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Occupational Diseases (occupational + disease)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

Data linkage to estimate the extent and distribution of occupational disease: new onset adult asthma in Alberta, Canada

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 11 2009
Nicola Cherry MD
Abstract Background Although occupational asthma is a well recognized and preventable disease, the numbers of cases presenting for compensation may be far lower than the true incidence. Methods Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) claims for any reason 1995,2004 were linked to physician billing data. New onset adult asthma (NOAA) was defined as a billing for asthma (ICD-9 code of 493) in the 12 months prior to a WCB claim without asthma in the previous 3 years. Incidence was calculated by occupation, industry and, in a case,referent analysis, exposures estimated from an asthma specific job exposure matrix. Results There were 782,908 WCB eligible claims, with an incidence rate for NOAA of 1.6%: 23 occupations and 21 industries had a significantly increased risk. Isocyanates (OR 1.54: 95% CI 1.01,2.36) and exposure to mixed agricultural allergens (OR,=,1.59: 95% CI 1.17,2.18) were related to NOAA overall, as were exposures to cleaning chemicals in men (OR,=,1.91:95% CI 1.34,2.73). Estimates of the number of cases of occupational asthma suggested a range of 4% to about half for the proportion compensated. Conclusions Data linkage of administrative records can demonstrate under-reporting of occupational asthma and indicate areas for prevention. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:831,840, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Transfer of occupational health problems from a developed to a developing country: Lessons from the Japan,South Korea experience,

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 8 2009
Jungsun Park MD
Abstract Many corporations move their manufacturing facilities or technologies from developed to developing countries. Stringent regulations have made it costly for industries to operate in developed, industrialized countries. In addition, labor costs are high in these countries, and there is increasing awareness among the general public of the health risks associated with industry. The relocation of hazardous industries to developing countries is driven by economic considerations: high unemployment, a cheaper labor force, lack of regulation, and poor enforcement of any existing regulations make certain countries attractive to business. The transfer of certain industries from Japan to Korea has also brought both documented occupational diseases and a new occupational disease caused by chemicals without established toxicities. Typical examples of documented occupational diseases are carbon disulfide poisoning in the rayon manufacturing industry, bladder cancer in the benzidine industry, and mesothelioma in the asbestos industry. A new occupational disease due to a chemical without established toxicities is 2-bromopropane poisoning. These examples suggest that counter-measures are needed to prevent the transfer of occupational health problems from a developed to a developing country. Corporate social responsibility should be emphasized, close inter-governmental collaboration is necessary and cooperation among non-governmental organizations is helpful. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:625,632, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Hospitalization in Winnipeg, Canada due to occupational disease: A pilot study

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2009
Allen G. Kraut MD, FRCPC
Abstract Background The objectives of this study were to identify the extent of occupational exposures to hazardous substances amongst male medical inpatients and to determine the extent to which these exposures may have contributed to the development of medical conditions. Methods A random sample of 297 male who were admitted from outside the hospital to the medical wards to a large tertiary care hospital, were between age 18,75 and could communicate in English completed an occupational history questionnaire. This information was merged with an inpatient database which contained patient demographics, admission diagnoses, and co-morbidity data. A specialist in occupational medicine and internal medicine determined whether the medical conditions the participants had were related to their exposures. Results One individual had a condition causing admission that was related to his work and 12 others (4%) had a condition that was possibly related to their work which had caused symptoms. One additional individual was found to have asymptomatic asbestos related pleural fibrosis. Fourteen of 37 possible harmful occupational exposures were reported by more than 10% of the study participants. On average each participant reported 5.5 exposures. Conclusions Occupational exposures to male medical inpatients are common. For 4.4% (13/297) of male admissions to the general medical wards from the emergency room occupational factors may have played a role in the development of medical conditions which led to admission or to major co-morbidities. Detailed occupational histories will likely lead to more suspected cases of work related medical admissions. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:372,379, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc [source]

Trends in suspected and recognized occupational respiratory diseases in Germany between 1970 and 2005

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 7 2008
V. van Kampen PhD
Abstract Background Respiratory diseases represent a major proportion of occupational diseases in many countries. Little information is available about their incidences over the past several decades. Methods Based on the reports of the three German federal accident insurance agencies, the numbers of suspected and recognized cases of occupational respiratory diseases between 1970 and 2005 were collected and combined. The trends in the rates per 100,000 insured workers were calculated. Results In total, a decline in occupational respiratory diseases since 1998 could be observed. This trend is mainly based on the decrease in non-malignant respiratory diseases due to silica and obstructive airway diseases. In contrast, asbestos-induced diseases showed a leveling off or an increase (mesothelioma) during the last 10years. Conclusions Although trends in occupational disease may be influenced by several factors, the presented data indicate that prevention has been effective in reducing some ofthe most frequent occupational respiratory diseases in Germany. Am. J. Ind. Med. 51:492,502, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Vibration Causes Acute Vascular Injury in a Two-Step Process: Vasoconstriction and Vacuole Disruption

THE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 8 2008
Sandya R. Govindaraju
Abstract Hand,arm vibration syndrome is a vasospastic and neurodegenerative occupational disease. In the current study, the mechanism of vibration-induced vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) injury was examined in a rat-tail vibration model. Tails of male Sprague Dawley rats were vibrated continuously for 4 hr at 60 Hz, 49 m/s2 with or without general anesthesia. Ventral tail arteries were aldehyde fixed and embedded in epoxy resin to enable morphological analysis. Vibration without anesthesia caused vasoconstriction and vacuoles in the SMC. Anesthetizing rats during vibration prevented vasoconstriction and vacuole formation. Exposing tail arteries in situ to 1 mM norepinephrine (NE) for 15 min induced the greatest vasoconstriction and vacuolation. NE induced vacuoles were twice as large as those formed during vibration. When vibrated 4 hr under anesthesia after pretreatment with NE for 15 min, the SMC lacked vacuoles and exhibited a longitudinal banding pattern of dark and light staining. The extracellular matrix was filled with particulates, which were confirmed by electron microscopy to be cellular debris. The present findings demonstrate that vibration-induced vasoconstriction (SMC contraction) requires functioning central nervous system reflexes, and the physical stress of vibration damages the contracted SMC by dislodging and fragmenting SMC vacuoles. Anat Rec, 291:999,1006, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

An Outbreak of Respiratory Diseases among Workers at a Water-Damaged Building , A Case Report

INDOOR AIR, Issue 3 2000
MARKKU SEURI
Abstract We describe a military hospital building with severe, repeated and enduring water and mold damage, and the symptoms and diseases found among 14 persons who were employed at the building. The exposure of the employees was evaluated by measuring the serum immunoglobulin G (IgG)-antibodies against eight spieces of mold and yeast common in Finnish water and mold damaged buildings and by sampling airborne viable microbes within the hospital. The most abundant spieces was Sporobolomyces salmonicolor. All but one of the employees reported some building-related symptoms, the most common being a cough which was reported by nine subjects. Four new cases of asthma, confirmed by S. salmonicolor inhalation provocation tests, one of whom was also found to have alveolitis, were found among the hospital personnel. In addition, seven other workers with newly diagnosed rhinitis reacted positively in nasal S. salmonicolor provocation tests. Skin prick tests by Sporobolomyces were negative among all 14 workers. Exposure of the workers to mold and yeast in the indoor air caused an outbreak of occupational diseases, including asthma, rhinitis and alveolitis. The diseases were not immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated but might have been borne by some other, as yet unexplained, mechanism. [source]

Disability benefits and workers with HIV/AIDS: Coverage issues and challenges in the United Republic of Tanzania

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 4 2008
Tulia Ackson
Abstract This paper explores the effective non-availability of disability/invalidity benefits to formal sector employees with HIV/AIDS in the United Republic of Tanzania. The legal difficulty of establishing a direct connection between HIV/AIDS and employment injury and occupational diseases present a challenge to social security institutions and schemes which are simultaneously trying to come to grips with the mounting problems of the shrinkage of the formal sector and low coverage. Remedial policy responses are proposed. These identify the statutory and legal adjustments needed both to ensure convergence of eligibility criteria for invalidity benefit claims among the concerned institutions, and to ensure that qualifying conditions are both consistent and in line with contemporary approaches to disbility. The suggested adjustments would simplify and clarify eligibility criteria in cases of invalidity involving existing scheme members, potentially also allowing for a future expansion of benefit coverage better to reflect labour market realities. [source]

Effector and regulatory mechanisms in allergic contact dermatitis

ALLERGY, Issue 12 2009
M. Vocanson
Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), one of the commonest occupational diseases, is a T-cell-mediated skin inflammation caused by repeated skin exposure to contact allergens, i.e. nonprotein chemicals called haptens. Allergic contact dermatitis, also referred to as contact hypersensitivity, is mediated by CD8+ T cells, which are primed in lymphoid organs during the sensitization phase and are recruited in the skin upon re-exposure to the hapten. Subsets of CD4+ T cells endowed with suppressive activity are responsible for both the down-regulation of eczema in allergic patients and the prevention of priming to haptens in nonallergic individuals. Therefore, ACD should be considered as a breakdown of the skin immune tolerance to haptens. Recent advances in the pathophysiology of ACD have demonstrated the important role of skin innate immunity in the sensitization process and have revisited the dogma that Langerhans cells are mandatory for CD8+ T-cell priming. They have also introduced mast cells as a pivotal actor in the magnitude of the inflammatory reaction. Finally, the most recent studies address the nature, the mode and the site of action of the regulatory T cells that control the skin inflammation with the aim of developing new strategies of tolerance induction in allergic patients. [source]

Transfer of occupational health problems from a developed to a developing country: Lessons from the Japan,South Korea experience,

Trends in suspected and recognized occupational respiratory diseases in Germany between 1970 and 2005

Causes of death classified by risk and condition, New Zealand 1997

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2005
Martin Tobias
Objective: To classify causes of death in New Zealand by risk factor (in addition to condition) as a planning tool for health promotion. Method: Deaths occurring in New Zealand in 1997 were classified by 20 prevalent risk factors using a combination of categorical attribution (rule-based) and counterfactual modelling (population-attributable risk-based) approaches. Results: Approximately 30% of deaths were attributed to the joint effect of dietary factors. Tobacco consumption was responsible for 18% of deaths and insufficient physical activity for almost 10%. Less important behavioural risk factors included alcohol consumption (3%), illicit drug use (0.5%) and unsafe sex (0.5%). Among biological risk factors, higher than optimal total blood cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and body mass index accounted for 17%, 15% and 12% of deaths respectively. Deprivation contributed to 17% of deaths, and adverse in-hospital events to 6%. Among environmental exposures, microbes accounted for 6.5% of deaths, air pollution 3.5% and occupational diseases and injuries 0.5%. Among injury hazards, risk factors related to road traffic were responsible for 2% of deaths, while violence accounted for 2.5% of deaths, mostly through suicide. Cross-classifying deaths by both condition and risk factor, 90% of ischaemic heart disease and 80% of stroke, but only 30% of cancer deaths, could be attributed to specific risk factors. Conclusions: This is the first comprehensive ranking of causes of death at the level of risk factors available for New Zealand and should prove useful as a planning tool, especially for disease prevention and health promotion. [source]