• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2023

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to occupational hazards and the metabolic syndrome. A secondary objective was to analyze the additive and multiplicative effects of exposure to risk factors. Methods: This retrospective cohort was based on 31,615 health examinees at the Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital in Republic of Korea from 2012-2021. Demographic and behavior-related risk factors were treated as confounding factors, whereas three physical factors, 19 organic solvents and aerosols, and 13 metals and dust were considered occupational risk factors. Time-dependent Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios. Results: The risk of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in night shift workers (hazard ratio = 1.45: 95% confidence interval = 1.36-1.54) and workers who were exposed to noise (1.15:1.07-1.24). Exposure to some other risk factors was also significantly associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome. They were dimethylformamide, acetonitrile, trichloroethylene, xylene, styrene, toluene, dichloromethane, copper, antimony, lead, copper, iron, welding fume, and manganese. Among the 28 significant pairs, 19 exhibited both positive additive and multiplicative effects. Conclusions: Exposure to single or combined occupational risk factors may increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Working conditions should be monitored and improved to reduce exposure to occupational hazards and prevent the development of the metabolic syndrome.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.79-83
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• 2018

Background: Lower-limb varicose veins (VVs) are common and known to have a higher prevalence among people who work in occupations requiring prolonged standing. In the Republic of Korea, however, VV-related occupational factors have seldom been examined. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of VVs among nurses, an occupational group considered to be at high risk of VVs, and determine the occupational risk factors of prolonged standing. Methods: Between March and August 2014, a questionnaire survey coupled with Doppler ultrasonography was conducted on the nurses working at a university hospital. Results: A total of 414 nurses participated in the survey and diagnostic testing. From the survey analysis and test results, the prevalence of VVs in nurses was estimated to be 16.18%. Significant factors for venous reflux were age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03-1.10], pregnancy (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.17-3.94), and delivery (OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.08-3.78). The statistical significance of these factors was verified after risk adjustment for sociodemographic factors (OR = 3.40, 95% CI = 1.27-9.09). Conclusion: Factors significantly associated with venous reflux were increasing age and prolonged working hours (${\geq}4hours$) in a standing position (OR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.08-7.25), even after risk adjustment for sociodemographic factors. This study is significant in that an objective diagnosis of VVs preceded the analysis of the risk factors for VV incidence, thus verifying objectively that VVs are associated with occupations requiring prolonged hours of working in a standing position.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.24.1-24.13
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• 2022

Background: In modern society, depression is serious issue that causes socioeconomic and family burden. To decrease the incidence of depression, risk factors should be identified and managed. Among many risk factors for depression, this study examined socioeconomic risk factors for depression. Methods: We utilized first (2006), second (2008), and third (2010)-wave data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Depressive symptom was measured with the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Short Form (CES-D-10) in the survey in 2008 and 2010. Three risk factors including job security, employment type and monthly income were measured in the survey in 2006. The association between risk factors and depressive symptom was analyzed by Cox proportional-hazard model. Results: We analyzed data from 1,105 workers and hazard ratios (HRs) for 3 risk factors were significant entirely. In addition, regular worker with high income group is the most vulnerable group of poor job insecurity on depression among male workers (HR: 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-2.81). Finally, HRs for 7 groups who had at least 1 risk factor had higher HRs compared to groups who had no risk factors after stratifying 3 risk factors. In the analysis, significantly vulnerable groups were total 5 groups and the group who had highest HR was temporary/daily workers with poor job security (HR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.36-4.64). The results concerning women, regardless of job type, were non-significant. Conclusions: This study presented one or more risk factors among poor job security, low income, temporary/daily employment type increase hazard for depressive symptom in 2 or 4 years after the exposure. These results inform policy to screen for and protect against the risk of depression in vulnerable groups.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.79-86
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• 2024

Scientific exploration of how occupational health risks relate with occupational illnesses are essential for mitigating health-related issues in industries. This study analyzed the risk scores obtained by occupational health risk assessments at 3,172 manufacturing companies and examined their effects on occupational illness. Statistical analyses revealed that companies with an occupational health manager (scored 89.1 out of 100) had significantly higher activity scores of health management compared to those without (78.2). However, companies with a history of occupational illness (79.1) or those classified as high-risk industries (85.2) had significantly lower activity scores than their counterparts (81.7, 87.3). In addition, regression analyses using factor analysis showed that latent risk factors such as cardiovascular disease/job stress, health management, and musculoskeletal problem significantly influenced the risk of occupational illness. The activity factors such as health management, work environment management, and regulatory complaisance significant impacted the reduction of occupational illness. The findings of this study can be used to improve the occupational health risk assessment method and utilized in effectively managing occupational risks in industries.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.3-20
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• 2019

This review aimed to identify risk factors for occupational accidents and illnesses among young workers in the Nordic countries and to attain knowledge on specific vulnerable groups within the young working force that may need special attention. We conducted a systematic review from 1994 to 2014 using five online databases. Of the 12,528 retrieved articles, 54 met the review criteria and were quality assessed, in which data were extracted focusing on identifying occupational safety, health risk factors, and vulnerable groups among the young workers. The review shows that mechanical factors such as heavy lifting, psychosocial factors such as low control over work pace, and organizational factors such as safety climate are all associated with increased injury risk for young Nordic workers. Results show that exposures to chemical substances were associated with skin reactions, e.g., hand eczema. Heavy lifting and awkward postures were risk factors for low back pain, and high job demands were risk factors for mental health outcomes. The review identified young unskilled workers including school drop-out workers as particularly vulnerable groups when it comes to occupational accidents. In addition, apprentices and young skilled workers were found to be vulnerable to work-related illnesses. It is essential to avoid stereotyping young Nordic workers into one group using only age as a factor, as young workers are a heterogeneous group and their vulnerabilities to occupational safety and health risks are contextual. Politicians, researchers, and practitioners should account for this complexity in the education, training and organization of work, and workplace health and safety culture.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.17-30
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• 2023

The human reproductive system can be affected by occupational exposure to many physical and chemical risk factors. This study was carried out to review the studies conducted on the issue of the pathophysiological effects of occupational physical and chemical risk factors on the reproductive system of females and males. In this systematic review, the databases such as "Google Scholar," "Pub-Med," "Scopus," and "Web of Science" were used. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020), the studies included in our study were published between 2000 and 2021. In order to extract the required data, all sections of the articles were reviewed. Out of 57 articles we reviewed, 34 articles were related to field studies and 23 articles to clinical studies. Among them, 43 studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of chemical agents, six studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of physical factors, and 8 studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of physicochemical factors on the human reproductive system. Physical (noise, heat, and radiofrequency radiation) and chemical (such as carbamate and organophosphate pesticides, benzene, toluene, xylene, formaldehyde, NO2, CS2, manganese, lead, nickel, and n-hexane) risk factors had pathophysiological effects on the human reproductive system. The presence of these risk factors in the workplace caused damage to the human reproductive system. The rate of these negative pathophysiological effects can be reduced by performing appropriate managerial, technical, and engineering measures in work environments.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.389-393
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• 2016

Job hazard analyses were conducted to assess exposure to musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk factors in seven workers of three dry-cleaning establishments. In accordance with the Washington State Ergonomics Rule, the analyses were performed in two separate steps: (1) observation and checklist approaches were made to identify a "caution zone job" in the seven workers' pressing operations across the three shops; and (2) detailed posture and motion analyses were undertaken to determine a "MSD hazard" in one worker's operation using a video technique. One "caution zone job" was identified and it was the pressing operation job in which five physical risk factors were found in the pressing operations. The detailed analyses confirmed that one "MSD hazard", i.e., awkward posture in shoulders, was prevalent in the pressing operations of the three dry-cleaning facilities. It would be desirable to reduce MSD risk factors including awkward shoulder posture in the dry-cleaning industry.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.206-211
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• 2017

Background: Self-reported low back pain (LBP) has been evaluated in relation to material handling lifting tasks, but little research has focused on relating quantifiable stressors to LBP at the individual level. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Composite Lifting Index (CLI) has been used to quantify stressors for lifting tasks. A chemical exposure can be readily used as an exposure metric or stressor for chemical risk assessment (RA). Defining and quantifying lifting nonchemical stressors and related adverse responses is more difficult. Stressor-response models appropriate for CLI and LBP associations do not easily fit in common chemical RA modeling techniques (e.g., Benchmark Dose methods), so different approaches were tried. Methods: This work used prospective data from 138 manufacturing workers to consider the linkage of the occupational stressor of material lifting to LBP. The final model used a Bayesian random threshold approach to estimate the probability of an increase in LBP as a threshold step function. Results: Using maximal and mean CLI values, a significant increase in the probability of LBP for values above 1.5 was found. Conclusion: A risk of LBP associated with CLI values > 1.5 existed in this worker population. The relevance for other populations requires further study.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate cardiovascular risk factors, their interaction, degree of cardiovascular risk and to analyze the effects of related fcators in women workers. Method: A Survey was conducted in 529 employed women in 36 workplaces from October 25, 2002 to December 12, 2002. The survey was distributed and collected by occupational health nurses working at work sites. Result: The result were as followings; The female workers had about 2 cardiovascular risk factors. 82.1% were not exercising more than 3 times a week, 45.9% reported noise-exposure, 38.2% had higher perceived stress, 25.4% were shift-workers, 10.4% were long-time workers(over 60hour/week), 4.4% were frequent drinker, 3.9% were current smokers. The rate of obesity in measured as BMI greater than 25 was 4.0%. Many cardiovascular risk factors were correlated. Job-related and health behavior-related cardiovascular risk factors were correlated statistically. Expose to noise, reported perceived stress were powerful predictors in their degree of cardiovascular risk. Conclusion; Based on the results of this study, cardiovascular prevention programs for women in workplace should be designed as a multifactorial approach, which include stress management and job-related risk factor management as essential components to be effective in addressing the needs of the population.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.451-460
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine occupational risk factors that affect the mental health (depression, anxiety, anger, insomnia, self-esteem, trauma) of hospital facility workers. Methods: A survey was conducted from November 17, 2020 to December 1, 2020 for 700 non-medical workers (Temporary and contract workers: cleaning, security, information, office workers, etc.) working at a general hospital in Seoul. Results: As a result of the study, the risk of musculoskeletal disorders was found to have a significant effect on depression, anxiety, insomnia, and trauma. Noise had a significant effect on depression and anger, dust hazard had an effect on depression and self-esteem, and high temperature had a significant effect on anxiety and insomnia. Conclusions: Based on these results, it is necessary to examine the influence of occupational risk factors to improve the mental health of non-medical hospital facility workers.