• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.231-245
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• 2006

Purpose : To investigate and compare the characteristics of menstruation in the shift workers and the day workers, and present guidelines for health promotion of the shift-working women. Methods : Questionnaires including general health condition and QSCC II were distributed to shift-working women and day-working women in one university hospital in Gyeonggi-do and 36 questionnaires of shift-working women and 33 of day-working women were analyzed. Results : Day workers were about 5 years older than shift workers on average. There was more irregularity of menstrual cycle and period in day-working group but it is thought to incorrect because of the age problem. There were more women who have dysmenorrhea in day-working group, but the proportion of dysmenorrhea which continues more than 72 hours -which is very suggestive of secondary dysmenorrhea- was higher in shift-working group. Average VAS of dysmenorrhea was nearly the same in two groups. The life of shift-working group was lesser satisfactory than that of day-working group. There were more sleep disturbances in the shift-working group. Sasang constitution was analyzed in both group using QSCC II, and Taeumin were more in shift-working group. Conclusion : As the number of shift-working women increases, needs for oriental medical treatments would increase because it is more natural and lesser invasive managements which women are very interested in. So it is thought to be necessary to understand health problems of shift-working women, and prepare guidelines for managements and treatments to promote the health of shift-working women.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.102-107
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• 2022

South Korea will soon be a super-aged society, as more than 20.6% of its population will be 65 years and older by 2025. As of 2022, 17.5% of the total population in South Korea is 65 years and older, which exceeds the set threshold for an aged society, where more than 14% of the population is 65 years and older. The proportion of older subway construction workers has increased. Aging workers and their work stress negatively impact their workability. A previous study demonstrated that the stress index measured using the uBioMacpa measurement device (Macpa stress index) had a significant correlation with work stress in South Korea. The device tests vascular health and measures stress levels via Macpa signal analysis. In this study, the pulse waves of subway construction workers were measured using uBioMacpa to identify their stress levels. The stress levels were analyzed by age, years of service, job position, employment type, and work type. Herein, these statistics could not be easily represented by a normal distribution; therefore, the Kruskal-Wallis test, a nonparametric statistical method, was used for the analysis of data. The results showed that age, job position, employment type, and working type affected the Macpa stress index and the stress levels of workers increased with age. In terms of job position, technical engineers were more stressed than other workers because of their poor working environment. In terms of employment type, daily-wage workers were more stressed than other workers. In terms of working type, tunneling, waterproofing, and construction scored the highest Macpa stress indexes without any significant difference, whereas earthworks scored the lowest. Based on the analysis of Macpa stress index, safety and health management plans were proposed to reduce the stress levels of workers. Moreover, a manual for efficient stress management must be developed for subway construction workers.

• 월간산업보건
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• s.2
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• pp.4-10
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• 1988

In order to investigate the prevalence of occupational disease in coal mine workers in Chonnam area, a cross sectional study was conducted in 1,097 workers from September to December in 1987. The results were as follows; 1. The prevalence of pneumoconiosis including suspected cases was 6.9% and was increased by age and working duration. 2. The prevalence of pneumoconiosis excluding suspected cases was 2.8%. 3. By the kind of job, prevalence of pneumoconiosis including suspected cases was l2.9% in tunnel drivers, 6.3% in coalface workers and 6.0% in other workers. 4. The prevalence of noise induced hearing loss was 5.1% and was increased by age and working duration. 5. The prevalence of noise induced hearing loss was the highest among tunnel drivers(7.3%), but it was not significantly different by the kind of job. 6. Occupational disease caused by vibration was not found in coal mine workers.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.81-97
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• 1993

This study was carried out to analyze the factors of the perieved symptoms of fatigue of the industrial workers, to examine the inter-relatisnship of the above factors with their general charactenstics and the environments of working area for the examination of their health status and the effective health management of them. This study was undertaken from December 1 to December 20, 1990. The subjets were 495 workers who had worked at the Industrial complex located in Chonbuk Province. The result of this study were as follows: 1. The worker's percieved symptoms of fatigue were classified to the following seven factors; A) Musculo-Skeletal Symptoms, B) Neuro-Psychial Symptoms, C) Optical Symptoms, D) Heart Symptoms, E) Head Symptoms, F) Respiratory Symptoms, G) Genital Symptoms 2. Analysis of the inter-relationship of their percieved symptoms of fatigue with general characteristics; 1) The difference of distribution to their percieved symptoms of fatigue according to sexuality was significant; Female were higher than Male $(p{\leqq}0.001$, p<0.005) 2) The difference of distribution to their percieved symptoms of fatigue according to age was significant; Age group under 24 years of age were higher than the other's group (p<0.001). 3) The difference of distribution to their percieved symptoms of fatigue according to the level of education was significant; Workers who stand on a low intellectual were higher than workers on a high intellectual level. 4) The difference of distribution to their percieved symptoms of fatigue for a week was the highest when worked at sunday. 5) The difference of distribution to their percieved symptoms of fatigue for seasons was high at spring. 3. Analysis of the inter-relationship of their percieved symptoms of fatigue with the environments of working area. 1) The difference of distribution of their percieved symptoms of fatigue according to the working department was significant; Production workers were higher than office workers. 2) The difference of distribution of their percieved symptoms of fatigue related with working posture was significant; Sitting: Musculo-Skeletal symptoms (p<0.05), Optical symptoms (p<0.005) 3) The more dissatisfied with their's own duty they were, the higher became the distribution of their percieved symptoms of fatigue (p<0.001. p<0.005, p<0.05) 4) The more dissatisfied with their working condition they were, the higher became the degree of their percieved symptoms of fatigue (p<0.001. P<0.05) 5) The difference of distribution of their percieved symptoms of fatigue according to kinds of job was significant: Workers who has handled heavy materials were higher than who had not handled $(p{\leqq}0.001$, p<0.05). Workers who has handled chemical materials: Optical, symptoms $(p{\leqq}0.001)$. Workers who has handled dusty materials: Respiratory symptoms (p<0.01) 6) The environment of working area was significantly affected to the distribution of their percieved symptoms of fatigue: Workers complains of a illumination problem; Optical symptoms (p<0.005), Heart symptoms (p<0.005) Workers complains of a ventilation problem: Heart symptoms (p<0.05), Optical symptoms, Heart symptoms (p<0.01) Musculo-skeletal symptoms ($p{\leqq}0.001$)

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.281-291
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• 1996

458 female workers working in the small and medium scaled industries in Inchon area were surveyed to study their general characteristics, health behavior, working and environmental conditions, awareness of exposure at hazardous materials, current health status, and degree of working satisfaction. Self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the female workers with the explanation by trained interviewer on the purpose of survey and the method how to answer. The results were as follows : (1) 75.5% of the respondents are living with their families and others are living in domitary or rent house for herself. Age distribution ranges from teenagers to warren in their forties. In marital status 69.0% of workers are single and 31.0% of them have ever married. 69.4% of workers are high school graduate. The size of factory is 48.3% with less than 300 workers, 42.1% with 300~500 workers. (2) Most of the workers(86.7%) are full time workers, 52% of the respondents have working experiences in other factories. More than 65% have fewer than 5 years working experience. (3) The awareness of exposure at noise was 33% of respondents, it was significantly different by skilled status. The awareness of exposure at dust, other hazardous material was each 13.3%, 12.4% of respondents. (4) 26% of them are unsatisfied with their working cognitions and 43.7% of them are unsatisfied with their welfare in occupational system unsatisfactory rate of promotion is higher in the unmarried workers(45.6%), skilled workers(47.2%), full time workers(47.4%), long term workers(50%), and awareness group of exposure hazardous material(51.3%), compared to married women workers, unskilled workers, part-time workers, short term workers and unawareness group of exposure at hazardous materials. (5) The index of working satisfaction is rated on a scale of 1 to 10 with the higher point indicating higher satisfaction. Among the selected variables, marital status, working status, the awareness of exposure at hazardous materials, were statistically significant with the index of working satisfaction. (6) By multiple regression analysis showed that the determinant factors of index of working condition were health index, the awareness of exposure at dust, the awareness of exposure other hazardous materials, marital status and working period. In conclusion, there is a significant relationship between the awareness of exposure at hazardous material the index of working satisfaction. Therefore if the workers are less exposed to the hazardous material and are educated properly they will be more satisfied with their work thus improving their health and productivity. Finally, with the result of this study, there is a great need for the development of a health promotion program and a welfare policy for small-scale factories.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.418-427
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• 2015

Objectives: This study evaluated the association between work related characteristics and hypertension among white collar workers in Korea. Materials and methods: This study was based on the Third Korean Working Conditions Survey(KWCS) conducted in 2011 among workers 15 years of age or older. The total number of individuals included in the analysis was 10,365 white collar workers. Results: The prevalence rate of hypertension was 3.7% among men and 1.0% among women. In multiple logistic analysis the adjusted odds ratio showed statistically effective association to hypertension. For work related characteristics, 1.73 (95% confidence interval, 1.22-2.46) resulted for large-company workers compared with the small-company group, 2.14 (95% CI, 1.22-3.75) for the long working hours group (61 or above) compared with short working hours group(52 or below), 1.78(95% CI, 1.08-2.95) for night shift workers compared with day workers, and 1.54 (95% CI, 1.18-2.01) for high job stress workers compared with low job stress workers. Conclusions: This study showed that it is important for workers to manage their work environment in order to prevent hypertension by modifying their types of work.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.383-393
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• 2019

Objectives: The proportion of those working beyond 53 hours a week in 2018 has reached 16.8% of the total number of workers in the Republic of Korea (Statistics Korea, 2018). Although there are many studies that have dealt with the correlation of long working hours and increasing risk of work-related health problems, studies dealing with the factors impacting work-related health problems of workers according to their working hours are few. This study aims to ascertain factors impacting work-related health problems of workers based on their working hours through thorough research on their work environment. Methods: Necessary factors for this study were extracted from 'the 4th Korean Working Conditions Survey to analyze details on normal characteristics and work environments used for the study analysis, work hours, and health problems related to work. Results: The results are as follows: First, men showed a greater probability of exposure to work-related health problems than did women, especially in the 50s age group, which showed the highest potential for health problems from work among age groups. Second, service providers and sales professionals showed a higher probability of work-related health problems. Third, for the work environment, health problems at work related to vibration, noise, chemical and poison exposure, exhaustion, pain, standing position, and repeated motion showed a higher probability if the work hours are long. Conclusions: This study suggests that the minimization of overtime labor would prevent work-related health problems and diseases, improve the well-being of workers, and decrease the negative impact on workers in the subject area.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.1047-1054
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to compare the anthropometry, serum lipid levels, dietary behavior and health-related behaviors of shipbuilding workers. The education level was significantly higher in office workers than laborers, while age, monthly income and working years were not significantly different between both groups. The serum triglyceride, glucose concentration and AI were significantly higher in office workers than in laborers, but the serum LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher in laborers than in office workers. The frequency of breakfast and coffee intake was significantly higher in office workers than in laborers. In the office workers, age was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure but was negatively correlated with hemoglobin and hematocrit concentration In the laborers, working year was negatively correlated with hemoglobin, total cholesterol and serum LDL-cholesterol concentrations. Exercise was negatively correlated with total cholesterol concentration, triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol concentration and AI in the office workers. The results of this study showed that office workers are more prone to related chronic degenerative diseases. Therefore, nutritional education for the provention of chronic degenerative diseases of shipbuilding workers needs to be more focused on improving the health status of office workers.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.4
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• pp.274-280
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• 2018

Background: The risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection among health care workers (HCWs) is higher than as noted among workers in the general population. The prevalence and risk factors of TB infection among HCWs were assessed in a tertiary hospital in South Korea, resulting in a conclusion of an intermediate TB burden within the country. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled HCWs who underwent a QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test to detect the presence of a latent TB infection (LTBI), in patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in South Korea in 2017. The departments of the hospital were divided into TB-related and TB-unrelated departments, which were based on the risk of exposure to TB patients. In this sense, the risk factors for LTBI, including current working in the TB-related departments, were analyzed. Results: In this case, a total of 499 HCWs (54 doctors, 365 nurses and 80 paramedical personnel) were enrolled in this study. The median age of the subjects was 31 years (range, 20-67 years), 428 (85.8%) were female, and 208 (41.7%) were working in the TB-related departments. The prevalence of LTBI was 15.8% based on the QFT-GIT. Additionally, the prevalence of experience of exposure to pre-treatment TB patents was higher among HCWs working in the TB-related departments, than among HCWs working in the TB-unrelated departments (78.8% vs. 61.9%, p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of LTBI between the two groups (17.3% vs. 14.8%, p=0.458). On a review of the multivariate analysis, only the factor of age was independently associated with an increased risk of LTBI (p=0.006). Conclusion: Broadly speaking, the factor of age was associated with an increased risk of LTBI among the HCWs in South Korea. However, those workers current working in the TB-related departments was not associated with an increased risk of LTBI.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.67-79
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• 1993

This study was designed to identify the general health conditions and high risk factors of the male & female environmental workers. Thereby. the results of this study were to provide useful data as a contribution to knowledge for health protection and promotion. The data used for this study were environmental workers' physical examination cards; the male environmental workers were 52 persons. and the female environmental workers 52 persons. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson correlation, and distinction analysis, using the SPSS program. The results of this study can be summarized as follows; 1. Thers was a significant statistical difference between the two groups as to height. eyesight. serum GPT, hematocrit. The variables having little difference between two groups were weight. systolic blood pressure. total cholesterol. creatinine. 2. The rate of revealed in significant health examination was extra-health discrimination rate $28.8\%$, significant result of illness rate $12.5\%$. injury-inflicting rate $7\%$. second-time urine test $5.7\%$. antigen positive 3.8%. hearing impairment $2.8\%$, urine protein positive $1.9\%$. and urine sugar positive $1.9%$. 3. The workers diagnosed as extra-health discrimination were 30 persons or $28.8\%$. There was a difference between two groups on the prevalence. In the male environmental workers. ten times live problems and six times pulmonary tuberculosis and three times circulatory problems were revealed the higher than thoes of the female environmental workers. 4. In the male environmental workers, the relationship between age and systolic blood pressure revealed a significant correlation (r=0.22. p<0.05). In the female environmental workers. there was a negative correlation between age and weight (r= 0.25, p<0.05). the relationship between age and total cholesterol correlated positively (r=0.30, p<'0.05). 5. In the male environmental workers, there was a negative correlation between working career and creatinine(r=-0. 22, p<0.05) In the female environmental workers, there was a positive correlation between working career and total cholesterol (r= 0.58, p<0.01). 6. There were significant differences on working career and creatinine accdording to the male and female environmental workers who had any problems through x-ray inspection. 7. There were significant differences on height. eyesight. serum GPT according to the male and female environmental workers who were diagnosed as extra-health discrimination. 8. The female environmental workers who were diagnosed as 'care' were positively correlated with weight (r= 0.26. p<0.05)' and systolic blood pressure (r= 0.30. p<0. 05). on the other hand. the left and right eyesight correlated nagatively(r=-0.15. r=-0.33. p<0.01). 9. The most influential variables on the male and female environmental workers' health condition were working career, height. and weight. And these three variables could help determine the two groups at the level of 81. 8 percentage.