• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.145-152
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• 2013

Objective: The aim of this study is to develop an ergonomic office chair that has an alarm function for the unbalanced sitting postures. Background: Contrary to expectation, it is reported that office workers sit on their chairs much more in unbalanced postures during daily work. Even though an office worker uses an ergonomically good-designed chair and begins their work in a good sitting posture, his/her posture is likely to shift to the unbalanced bad posture. Therefore, a posture alarm system would be very helpful in keeping office workers' good postures. Method: We developed a prototype chair with four load cells under a seat pan and one load cell beneath a backrest. Through some experiments, we set the criteria for unbalanced bad postures then implemented the criteria into the alarm system of the prototype chair. The chair called e-BASE chair could detect unbalance postures and show alarms for chair users. We also enhanced back support by developing a step-wised folding backrest. Results: The e-BASE chair showed better performance in interface pressure distributions and balanced posture ratio in VDT work. Conclusion: The ergonomic chair with posture alarm function(e-BASE chair) was developed. It showed better performance in seat pressure distribution and in keeping good posture during office work. Application: The posture alarm system and folding backrest can be applied to the new models of office chair.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 2008

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to identify a gap between consumer characteristics and utilization of health information on the Internet. Methods: A telephone survey of nationally representative samples was conducted using structured questionnaires, and 1,000 of the 1,189 responses obtained were included in our analysis. The following variables were included in the analysis as potential predictors of health information use on the Internet: predisposing factors such as gender, age, and education status; enabling factors such as region and monthly household income; consumer need for health information; and attitude to health. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between utilization rate and the potential predictors. Results: Thirty-nine percent of consumers had obtained health information on the Internet over a one-year period. The utilization rates were higher for consumers who were young, educated, worked in the office setting, had higher incomes, wanted health information, and were able to use the Internet. The utilization rate was 5.35 times higher in the younger group (20-30 years) than in the elderly group (95% CI=2.21-12.97); 2.21 times higher for office workers than for manual workers (95% CI=1.16-4.20); 3.61 times higher for college graduates than for middle school graduates and below (95% CI=1.07-11.59); 1.99 times higher for people with monthly household incomes over 3,000,000 won than for those with monthly household incomes below 1,500,000 won (95% CI=1.01-3.92). Conclusions: There needs to be a paradigm shift, with consideration of not only Internet accessibility in the digital age, but also consumer ability and attitudes toward utilization of health information.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.220-225
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• 2017

Background: Benzene is a known occupational and environmental pollutant. Its urinary metabolite trans, trans-muconic acid (tt-MA) has been introduced by some environmental and occupational health regulatory associations as a biological index for the assessment of benzene exposure; however, recently, doubts have been raised about the specificity of tt-MA for low-level benzene exposures. In the present study, we investigated the association between urinary levels of tt-MA and inhalational exposure to benzene in different exposure groups. Methods: Benzene exposure was assessed by personal air sampling. Collected benzene on charcoal tube was extracted by carbon disulfide and determined by a gas chromatograph (gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector). Urinary tt-MA was extracted by a strong anion-exchange column and determined with high-performance liquid chromatography-UV. Results: Urinary levels of tt-MA in intensive benzene exposure groups (chemical workers and police officers) were significantly higher than other groups (urban and rural residents), but its levels in the last two groups with significant different exposure levels (mean = 0.081 ppm and 0.019 ppm, respectively) showed no significant difference (mean = $388{\mu}g/g$ creatinine and $282{\mu}g/g$, respectively; p < 0.05). Before work shift, urine samples of workers and police officers showed a high amount of tt-MA and its levels in rural residents' samples were not zero. Conclusion: Our results suggest that tt-MA may not be a reliable biomarker for monitoring low-level (below 0.5 ppm) benzene exposures.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.188-193
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• 1993

Toluene in air and blood and hippuric acid in urine were checked for the 41 female workers who are exposed to toluene and have normal liver function in shoe making factories in July, 1993. Toluene in air was sampled with charcoal by personal air sampler at least 4 times and analyzed by gas chromatography. At the end of shift, blood and spot urine were collected with a vacuum tube containing EDTA and a polyethylene bottle for detecting blood toluene and urine hippuric acid and analyzed by gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography. Means of air and blood toluene and urine hippuric acid concentrations were 34.35ppm, 0.360mg/L, and 1.78g/g creatinine, respectively. Toluene in air showed a good correlation with hippuric acid in urine(r=0.4503) and toluene in blood(r=0.4596). The hippuric acid in urine and toluene in blood corresponded 10 exposure of 100ppm toluene in air were 2.628g/g creatinine and 0.481mg/L. Blood toluene and urine hippuric acid expected ratio were not correlated to the obesity index and working duration, however increased with age.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.156-166
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• 2020

In this study, 594 questionnaires administered to men and women residing in the capital metropolitan area who work night shifts were analyzed in order to study the effect of health information cognition on healing needs in accordance with the type of food selection criteria of the night worker. The results of confirmatory factor analysis in deriving food selection type identified four categories, a safety seeking type, a food exploratory type, a habitual seeking type, and a rational type, and the cognition types on health information were classified into physical cognition and psychological cognition. The need for healing, which was the investigated factor, was found to have a high correlation between questionnaire items with high reliable consistency. The results of this study were as follows. First, the food selection types of safety seeking type and habitual food seeking type had significant positive effects on the cognitive level of physical health information, and food exploratory type and habitual seeking type had significant positive effects on the cognitive level of psychological health information. In addition, it was shown that food exploratory type and rational type had significant positive effects on healing needs. As a result of this study, it was found that the cognition level of physical and psychological information was different according to food selection type, and the higher the cognitive level, the higher the healing needs. In particular, the result that the level of psychological health information significantly affected healing needs signifies that there is a demand to develop programs and menus that satisfy various needs related to healing and recovery from fatigue. In addition, further interest and study on the health and healing of night workers are required.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.419-426
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• 2011

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate a work of guards, using an ergonomic method(work analysis and posture analysis). Background: Most studies about guards were conducted in the field of medical, problems of shift, and the physical problems of old workers and social problems. But, guards consist of vulnerability group so it needs an ergonomic research in musculoskeletal disorders. Method: A head of an ergonomic estimation was work analysis(determination of combined task, work tool, work time and frequency of combined task) and posture analysis(upper body and lower body) of workers based on the video. Results: The result showed that combined task of guards was classification of patrolling, security, cleaning and waiting. The security indicated the highest ratio in the work time of combined tasks. The results of posture analysis for guards indicated high value in neutral. But, lower arm indicated high value in bending(left: 59%, right: 50%). Conclusion: The results of ergonomic methods indicated that guards' physical work load was not high during work, but comfortable work environment would be required for old guards. Application: If an ergonomic rule can be integrated into existing work environments, the risk of occupational injuries and stress will be reduced.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2019

Background: This study was designed to provide logical backgrounds for the revision of biological exposure indices (BEIs) for styrene exposure in Korea. In order to investigate the correlation between airborne styrene and biological exposure indices, we measured urinary mandelic acid (MA) and phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA) in workers exposed to styrene occupationally, as well as airborne styrene at workplaces. Methods: Surveys were conducted for 56 subjects. The concentrations of airborne styrene and urinary metabolites of styrene were measured in 36 workers who were occupationally exposed to styrene, and in 20 controls. Air samples were collected using personal air samplers and analyzed by gas chromatography. Urine samples were collected at the end of the shift and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Results: The geometric mean concentration of airborne styrene was 9.6 ppm. The concentrations of urinary MA, PGA, and MA+PGA in the exposure group were 267.7, 143.3, and 416.8 mg/g creatinine, respectively. The correlation coefficients for correlation between airborne styrene and MA, PGA, and MA+PGA were 0.714, 0.604, and 0.769, respectively. The sum of urinary MA and PGA corresponding to an exposure of 20 ppm styrene was 603 mg/g creatinine. Conclusion: The correlation of the sum of urinary MA and PGA with airborne styrene was better than the correlation of each individual urinary determinant. It is considered appropriate to amend the concentration of urinary MA+PGA to 600 mg/g creatinine as a BEI, which corresponds to an airborne styrene concentration of 20 ppm in Korea.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.148-154
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• 2022

Background: Bus driving is a mentally demanding activity that requires prolonged attention to ensure safety. The aim of the study was to assess mental fatigue caused by driving a public bus and to find a profile of workers at higher risk. Methods: We evaluated changes of critical flicker fusion (CFF) (index of central arousal) and heart rate variability (HRV) (index of autonomic balance) in a 6-hour driving shift on a real route, in 31 professional bus drivers, and we tested the influence of personal factors such as sleep quality, BMI, and age. Paired t-test was used to test differences of CFF and HRV between both initial and final phase of driving, while multiple linear regression tested the influence of personal variables on the indexes of mental fatigue. Results: Results showed that CFF significantly decreased after 6 hours of bus driving (41.91 Hz, sd 3.31 vs. 41.15 Hz, sd 3.15; p = 0.041), and heart rate significantly decreased in the final phase of driving, with respect to the initial phase (85 vs. 78 bpm, p = 0.027). Increasing age (beta = -0.729, p = 0.022), risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (beta = -0.530, p = 0.04), and diurnal sleepiness (beta = -0.406, p = 0.017) showed a significant effect on influencing mental fatigue. Conclusion: Elderly drivers at higher risk of sleep disorders are more prone to mental fatigue, when exposed to driving activity. Monitoring indexes of central arousal and autonomic balance, coupled with the use of structured questionnaires can represent a useful strategy to detect profile of workers at higher risk of mental fatigue in such duty.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.221-230
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between shiftwork and skeletal muscle mass index in a single university health check-up. Methods: We used data from 98,227 workers who answered in a special interview on health check-up at a local university hospital from 2014 to 2020. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted for comparing the association between skeletal muscle mass index and demographic and hematological variables in shiftwork and non-shiftwork groups. Mixed linear model analysis after controlling demographic and hematological variables was used to analyze the difference of skeletal muscle mass index between groups at every visit for seven years. Results: In linear regression analysis, the variables most significantly correlated with skeletal muscle index in both groups were shiftwork(p=0.049), BMI(p<0.001), hypertension(p=0.024), platelet(p<0.001), total protein (p<0.001), AST(p=0.028), ALT(p=0.003), ALP(p<0.001), total cholesterol(p=0.002), triglyceride(p=0.019), BUN (p=0.001), creatinine(p<0.001), and uric acid(p=0.002). After the adjustment for demographic and hematologic variables, the skeletal muscle mass index at every visit was decreased both in the shiftwork group and non-shiftwork group. The slope of the shiftwork group was -0.240 and non-shiftwork group -0.149, showing a significant difference (p<0.001). Conclusions: In the shiftwork group, the skeletal muscle mass index showed a tendency to decrease markedly over time compared to the non-shiftwork group. It is presumed that shift workers' skeletal muscle health was adversely affected by changes in the biological clock due to changes in wake-up and sleep patterns, and changes in food intake.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.85-92
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• 2023

Background: Presenteeism is closely related to work performance, work quality and quantity, and productivity at work. According to the job demand-control-support model, job demand, job control, and support play important roles in presenteeism. The present study investigated job characteristics profiles based on the job demand-control-support model and identify the association between job characteristics profiles and presenteeism. Methods: This secondary data analysis used the Sixth Korean Working Condition Survey, a nationwide cross-sectional dataset. The study included 25,361 Korean wage workers employed in the workplace with two or more workers. Participants were classified into four job characteristics profiles based on the job demand-control-support model, using latent profile analysis, and logistic regression was performed to examine the association between study variables. Results: Overall, 11.0 % of study participants reported experience of presenteeism in the past 12 months. Age, sex, location, monthly income, shift work, work hours, health problems, and sleep disturbances were significantly associated with presenteeism. The rate of presenteeism was the highest in the passive isolate group. The passive collective, active collective, and low-stain collective groups had a 23.0%, 21.0%, and 29.0% lower likelihood of experiencing presenteeism, respectively, than the passive isolate group. Conclusions: The job demand-control-support profiles and the risk of presenteeism were significantly associated. The most significant group that lowered the experience of presenteeism was the low-strain collective group, which had a low level of demand and high levels of control and support. Therefore, we need a policy to reduce job demand and increase job control and support at the organizational and national levels.