bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
O6E.1 Self-report occupational exposures and mnd in new zealand
Authors: Chen Grace , Mannetje Andrea ’t , Douwes Jeroen , Berg Leonard van den , McLean Dave , Pearce Neil , Kromhout Hans , D´Souza Wendyl , McConnell Melanie 
Published: May 2020

BackgroundWe have reported previously the results on a New Zealand population based case-control study evaluating occupations as risk factors for MND. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between 11 different occupational exposure groups and the risk of MND by using self-reported job-related exposures.MethodsWe recruited 321 cases through the New Zealand Motor Neurone Disease Association and hospital discharges records, and 605 population controls from the Electoral Roll between 2013 and 2016. A standardized questionnaire was used to obtain information on personal and demographic details, lifestyle factors and a full occupational history with detailed workplaces exposures. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals for MND. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education and smoking.ResultsSignificantly elevated risks for MND were observed for self- reported job related exposures to Fibres (OR=1.39, 95% CI 1.00–1.93); Fumigants (OR=2.44, 95% CI 1.35–4.23); Animal and Animal Products (OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.03–1.92); Other Chemicals (OR=1.53, 95% CI 1.14–2.05) and Fungicides/Insecticides/Herbicides/Timber Preservatives (OR=1.44, 95% CI 1.05–1.99)ConclusionsOur study shows various occupational related exposures with increased odds of MND. While study results need to be interpreted cautiously given the lack of direct exposure measures, these results, in particular exposure to Fumigants, Fungicides/Insecticides/Herbicides/ Timber Preservatives which were consistent with our previous results on agriculture occupations and MND risk. Future studies will have a particular focus on exposures specific for certain job tasks and dose-response relationships.
O7B.5 Trajectories of psychosocial working conditions as predictors of later life physical function
Authors: Nilsen Charlotta , Andel Ross , Darin-Mattsson Alexander , Kåreholt Ingemar 
Published: May 2020

ObjectivesThe demographic shift towards an aging society has made it important to understand underlying life course trajectories of later life health and function. The aim was to investigate if psychosocial working conditions are associated with later life physical function.MethodTwo individually linked longitudinal Swedish surveys were used (n=803). A psychosocial job exposure matrix was used to measure psychosocial working conditions in the first occupation and at ages 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 - based on work history - and current occupation at baseline (1991). Physical function was measured in 2014. Random effects growth curve models were used to calculate within-person change. Random effects growth curve models were used to calculate intraindividual trajectories of working conditions, analyzed in relation to functional impairment with ordered logistic regression.ResultsHaving a more active job at baseline was associated with decreased odds of functional impairment in old age (OR 0.87, CI 0.76–0.99). Having a more high strain job at baseline was associated with increased odds of functional impairment in old age (OR 1.33, CI 1.04–1.70). Having a high starting point and upward trajectory of job strain throughout working life were associated with increased odds of functional impairment in old age (OR 3.16, CI 1.73–5.80).DiscussionPromoting a healthy workplace by reducing chronic stress and inducing intellectual stimulation, control, and personal growth, may not only improve the health of workers. It may also lower the cost of health and social care by improving health and function of the older population. Hence, investing in a healthy workplace should be seen as a double-win investment for society.
O7E.1 Solutions to prevent occupational health and productivity effects of heat
Authors: Fluoris Andreas , Bogataj Lucka Kajfez , Kjellstrom Tord , Morris Nathan , Nybo Lars 
Published: May 2020

In the context of global warming and rising workplace temperatures, the European Commission funded HEAT- SHIELD project is creating a sustainable inter-sectoral framework to prevent heat- induced health effects in working people and improve quality and productivity of important industries (i.e. manufacturing, construction, transportation, tourism and agriculture). Strengthened occupational epidemiology services is an essential component of this framework.The project is producing a series of outcomes including: (i) implementation of appropriate technical and biophysical solutions to counter the heat- induced risk to workers’ health for key industries; (ii) development of an online open access service to anticipate and warn about extreme heat events; (iii) dissemination of scenario-specific guidelines aimed at maintaining workers’ health, well-being and productivity in spite of global warming; (iv) assessment of the health, social, and economic benefits of implementation of such guidelines and their impact on reducing inequalities. This paper at EPICOH will present up-to-date results of the analysis of preventive solutions and their testing.For example, in order to ensure agricultural workers, remain healthy and productive the following steps should be followed:Have a plan for how to deal with heat stressGive workers training on signs and symptoms of heat strainPay attention to weather forecasts.In hot weather give workers time to physiologically acclimatizeReschedule physically demanding work to cool timesProvide short breaks every 30 min in cool areasHydration: make sure workers drink 500 ml (2 glasses) of water before the work shift starts and when the work shift end, further encouraging them to drink plenty in the evenings. Also, make sure workers have access to water throughout the day.Workers should wear light, breathable, light–coloured, loose fitting clothing unless special protective clothing is needed.
O8D.7 The effect of right truncation bias on biomechanical factor risk estimates for CTS
Authors: Harris-Adamson Carisa , Eisen Ellen , Rempel David , Gerr Fred , Bao Stephen , Hegmann Kurt , Kapellusch Jay , Meyers Alysha 
Published: May 2020

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a potentially disabling occupational illness with high incidence rates in certain occupations. Prospective workplace studies have identified associations between personal, psychosocial and biomechanical factors and incident CTS. However, biased estimates of association due to the healthy worker survivor effect (HWSE) have not been fully investigated. The HWSE results in left truncation bias when affected workers are lost from the population of more highly exposed workers before study participants are sampled. Right truncation bias occurs when affected workers are lost disproportionately from higher exposure strata after enrollment in a prospective cohort study. This study evaluated the effects of right truncation bias on risk estimates for biomechanical factors.Between 2001 and 2010 five research groups in the US conducted coordinated prospective studies of incident CTS among workers from various industries. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated using Cox proportional regression analyses with adjustment for personal and workplace psychosocial factors. Inverse probability censoring weight (IPCW) values were created using a cross-validated approach analogous to the lasso method for variable selection and parameter regularization. The weighting model predicted the probability of exit from the cohort in the next 3 months.The final models included 2520 workers and 166 incident CTS cases. IPCW models with adjustment for right truncation bias were used to predict incident CTS. Effect size estimates for the workplace biomechanical factors of Peak Force, HAL Scale, Forceful Repetition Rate and the ACGIH TLV for HAL increased by 11% to 71% in comparison to models without adjustment for right truncation bias. After adjusting for right truncation bias the predicted incidence of CTS in highly exposed workers increased up to 3-fold.Bias from symptomatic workers disproportionately leaving the workplace was identified in this cohort. Adjusting for this bias has likely produced more accurate dose-response relationships than those previously reported.
P.1.01 A nationwide, longitudinal study of crohn’s disease among korean workers exposed to toluene
Authors: Ahn Yeon-soon , Yoon Jin-Ha , Lee Jeong-Ha 
Published: May 2020

The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) probably involves an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Recent studies have shown that air pollution and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) are associated with IBD. It is presumed to be related to inflammatory response. Immunoreactivity and inflammatory response are known to be major important mechanisms that causes toluene induced toxicity. So we evaluated the Crohn’s disease morbidity among Korean workers exposed to toluene.MethodsData were collected from toluene-associated specialized medical check-up 2000 and 2004 in Korea. The number of workers admitted to hospital because of clinically diagnosed Crohn’s disease was analyzed in male workers exposed to toluene (n=149,183). As a control reference population, 2% of Korean men were randomly selected and their hospital admission data were analyzed. For toluene exposed workers, Standardized admission ratios (SARs) for Crohn’s disease, as determined by ICD-10 classifications, were estimated in reference to the control population.ResultsDuring follow up, 46 workers admitted because of Crohn’s diseases. Occupational exposure to toluene (5 63 852 person-years) was significantly associated with the SAR of Crohn’s disease (SAR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.17–2.13), in particular, SARs of workers with 3rd quartile hippuric acid level was significantly increased (SAR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.21–2.99).ConclusionIn conclusion, toluene-exposed workers exhibited significantly elevated SARs for Crohn’s disease, especially workers with high level of hippuric acid, compared to the age-matched reference population, suggesting a relatedness with toluene exposure. This work was supported by Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) through ‘The Chemical Accident Prevention Technology Development Project’ funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (2017001970001).
P.1.24 The development and impact of policies and research for preventing and recognizing overwork-related cardiovascular disease in taiwan
Authors: Lin Ro-ting 
Published: May 2020

IntroductionOverwork-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is an emerging occupational and public health issue in East Asian societies with a substantial impact on workers’ rights and labor standards. To eliminate exposure to work-related risk factors and prevent overwork-related CVD, establishing national policy is a key step. We investigated the development and impact of policies and research regarding overwork-related CVD in recent years in Taiwan.MethodsWe collected information regarding government policies that aimed to prevent and recognize overwork-related CVD. Among the risk factors, long working hours have been widely adopted as a quantitative measure to recognize CVD as overwork-related or not. We also collected data on the number of overwork-related CVD cases and average working hours for each industry from 2006 to 2017.ResultsIn Taiwan, overwork-related CVD 79% of all deaths due to occupational diseases in 2017, although it accounted for 13% of all cases of occupational diseases. Taiwanese workers have long working hours compared to those in other countries, but Taiwan did not have official criteria for recognizing overwork-related diseases until 1991, and it did not recognize its first case until 2006 after several onsets of CVD reported on the news. Our estimation showed an under-recognition problem in less severe outcomes (i.e., illness). We also found variations in CVD risks across industries, with the higher risk in transportation and information.ConclusionsNational policy changes for preventing overwork were pushed by insightful scholars, labor unions, nongovernmental organizations, and legislators. Clear criteria for recognizing overwork-related CVD can help occupational physicians and industrial hygienists to assess the workers’ working characteristics more objectively. Although Taiwanese government has adopted the criteria for recognizing overwork-related CVD from Japan, the underreporting of less severe outcomes and industry disparities warrants further research to explore causal mechanisms and policies to narrow the gaps.
P.1.26 Biomarkers of health effects in nanomaterials workers: updated status of nanoepidemiology
Authors: Liou Saou-hsing , Li Wei-Jin , Wu Wei-Te 
Published: May 2020

The first article ‘Epidemiological Study of Health Hazards among Workers Handling Engineered Nanomaterials.’ was published on J Nanopart Res in 2012, and the first review article ‘Assessing the first wave of epidemiological studies of nanomaterial workers’ was published on J Nanopart Res in 2015. Until now, 29 epidemiological studies were published in peer-reviewed scientific journal. In addition, 5 epidemiological studies were traced but unpublished in the peer-reviewed journal, including 1 PhD. thesis and 4 conference abstracts. Most of these studies involved single nanomaterial exposure, for example, 8 articles for carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), 7 articles for titanium dioxide, 1 article for iron oxides, nano calcium carbonate, nano zinc oxide, and nanocomposite, but 6 studies from Taiwan involved multiple exposures. Two studies did not mention the specific components of nanoparticles. Most of these studies were done in Europe (14), followed by Asia (10), USA (2) and Australia (1).Generally, biomarkers were used as the outcomes variables to elaborate the health hazards of nanomaterials, except for 1 study surveyed work-related symptoms and diseases worsen by work. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and serum were the most frequently used biospecimen. All 26 cross-sectional studies and 1 six-month longitudinal panel study showed positive relationship between nanomaterials exposures and various biomarkers. Positive health effects include: 1. elevation of lung fibrosis markers and lung inflammation markers; 2. elevation of cardiovascular injury markers and abnormal HRV; 3. elevation of EBC nucleic acid, lipid and protein oxidative markers; 4. Increased immune markers; 5. changes in the ncRNA and mRNA expression, reduced global methylation, and specific gene methylation.This review provides some insight into potentially adverse effects that might be related to nanomaterial exposures and provides a foundation for future work. We expect more longitudinal studies with repeated measurements to explore chronic and cumulative effects of nanomaterial exposure.
O1D.3 Fumigant and chemical residue 8-hour exposures in workers handling cargo from shipping containers and export logs in new zealand
Authors: Hinz Ruth , Mannetje Andrea’t , Glass Bill , McLean Dave , Pearce Neil , Douwes Jeroen 
Published: May 2020

BackgroundPrevious studies found elevated concentrations of fumigants and other chemicals in the air of unopened shipping containers, which led to the assumption that workers were likely to be highly exposed. This study assessed personal 8 hour exposures in workers handling cargo from shipping containers or export logs, which were fumigated prior to loading.Methods193 personal 8 hour air samples were collected and analysed for 1,2-dibromoethane, chloropicrin, ethylene oxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen phosphide and methyl bromide, 1,2-dichloroethane, C2-alkylbenzenes, acetaldehyde, ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol, styrene and toluene. Additive Mixture Values were calculated using the Work Exposure (WES) standard set by Worksafe NZ and the Threshold Limit Values (TLV) set by the ACGIH. Linear regression was conducted to assess associations between time spent inside shipping containers and exposure (n=98).ResultsChemical exposures as indicated by median and geometric mean values were low (e.g. 2.5 and 4.4 ppb respectively for methyl bromide) and none exceeded the NZ WES, although formaldehyde exceeded the TLV in 48 (26.2%) samples. The AMV-TLV threshold of 1 was exceeded in 54 (29.5%) samples. Major differences between the occupational groups (container, log and retail workers and fumigators) were not found. Time spent inside the container was significantly and positively associated with ethylene oxide, C2-alkylbenzenes and acetaldehyde, but this was based on a small number of detectable observations (non-detects 52.0%–95.9%) and for one chemical (methyl bromide, n=94) we found inverse associations.ConclusionThis study has shown that personal exposures measured over an 8 hour working day were low, with the exception of formaldehyde, and do not confirm earlier suggestions (based on measurements inside closed containers) that they regularly exceed exposure limits. Association with time spent unloading containers was weak suggesting that exposures may result from short peak exposures rather than continuous low level exposure.
P.2.17 Case report: three occupational diseases in a nail technician
Authors: Moshe Shlomo , Krakov Ayala 
Published: May 2020

IntroductionIn cosmetics, acrylic glues are used to apply nail and eyelash extensions. Acrylates are highly irritant materials and may cause local irritation (Contact Dermatitis – CD), respiratory irritation (Asthma) and systemic irritation (Urticaria). This case report describes these three occupational diseases.Clinical presentationA 48-year-old female, normally healthy, has been working in the nail beauty field for 11 years. Lately, following an increase of work, she started coughing every morning and feeling shortness of breath which was worsen at the start of work, and improved on vacations. In addition, the patient suffered from skin tenderness in her fingers. An examination of the hands showed a typical picture of CD in left hand fingers 4–5.Methods and resultsSpecific Patch Tests showed sensitivity to Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate and Hydroxypropyl Methacrylate. A methacholine challenge test showed a 22% decrease in FEV1 at 3.94μmol methacholine (i.e. positive test). The patient performed a Peak Expiratory Flow test (PEF). After a week in the nail salon her respiratory and dermatological status worsened greatly, including development of contact urticaria. She was instructed to stop immediately the exposure and start taking p/o steroids. Due to her 3 occupational diseases she was removed from work and latter was recognized as having 3 occupational disease by the Israeli National Insurance which supported her vocational rehabilitation.DiscussionAcrylic glues are hazardous agents which can cause several occupational diseases and require occupational environment monitoring yearly according to Israeli regulations. The TLV-TWA is 2ppm. Small private businesses like the patients‘ place don’t perform environmental monitoring or use personal or environmental protective equipment which endanger its workers (usually low social class women) who are not aware of the dangers in this industry. More public attention should be given to the risk in this industry.
P.2.18 The curriculum implementation of occupational medicine in israel
Authors: Moshe Shlomo 
Published: May 2020

BackgroundAt the early 1990s occupational medicine (OM) was recognized as a specialty in Israel. Fifteen years later after gathering problems and shortcomings of the first curriculum, the Israeli Association of occupational medicine (IAOM) defined the framework for a new curriculum in order to have a modern and better curriculum.MethodsIn the early 2000 an expert committee apointed by the IAOM suggested a new sylabous, based on the scientific literature. The recommendations were sent to all experts in OM in Israel, and other proffesional members like industrial hygienist. We got several responses. Most people suggested additional standards.ResultsThe curiculun includes 54 months of training programme. The characteristics of the new curriculum are: interaction between theory and practice; fields of knowledge, learning process; competencies which are needed; and multidisciplinarity. We added an obligatory walkthroug list of industries. Three of the walkthroug reports consists a part of the final oral examinations.ConclusionsThe aim of the curriculum was to produce a comprhensive aproach in OM competencies. The curiculum was adopted by the Israeli Medical Association and Ministery of Health since 2010.
P.2.29 Does a change in working conditions influence labour force participation among workers with a chronic disease?
Authors: Schram Jolinda , Robroek Suzan , Ots Patricia , Zon Sander van , Brouwer Sandra , Burdorf Alex , Hengel Karen Oude 
Published: May 2020

ObjectiveThis study investigated the association between changing working conditions and exit from paid employment during the following year among older workers with a chronic disease in the Netherlands.MethodFour annual waves from the Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation (STREAM; 2010–2013) provided information on working conditions and demographics for 2838 older workers with a chronic disease, aged 45–64 years. The analytical sample consisted of 5491 responses from 2838 workers. Five types of working conditions were investigated; physical workload, psychological job demands, job autonomy, emotional job demands and social support. Discrete-time survival models were used to estimate the associations of change in working conditions in a particular year on the probability of exiting paid work for persons with a chronic disease in the following year.ResultsOf the 2838 workers, a small majority was male (52%), most workers had an intermediate level of education (39.7%), and the mean age was 53.7 years (SD 5.50). Results showed that working conditions substantially changed (i.e. difference of one standard deviation) between two waves. Social support and emotional job demands had the highest amounts of substantial changes (17% and 19%), while physical demands remained relatively stable (6% substantial change). After the first two waves, about 12% of workers with a chronic illness left paid employment. Results of discrete-time survival models are expected to be available in 2019 (by the time of the EPICOH conference).ConclusionEnsuring that working conditions can be adapted to the needs of older workers who have a chronic disease may help to extend working life.