The rapid growth of nanotechnology has increased the occupational exposure to nanomaterials. On the other hand, a growing body of evidence considers exposure to these materials to be hazardous. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the effects of occupational exposure to these materials by different methods. Biological monitoring, especially the investigation of oxidative stress induced by exposure

The aim of this study was to identify effective work place intervention strategies for the prevention of low back pain (LBP). The study focused on interventions to two major groups: personal interventions and technical interventions. Data basis were searched for with inclusion criteria: study design based on randomised controlled trial; outcome measures including non-specific LBP occurrence expressed

While a number of work-related events have been proposed as risk factors for depression, a majority of studies have focused only on a few events in a single study. Therefore, we conducted a web-based longitudinal study to comprehensively investigate the impact of various work-related events on depressive symptoms. Ten thousand Japanese workers representing the Japanese working population were recruited

The understaffing of nursery schools and kindergartens and the increasing workload of childcare workers are becoming significant issues in Japan. In this study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the stress experienced by childcare workers and its antecedents. We distributed 2,640 questionnaires to childcare workers in Miyagi prefecture, obtaining a response rate of 51.9% (n=1,370)

Maintenance-of-way workers in North America who construct railroad tracks utilize specialized powered-hand tools, which lead to hand-transmitted vibration exposure. In this study, the maintenance-of-way workers were surveyed about neuro-musculoskeletal disorders, powered-hand tools and work practices. Information about vibration emission data of trade specific powered-hand tools for the North American

Differences in risk for gastric cancer exist among occupations and industries in Japan. Using a 2015 national dataset, we estimated the mortality rates due to gastric cancer in Japanese male and female workers aged 25–64 yr. Regression models were used to estimate the mortality rate ratios separately for men and women with adjustment for age. The occupation with the highest risk ratio was “Service”

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may arise after events involving a risk to physical integrity or to life, one’s own or that of others. It is characterized by intrusive symptoms, avoidance behaviors, and hyper-excitability. Outside certain categories (e.g., military and police), the syndrome is rarely described in the occupational setting. We report here five unusual cases of work-related PTSD

This study evaluated the performance of two respirators, a replaceable particulate respirator (RPR) and a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR), worn according to non-recommended methods. Ten subjects wore either an RPR or PAPR according to the recommended method, or according to a non-recommended method, with a knit cover placed between the facepiece cushion and face, with a towel placed between

The aim of this study was to evaluate the equations for calculating the clothing area factor (fcl) used in the standards based on data sets of clothing ensembles, that are meant to provide thermal comfort over a wide range of climatic conditions from hot summer days to extremely cold winter. Over 10 equations for fcl calculations were selected from the international standards and the literature. At

This study investigated the risk of insomnia and hypnotics use among emergency physicians. This cross-sectional study recruited physicians working in Taiwanese hospitals in 2015 and the general population as the participants. Data from 1,097 emergency physicians obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database were grouped into the case group, whereas 14,112 nonemergency physicians and

Potential insomnia in healthcare workers is a public health concern as it may degrade the quality of patient care. We examined the prevalence of insomnia symptoms in healthcare workers and their perceived need for a sleep intervention. Participants were 62 nurses working full-time at a U.S. hospital. These nurses were asked about background characteristics, perceived stress, sleep concerns, and need

Office workers remain in a awkward position for long periods, which can lead to musculoskeletal symptoms. Ergonomic guidelines are recommended to avoid such problems. Evidence of the long-term effectiveness of ergonomic interventions is scarce. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to compare pain intensity among office workers who received an ergonomic intervention and a control group before

This study followed assembly line workers during 7 months, comprising a 4-wk season holidays. The main purposes were to determine the potential effect of working time on the presence and intensity of upper limb musculoskeletal symptoms, as to verify the effect of 4 wk of job interruption in the upper limb musculoskeletal symptoms presence and intensity. Data was collected during 6 moments. Generalized

Physical function impairment in patients with low back pain (LBP) occurs due to the influence of psychosocial factors. Only a few studies have objectively evaluated physical function. We aimed to objectively assess the physical functions of individuals subjects with LBP, and clarify the association between physical function and psychosocial factors. We enrolled 411 individuals with LBP working in special

Professional heavy vehicle drivers can experience a traumatic event at work when suicidal drivers deliberately crash into their vehicles or a pedestrian jumps in front of them. This study adopts a qualitative approach, aiming to gain an understanding about the psychological and other consequences that these crashes have for this occupational group. We organized a semi-structured focus group meeting

This study aimed to validate the summation methods suggested by ISO 9920. 27 items from an ambulance personnel clothing system were selected for testing. The basic insulation of each garment item (Iclu) was calculated based on the thermal manikin tests. More than 100 realistic clothing combinations were compiled and basic insulation (Icl) of these ensembles was calculated according to ISO 9920. These

Competency is important for professionals’ effective performance and career development. However, little is known about the necessary competencies and proficiency in these for Thai safety officers. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the necessary competencies for this group and to compare proficiency in each competency between senior and junior safety officers. A descriptive, cross-sectional study

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders are at a high risk of experiencing depressive symptoms. However, the relationship between autistic traits and depressive symptoms is unclear. This study aimed to identify which autistic traits are related to depressive symptoms in Japanese workers. The study participants included 2,049 workers from all areas of Japan. Autistic traits and depressive symptoms

High level of work-family conflict (WFC) is an important risk factor for stress-related health outcomes. However, many studies are cross-sectional studies. In this study, we aimed to clarify how changes in WFC levels over a period 5 yr can affect workers’ mental and physical health, and to clarify whether there are gender differences of them. This study examined 1,808 civil servants (1,258 men and

We investigated the effects of an intervention aiming at enhancing four types of team-level social capital (bonding, bridging and two types of linking social capital) in six dairy plants with a total of 60 teams. Social capital and work engagement was assessed in baseline and follow-up surveys. The follow-up period was approximately 20 months, comprising an intervention period of 12 months. Intervention

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the effect of verbal ratings on arousal in the electroencephalogram (EEG) and psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) performance. Thirty participants underwent the PVT for 40 min in three experimental conditions: (1) Rating condition, in which they verbally rated subjective sleepiness with Karolinska sleepiness scale, following pure tone sound played every

We aimed to investigate the association between working hours and poor glycemic control using a cross-sectional data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The participants who were medically diagnosed with diabetes mellitus by a physician were defined as diabetic patients, and patients with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels >9.0% were considered as “poorly controlled”

This study determined the association of cold-related symptoms with workplace temperature and thermal insulation of clothing among Thai chicken industry workers. Three hundred workers were interviewed regarding cold-related symptoms, which were regressed on worksite temperature and protective clothing. In total, 80% of workers reported respiratory symptoms; 23%, cardiac symptoms; 62%, circulation disturbances;

From 2011–2015, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Nanotechnology Field Studies Team conducted 11 evaluations at worksites that either produced engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) via a wet process or used ENMs in a wetted, suspended, or slurry form. Wet handling or processing of ENMs reduces potential exposure compared to dry handling or processing; however, air sampling data indicated

The Japanese Industrial Safety and Health Act was first enacted in 1972. The purpose of this Act is to secure the safety and health of workers in the workplace, as well as to facilitate the establishment of a comfortable work environment. To fulfill these purposes, the Industrial Safety and Health Act aims to clarify the responsibility system in the workplace and to promote proactive efforts by both

Table 3 of the above paper appeared incorrectly in print. Percentage figures on the table were inadvertently listed as negative values. These errors were corrected in online versions of this paper, as shown below.

The Inpatient Clinico-Occupational Survey collected data from 3.76 million patients, showing that the average length of stay declined by 16.1 d in FY2008 and by 14.1 d in FY2015. In this study, we assessed the length of hospital stay and readmission, stratified by ICD-10 and employment status. A cross-sectional study was conducted on data from FY2008, including those from 65,806 first hospitalizations

The aim of this study is to establish an effective early intervention mechanism for construction engineering to prevent electrocution while improving labor safety and reducing the casualty risk. This study used narrative text analysis and the Haddon Matrix for data collection, and analyzed the causes from the 113 electrocution deaths among in the construction industry, the exhaustive chi-square automatic

A wide range of job-related hazards and personal factors may be associated with injury occurrences at continuous miner worksites but their role has been little documented. To address this issue, a case-control study in India was conducted to compare 135 workers with an injury during the previous 2-yr period and 270 controls without injury during the previous 5-yr period (two controls for each injured

Taking action in response to anthropometrics is important to respirator fit. We aimed to investigate the associations between the filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) fit and the head-face dimensions among Chinese people. We used data from 85 volunteers. We focused on fit factors and 8 head-facial dimensions of subjects. The fit factors from 4 respirator models with different protection levels and

This study measured the fume particle size distribution and fume generation rate during arc welding of cast iron and estimated the generation rate of respirable dust. In addition, the generation rate of particles with a diameter of 0.3 µm or less was estimated. In this experiment, three types of filler materials (mild steel wire, stainless steel wire, and mild steel covered electrodes) with main constituents

Research has disregarded the boundary conditions of the effects of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) at work. Addressing this issue, the present study examines the moderating impact of the (shared vs. isolated) exposure to robbery on the relationship between PTSS and employee job satisfaction. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, we argue that PTSS would positively affect employee job

The present study aimed to verify the prevalence and association of sedentary behavior and its breaks with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in teaching professionals. The sample was composed by 245 public school teachers (186 women and 59 men), with a mean age of 45 yr. Sedentary behavior was evaluated by self-reported screen time in different devices (television, computer, cellphone/tablet)

This study aimed to quantitatively grasp the structure of support for balancing cancer treatment and work among occupational health nurses (OHNs) with the current implementation status. The anonymous questionnaire was designed based on the findings of our previous qualitative study and distributed to OHNs. The degrees of support implementation for workers with cancer, superiors and colleagues, and

A considerable proportion of shift workers have work schedule-related insomnia and/or excessive sleepiness, a phenomenon described as shift work disorder (SWD). There is yet a lack of evidence on whether or not employees recover from symptoms of SWD between work shifts. We studied whether SWD and its subtypes are associated with insomnia and excessive sleepiness during weekly non-work days and with

The aim of the study was to investigate test-retest reliability and construct validity of the World Mental Health Japan (WMHJ) version of World Health Organization Health and Performance Questionnaire (WHO-HPQ) short version according the COSMIN standard. We conducted two consecutive surveys of 102 full-time employees recruited through an Internet survey company in Japan, with a two-week interval in

Abstract: Occupational needle stick and sharp injuries (NSSIs) affect healthcare workers’ (HCWs’) mental health, however, limited evidence is available on the psychological impact of NSSIs, especially in developing countries where most of NSSIs have been reported. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the anxiety and psychological impact regarding NSSIs among HCWs at tertiary hospitals

In Table 2, Mean and SD were opposite between the intervention group and the wait-list control group. In Table 3, there was a mistake in the annotation: the number of the intervention group was 142. The corrected Table 2 and Table 3 are presented below. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. *Important errors made by the author(s)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the permeation of the glycol ethers, 2-ethoxyethanol (2-EE) and 2-butoxyethanol (2-BE) through disposable, nitrile exam gloves using a modified American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) closed-loop module. The purple unsupported, unlined, powderless nitrile glove from Kimberly-Clark was challenged by the two pure glycol ethers. Their permeation parameters

This study investigated the correlation between workplace justice and self-reported occupational accidents among employees of construction industry in Taiwan, and data from a national survey of employees in 2013 was analyzed. This study sampled a total of 1,543 employees age 25 to 65 in the construction industry, among whom 1,379 were men and 164 were women. Information regarding the experience of

This study investigated the correlation between objective and subjective working hours (OWH and SWH, respectively) and their relation to the workers' health. The study included 6,806 workers of a Japanese company (response rate=86.6%). OWH were collected as the monthly data during fiscal year 2017 from the company record. SWH were self-reported as the weekly data during the past month in November 2017

The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare of Japan recommends that an occupational physician (OP) play an important role in implementing the stress-check program since 2015. This study aimed to compare the activities and encountered difficulties of Japanese part-time OPs in 2008 and 2016, and to investigate the effects of the stress-check program. Questionnaires were sent via mail to 946 part-time

Low back pain (LBP) is prevalent among workers both in developed and developing countries. School teachers represent a high proportion of the working population in Malaysia. However, there is a lack of longitudinal study on predictors and course of LBP among teachers. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the predictors and course of LBP among secondary school teachers. Longitudinal data of 701

In occupational settings, smokers may take quitting smoking seriously if they experienced long-term sick leave due to cancer or cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, no study has elucidated the smoking cessation rate after long-term sick leave. We examined the smoking cessation rate after long-term sick leave due to cancer and CVD in Japan. We followed 23 survivors who experienced long-term sick leave

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between dental symptoms experienced by occupational divers during diving and their participation in preventative dental visits. The questionnaire for this study was sent by post to 160 establishments and 215 members of the Japan Diving Association and participants were asked to complete a self-reported questionnaire. Data from 242 occupational divers

We examined intensified job demands (IJDs) and selecting-optimizing-compensating (SOC) strategies as predictors of job performance (task performance, organizational citizenship behavior). We also investigated SOC strategy use as a moderator in the linkages between IJDs and performance. We sampled three disparate occupational groups (N=4,582). We found that certain dimensions of IJDs showed significant

Musculoskeletal symptoms (MSSs) are common among professional musicians; however, most of the research has focused on orchestral/classical musicians. In some countries orchestral and classical musicians are in the minority; hence targeting research towards these specific sub-groups of musicians is unlikely to address the overall burden of musicians' MSSs, unless the research is generalizable to other

The relationship between colorectal cancer and asbestos exposure has not been fully clarified. This study aimed to determine the associations between asbestos exposure and colorectal cancer. We performed a meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate this association. A fixed effects model was used to summarize the relative risks across studies. Sources of heterogeneity were explored through subgroup analyses

This study examined the effectiveness of a field-type liquid cooling vest (LCV) worn underneath an impermeable protective suit on heat strain during walking. Eight men walked for 60 min at a moderate speed (3.0 km/h) wearing the suit in a warm environment (33°C, 60% relative humidity) without (control, CON) or with the LCV. A smaller increase in rectal temperature was recorded in participants in the

Some employees may have recourse to gambling, notably as an adaptive strategy. Although many studies have been performed on specific occupational groups (i.e. gambling industry, transportation or teaching), none have been conducted with workers followed-up by Occupational Health Services (OHS). Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of problem gambling in an employed population and its links with work

This study aimed to investigate factors related to presenteeism among Chinese workers residing in Japan by assessing their mental state and health-promoting lifestyles. An anonymous, self-reported questionnaire was administered to 450 Chinese workers living in Hiroshima Prefecture, of whom, 313 completed it in its entirety. Results showed that 40.6% reported suffering from depression (Center for Epidemiologic

Non-standard working hours are associated with negative health outcomes. However, little is known about the early years of exposure to non-standard work hours, or whether workers new to these work schedules perceive their work as impacting their health. This limits our ability to develop meaningful intervention strategies for transitioning into non-standard work hour schedules. This exploratory study

Fit testing procedure is required for filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) to ascertain an acceptable fit between the skin and facepiece sealing surface. The present study seeks to compare the efficacy of Aloe vera (A. vera) and commercial BitrexTM as challenge agents of qualitative fit testing of particulate respirators. An herbal solution consisting of A. vera at seven different concentrations