584024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Automation risk and subjective wellbeing in the UK","authors":"Jiyuan Zheng, Bertha Rohenkohl, Mauricio Barahona, Jonathan M Clarke","doi":"10.1101/2024.01.18.24301484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.18.24301484","url":null,"abstract":"The personal well-being of workers may be influenced by the risk of job automation brought about by technological innovation. Here we use data from the Understanding Society survey in the UK and a fixed-effects model to examine associations between working in a highly automatable job and life and job satisfaction. We find that employees in highly automatable jobs report significantly lower job satisfaction, a result that holds across demographic groups categorised by gender, age and education, with higher negative association among men, higher degree holders and younger workers. On the other hand, life satisfaction of workers is not generally associated with the risk of job automation, a result that persists among groups disaggregated by gender and education, but with age differences, since the life satisfaction of workers aged 30 to 49 is negatively associated with job automation risk. Our analysis also reveals differences in these associations across UK industries and regions.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"76 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139515124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Occupational hazards and risks among the women in fisher communities in Cox’s Bazar and Chattogram","authors":"Charls Erik Halder, Partha Pratim Das, S.M. Tareq Rahman, Liton Chandra Bhoumick, Hamim Tassdik, Md Abeed Hasan, Sourav Nath Mithun","doi":"10.1101/2024.01.08.24300962","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.08.24300962","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Women in the fisher communities in coastal regions of Bangladesh are engaged in a wide range of fishery activities including fish sorting, grading, cutting, dry fish processing, transporting and selling. However, there is limited evidence available on the occupational hazards and risks experienced by them. Method: The study was conducted among fishing colonies in Cox’s Bazar and Chattogram districts in Bangladesh. This was a cross-sectional study comprised of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data were primarily collected through eight focus group discussions (FGD) and a quantitative survey of a sample of 207 women working in fisheries sector.\u0000Findings: The study found a high occurrence of occupational hazards, health risks and disease conditions and limited availability of preventive measures among the women in the fisher communities in the coastal Bangladesh. Occupational hazards include physical safety hazards, like slippery surface, fish cutting instruments, fish sting or bite and contact with fishes; physical hazards, like prolonged sun exposure and noise; chemical hazards like pesticides, salt and salt water; ergonomic hazards, like prolonged sitting or standing in uncomfortable posture and heavy weight lifting; and biological hazards, like inadequate provision of sanitary latrine or hand washing soap at workplace. The study also found occupational risks resulting from the hazards including injuries (87.44%), musculoskeletal conditions (69.08%), skin diseases/conditions (56.52%), eye complaints (33.82%), severe respiratory distress (24.15%) and high incidence of self-reported communicable diseases. Majority of the women did not use personal protection equipment at their workplace (78.26%) and have a first aid kit at their workplace (93.72%).\u0000Conclusion: This study highlights the critical occupational health and safety challenges faced by the women in the fisheries sector. A comprehensive multisectoral strategy needs to be undertaken to mitigate the occupational hazards and prevent associated diseases among the women in fisher communities promoting their health and wellbeing.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139411174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heat stress-induced heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expressions among vulnerable populations in urban and rural areas Klang Valley, Malaysia","authors":"Siti Nurfahirah Muhamad, Abdah Md Akim, Fang Lee Lim, Nur Shabrina Azreen Mohd Shabri, Vivien How","doi":"10.1101/2023.12.20.23300317","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.20.23300317","url":null,"abstract":"As climate change raises global temperatures, there remains a notable gap in understanding the body’s mechanism of the heat stress defense exhibited by Heat Shock Protein (HSP) within the populations. This study aims to evaluate the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in vulnerable populations living in urban and rural areas in response to heat exposure. A comparative cross-sectional study involved 54 urban and 54 rural participants from Klang Valley, Malaysia. This study comprises four methods: Part I involves conducting face-to-face interviews questionnaire; Part II involves monitoring indoor heat exposure and classifying thermal stress using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI); Part III involves using the reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Part IV involves using the HSP70 High Sensitivity Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The findings revealed that urban areas have a higher heat level, classified as strong UTCI thermal stress (32.1°C), whereas rural areas have moderate UTCI thermal stress (31.0°C). In response to heat stress, the urban vulnerable populations exhibited higher HSP70 gene expression (0.167 ± 0.86) compared to the rural (0.154 ± 0.28). A significant difference (<em>p</em>&lt;0.001) in HSP70 protein expression was observed in the plasma of urban compared to rural vulnerable populations. There was a strong association between UTCI heat exposure level and the expression of the HSP70 gene and protein in both vulnerable population groups (<em>p</em>&lt;0.001). Although susceptible to vulnerabilities, the populations demonstrated HSP70 expressions in response to varying levels of heat exposure as a coping mechanism at the cellular level.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139411084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Status of Indian Cancer Record Keeping and Study of Mesothelioma Cases to Ascertain Asbestos Exposure in India.","authors":"Raja Singh, Arthur L Frank","doi":"10.1101/2023.12.19.23300114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.19.23300114","url":null,"abstract":"Setting: Asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma which is classified as a malignancy and recorded by cancer registries which currently covers only16% of the population in India. The accurate number of mesothelioma cases may not be available for decision making as India still uses asbestos and it is important to ascertain its health impact, especially mesothelioma. Objective: This study aims to find the cases of mesothelioma from 83 hospitals across India from 2012 onwards till 2022-2023. The study also compares the national registry reported cases to the ones found in this study. Design: The study uses the Right to Information Act 2005 to find data from various hospitals and reporting the same. The data from the voluntary national registry was also collected. This was compiled and compared. Results: Overall, the study shows 2213 cases of mesothelioma 2012 onwards in India from 83 hospitals. In the comparison period of 2012-2016, the registry reported cases were 54, while the study shows 1126 cases. Only 21% of hospitals in this study were part of the national registry programme. Conclusion: Mesothelioma cases in India are more frequent than reported and the current recordkeeping for all cancers does not fully cover the expanse of India and needs to be revamped.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138818584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Covid-19 Risk by work-related factors: Pooled analysis of individual linked data from 14 cohorts","authors":"Matthew Gittins, Sarah Rhodes, Jacques Wels, Bożena Wielgoszewska, Jingmin Zhu, Richard J Shaw, Olivia KL Hamilton, Evangelia Demou, Anna J Stevenson, Rebecca Rhead, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, George B Ploubidis, Martie van Tongeren","doi":"10.1101/2023.12.19.23298502","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.19.23298502","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background\u0000SARS-CoV-2 infection rates vary by occupation, but the association with work-related characteristics (such as home working, key-worker, 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. Methods\u0000Participants 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 NHS 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. Risk Ratios (RR) were then combined using random effects meta-analysis. Results Between March 2020 and March 2021, 72,290 individuals completed 167,302 surveys. Overall, 11% of 138,924 responses self-reported an infection, whereas 1.9% of 159,820 responses had a linked positive test. Self-reported infection risk was greater in key-workers vs not (RR=1.24(95%C.I.=1.17,1.31), among non-home working (1.08(0.98,1.19)) or some home working (1.08(0.97,1.17)) vs all home working. Part-time workers vs full-time (0.94(0.89,0.99)), and furlough vs not (0.97(0.88,1.01)) had reduced risk. Results for the linked positive test outcome were comparable in direction but greater in magnitude e.g. an 1.85(1.56,2.20) in key-workers. Conclusion\u0000The 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.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138818637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tissue-Specific Dose Equivalents of Secondary Mesons and Leptons during Galactic Cosmic Ray Exposures for Mars Exploration","authors":"Sungmin Pak, Francis A. Cucinotta","doi":"10.1101/2023.12.12.23299875","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.12.23299875","url":null,"abstract":"During a human mission to Mars, astronauts would be continuously exposed to galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) consisting of high energy protons and heavier ions coming from outside our solar system. Due to their high energy, GCR ions can penetrate spacecraft and space habitat structures, directly reaching human organs. Additionally, they generate secondary particles when interacting with shielding materials and human tissues. Baryon secondaries have been the focus of many previous studies, while meson and lepton secondaries have been considered to a much lesser extent. In this work, we focus on assessing the tissue-specific dose equivalents and the effective dose of secondary mesons and leptons for the interplanetary cruise phase and the surface phase on Mars. We also provide the energy distribution of the secondary pions in each human organ since they are dominant compared to other mesons and leptons. For this calculation, the PHITS3.27 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit is used to compute the energy spectra of particles in organs in a realistic human phantom. Based on the simulation data, the dose equivalent has been estimated with radiation quality factors in ICRP Publication 60 and in the latest NASA Space Cancer Risk model (NSCR-2022). The effective dose is then assessed with the tissue weighting factors in ICRP Publication 103 and in the NSCR model, separately. The results indicate that the contribution of secondary mesons and leptons to the total effective dose is 6.173%, 9.239%, and 11.553% with the NSCR model in interplanetary space behind 5, 20, and 50 g/cm² aluminum shielding, respectively with similar values using the ICRP model. The outcomes of this work lead to an improved understanding of the potential health risks induced by secondary particles for exploration missions to Mars and other destinations.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138715259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pain, inconvenience, and blame - Defining work-related injuries in the veterinary workplace","authors":"Tamzin Furtado, Martin Whiting, Imogen Schofield, Rebecca Jackson, John S.P. Tulloch","doi":"10.1101/2023.12.14.23299902","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.14.23299902","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Objectives</strong> The veterinary workplace carries a high risk of staff accidents and injuries, yet there is scant research exploring it in comparison with other comparable fields, such as human medicine. The aim of this study was to understand how veterinary professionals define injuries and to understand what injuries they do, or do not, deem reportable.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138714971","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"HIPTox – Hazard Identification Platform to Assess the Health Impacts from Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollutant Exposures, through Mechanistic Toxicology: A single-centre double-blind human exposure trial protocol","authors":"Thomas Faherty, Huda Badri, Dawei Hu, Aristeidis Voliotis, Franics D. Pope, Ian Mudway, Jacky Smith, Gordon McFiggans","doi":"10.1101/2023.12.13.23299801","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.13.23299801","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past decade, our understanding of the impact of air pollution on short- and long-term population health has advanced considerably, focusing on adverse effects on cardiovascular and respiratory systems. There is, however, increasing evidence that air pollution exposures affect cognitive function, particularly in susceptible groups. Our study seeks to assess and hazard rank the cognitive effects of prevalent indoor and outdoor pollutants through a single-center investigation on the cognitive functioning of healthy human volunteers aged 50 and above, with a familial predisposition to dementia. Participants will all undertake five sequential controlled exposures. The sources of the air pollution exposures are wood smoke, diesel exhaust, cleaning products, and cooking emissions, with clean air serving as the control. Pre- and post-exposure spirometry, nasal lavage, blood sampling, and cognitive assessments will be performed. Repeated testing pre- and post-exposure to controlled levels of pollutants will allow for the identification of acute changes in functioning as well as the detection of peripheral markers of neuroinflammation and neuronal toxicity. This comprehensive approach enables the identification of the most hazardous components in indoor and outdoor air pollutants and further understanding of the pathways contributing to neurodegenerative diseases. The results of this project have the potential to facilitate greater refinement in policy, emphasizing health-relevant pollutants and providing details to aid mitigation against pollutant-associated health risks.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"145 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138715251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Job Demands, Social Support, and Burnout among Public Senior High School Teachers, Ghana","authors":"Richard Akutey, Edward Wilson Ansah, Daniel Apaak","doi":"10.1101/2023.11.21.23298859","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.21.23298859","url":null,"abstract":"This study aimed to investigate the extent to which job demands and social support predict burnout of public senior high school (S.H.S.) teachers in Ghana, and to determine the mediating effect of job resources in the relation between job demands and burnout among these teachers. Employing a quantitative survey, 1028 public S.H.S. teachers were selected using purposive and voluntary sampling methods. A questionnaire adopted from pre-existing standardized instruments yielded composite reliability between 0.94 and 0.98. Data was analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and multiple linear regression. Results revealed a high level of job demands (M = 3.23, SD = 0.43), social support (M = 3.02, SD = 0.54), and burnout (M = 3.33, SD = 0.92) among the teachers. Also, multiple linear regression results indicate that job demands, and social support predict burnout of the teachers. Furthermore, social support is a partial mediator of the effect of job demands on teacher’s burnout. Therefore, perceived high level of burnout is an effect of high levels of job demands, which poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of these teachers and compromises teaching quality in Ghana’s S.H.S. However, this challenge can be prevented or reduced by providing more social support to the teachers. Hence, government, management, and other educational stakeholders need to provide a strong safety leadership in all matters that concerns teacher’s health and safety. The school administrators and teachers are also encouraged to promote social support vertically and horizontally.","PeriodicalId":501555,"journal":{"name":"medRxiv - Occupational and Environmental Health","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138544461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}