• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.114-118
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• 2021

Background: Exposure to particulate matter (PM) emitted from vehicle exhaust might disrupt systemic function and elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease. In this study, we examined the changes of cardiometabolic biomarkers among vehicle inspectors exposed daily to PM0.25 and components. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at two vehicle inspection centers, Pulogadung and Ujung Menteng, located in East Jakarta, Indonesia. The exposed respondents were 43 workers from vehicle inspection centers, and the unexposed group consisted of 22 staff officers working in the same locations. Vehicle exhaust particulate matter was measured for eight hours using a Leland Legacy personal pump attached to a Sioutas Cascade Impactor. The used filters were 25 and 37-mm quartz filters. The particulate matter concentration was analyzed using a gravimetric method, whereas trace elements were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. An EEL Smoke Stain Reflectometer analyzed black carbon. Results: The personal exposure concentrations of PM0.25 were 10.4-fold higher than those in unexposed groups. Calcium and sulfur were the major components in the obtained dust, and their levels were 3.3- and 7.2-fold higher, respectively, in the exposed group. Based on an independent-samples t-test, high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, HbA1c, total immunoglobulin E, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and nitric oxide levels were significantly different between the groups. Conclusions: In summary, it was suggested that PM0.25 exposure from vehicle exhaust might affect cardiometabolic biomarkers change.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.476-482
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• 2023

Introduction: There is a growing global interest in the issue of precarious employment. We aimed to analyze the characteristics and socio-demographic distribution of precarious employment using a summative score approach. Methods: To operationalize precarious employment, we utilized data from the Korean Working Conditions Survey and focused on three distinct dimensions: employment insecurity, income inadequacy, and a lack of rights and protections. By constructing a summative scale ranging from -16 to 2, with lower scores indicating higher precariousness, we measured employment precariousness among Korean wage workers. To compare employment precariousness according to survey participant characteristics, we employed the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test. Results: We analyzed a weighted number of 38,432 workers. The overall sample showed a median (Q1, Q3) summative scale score of -3 (-6, -1). The median summative score was lower for women compared to men (men: -2; women: -5; p < 0.001), as well as for young or older workers compared to middle-aged workers (young: -4; middle-aged: -2; older: -5; p < 0.001). Similarly, workers with lower educational levels (middle school or below: -8; high school: -5; college or above: -2; p < 0.001) and non-white collar workers (blue collar: -5; service/sales worker: -6; white collar: -2; p < 0.001) experienced higher levels of employment precariousness. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that certain vulnerable groups, such as women, young or older adults, workers with low educational attainment, and caregiving or low-skilled elementary workers, are disproportionately exposed to high employment precariousness. Active policy interventions are needed to improve the employment quality of vulnerable groups.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.17.1-17.10
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• 2022

Background: This study aimed to investigate the decline in quality of life (QOL) by examining changes in the employment status of workers who had completed medical treatment after an industrial accident. Methods: This study utilized the Panel Study of Worker's Compensation Insurance cohort (published in October 2020) containing a sample survey of 3,294 occupationally injured workers who completed medical care in 2017. We divided this population into four groups according to changes in working status. A multivariate logistic regression model was utilized for evaluating QOL decline by adjusting for the basic characteristics and working environment at the time of accident. Subgroup analysis evaluated whether QOL decline differed according to disability grade and industry group. Results: The QOL decline in the "maintained employment," "employed to unemployed," "remained unemployed," and "unemployed to employed" groups were 15.3%, 28.1%, 20.2%, and 11.9%, respectively. The "maintained employment" group provided a reference. As a result of adjusting for the socioeconomic status and working environment, the odds ratios (ORs) of QOL decline for the "employed to unemployed" group and the "remained unemployed" group were 2.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.51-3.01) and 1.47 (95% CI, 1.13-1.90), respectively. The "unemployed to employed" group had a non-significant OR of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.54-1.07). Conclusions: This study revealed that continuous unemployment or unstable employment negatively affected industrially injured workers' QOL. Policy researchers and relevant ministries should further develop and improve "return to work" programs that could maintain decent employment avenues within the workers' compensation system.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7195-7200
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• 2015

Background: Since seventeen employees of an offset printing company in Osaka, Japan developed cholangiocarcinoma it has become recognized as an occupational cancer. This study investigated the differences of clinical features between occupational cholangiocarcinoma and sporadic young-onset cholangiocarcinoma. Materials and Methods: Thirty-four young adults (<50 years old) with sporadic cholangiocarcinoma were extracted from the Rosai Hospital Group database (sporadic group) and their clinical features were compared with those of 17 patients with occupational cholangiocarcinoma (occupational group). Results: The 34 patients in the sporadic group were treated for cholangiocarcinoma at 16 different Rosai hospitals. There were significant differences of age (p<0.01), gender (p<0.01), abnormal laboratory tests (p<0.01), and tumor location (p<0.01) between the two groups. The percentage of patients with abnormal laboratory tests was significantly higher in the occupational group than in the sporadic group (p<0.001). Regional dilation of bile ducts, which is a characteristic of occupational cholangiocarcinoma, was not observed in the sporadic group. Conclusions: No cluster of cholangiocarcinoma cases was identified in the Rosai Hospital database. There were differences of clinical features between occupational and sporadic cholangiocarcinoma, which might be helpful for diagnosing occupational cholangiocarcinoma in the future.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.1-10
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• 2017

The aim of this survey is to investigate the occupational musculoskeletal disease and stress levels of restaurant cooks and to provide a basic data of programs in order to prevent occupational diseases. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 220 subjects in Gangwon province. The results show that there was no significant difference in the degree of occupational musculoskeletal disease between male cooks and female cooks. However, western cuisine cooks were more likely to have a higher degree of occupational musculoskeletal disease than other cuisine cooks and showed a higher degree of occupational stress from work overload as well as irregular meal stresses. Cooks aged from 30 to 40 years showed a higher level of occupational musculoskeletal disease in the neck, shoulder, and hand/wrist compared to those in other age groups. The job tenure was related to the degree of musculoskeletal disease in knee. Additionally, the hours of working per day were statistically significantly related to musculoskeletal disease in the knee and to the occupational stress levels in irregular meals stress. The findings of this study suggest that it is essential to design customized education for cooks to lessen their occupational musculoskeletal diseases and stresses in order to ensure the health and safety of the culinary workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.243-249
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• 2011

Objectives: Cement contains hexavalent chromium, which is a human carcinogen. However, its effect on cancer seems inconclusive in epidemiologic studies. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to elucidate the association between dust exposure in the cement industry and cancer occurrence. Methods: The cohorts consisted of male workers in 6 Portland cement factories in Korea. Study subjects were classified into five groups by job: quarry, production, maintenance, laboratory, and office work. Cancer mortality and incidence in workers were observed from 1992 to 2007 and 1997-2005, respectively. Standardized mortality ratios and standardized incidence ratios were calculated according to the five job classifications. Results: There was an increased standardized incidence ratio for stomach cancer of 1.56 (27/17.36, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-2.26) in production workers. The standardized mortality ratio for lung cancer increased in production workers. However, was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our result suggests a potential association between cement exposure and stomach cancer. Hexavalent chromium contained in cement might be a causative carcinogen.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.59-70
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• 2017

Objective: It is important to assess the participation and understand the characteristics of participation for setting goal of the child's treatment and strengthening participation. In this study, we verified the validity of the LIFE-H 1.0, so that domestic occupational therapists can systematically evaluate children's participation. Methods: This study was conducted for about 2 months from February to April 2016 in 47 children with disabilities and non-disabled children. We divided the children into two groups aged 0-4 years and 5-13 years old and conducted a self-report questionnaire to parents. The collected data were verified by SPSS(Statistical Package for Social Science) statistical analysis program. Results: There was no difference between the two groups in general characteristics. In comparison of two groups, a significant difference(p<.05) was found in the LIFE-H 1.0 total performance and satisfaction score and the high discriminant validity was verified. Conclusion: The ultimate goal of occupational therapy is to increase participation. Therefore, the occupational therapist must be able to assess the level of participation and than set the goal of intervention. This study confirms the high level of validity and expects that Korean version of LIFE-H 1.0 will be widely used in clinical field and research.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.67-77
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an occupational therapy intervention program of arts and crafts on the activities of daily living and quality of life of outpatients after a stroke. Methods: Using an experimental pretest-posttest control group design, we conducted the following with ten participants diagnosed with stroke: one retest session, 10 intervention sessions, and one posttest session. MMSE-K (Korean version of the Mini-mental State Examination), COPM (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure), and WHOQOL-BREF (The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF) scores were obtained before and after the intervention. The results were analyzed using descriptive and nonparametric statistics. Results: As a result of comparing the pretest-posttest scores of the experimental and control groups, there was no significant difference in K-MBI score improvement in terms of activities of daily living. There was a significant difference in COPM scores between the experimental and control groups. There was a significant difference between the WHOQUP-BREF scores of the experimental group before and after the experiment, as well as between the groups. Conclusions: The results suggest that an arts and craft group occupational therapy intervention program for stroke patients may have a positive impact on activities of daily living and quality of life. Although an arts and craft group occupational therapy intervention program appears to be a promising approach, further studies are required to confirm these findings.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.235-244
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• 2007

By comparing the proteins from the workers exposed to styrene with the ones from controls, it may be possible to identify proteins that play a role in the occurrence and progress of occupational disease and thus to study the molecular mechanisms of occupational disease. In order to find the biomarkers for assessing the styrene effects early, before clinical symptoms develop and to understand the mechanisms of adverse health effects, we surveyed 134 employees, among whom 52 workers(30 male and 22 female) were chronically exposed to styrene in 10 glass-reinforced plastic boat manufacturing factories in Korea and 82 controls had never been occupationally exposed to hazardous chemicals including styrene. The age and drinking habits and serum biochemistry such as total protein, BUN and serum creatinine in both groups were significantly different. Exposed workers were divided into three groups according to exposure levels of styrene(G1, below 1/2 TLV; G2, 1/2 TLV to TLV; G3, above TLV). The mean concentration of airborne styrene in G1 group was $10.93{\pm}11.33ppm$, and those of urinary mandelic acid(MA) and phenylglyoxylic acid(PGA) were $0.17{\pm}0.21$ and $0.13{\pm}0.11g/g$ creatinine, respectively. The mean concentration of airborne styrene in G2 and G3 groups were $47.54{\pm}22.43$ and $65.33{\pm}33.47ppm$, respectively, and levels of urinary metabolites such as MA and PGA increased considerably as expected with the increase in exposure level of styrene. The airborne styrene concentration were significantly correlated to the urinary concentration of MA(r=0.784, p=0.000) and PGA(r=0.626, p<0.001). In the 2D electrophoresis, the concentration of five proteins including complement C3 precursor, alpha-1-antitrypsin(AAT), vitamin D binding protein precursor(DBP), alpha-1-B-glycoprotein(A1BG) and inter alpha trypsin inhibitor(ITI) heavy chain-related protein were significantly altered in workers exposed to styrene compared with controls. While expression of complement C3 precursor and AAT increased by exposure to styrene, expression of DBP, A1BG and ITI heavy chain-related protein decreased. These results suggest that the exposure of styrene might affects levels of plasma proteinase, carriers of endogenous substances and immune system. In particular, increasing of AAT with the increase in exposure level of styrene can explain the tissue damage and inflammation by the imbalance of proteinase/antiproteinase and decrease of DBP, A1BG and ITI heavy chain-related protein in workers exposed to styrene is associated with dysfunction and/or declination in immune system and signal transduction

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.493-499
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• 2022

Background: The purpose of this study is to construct a job-exposure matrix for lead that accounts for industry and work processes within industries using a nationwide exposure database. Methods: We used the work environment measurement data (WEMD) of lead monitored nationwide from 2015 to 2016. Industrial hygienists standardized the work process codes in the database to 37 standard process and extracted key index words for each process. A total of 37 standardized process codes were allocated to each measurement based on an automated key word search based on the degree of agreement between the measurement information and the standard process index. Summary statistics, including the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and 95th percentile level (X95), was calculated according to industry, process, and industry process. Using statistical parameters of contrast and precision, we compared the similarity of exposure groups by industry, process, and industry process. Results: The exposure intensity of lead was estimated for 583 exposure groups combined with 128 industry and 35 process. The X95 value of the "casting" process of the "manufacture of basic precious and non-ferrous metals" industry was 53.29 ㎍/m³, exceeding the occupational exposure limit of 50 ㎍/m³. Regardless of the limitation of the minimum number of samples in the exposure group, higher contrast was observed when the exposure groups were by industry process than by industry or process. Conclusion: We evaluated the exposure intensities of lead by combination of industry and process. The results will be helpful in determining more accurate information regarding exposure in lead-related epidemiological studies.