[ epidemiological study of accidents in a construction industry: a case-control study]

Despite science and technology development and their application in various industries, accidents continue to occur in many workplaces. This study was designed and carried out with the aim of epidemiological survey of accident among workers of a tunneling industry. This study was conducted on 144 out of a total of 440 employees of a tunneling project who were at risk of occupational accidents. 48 workers with a history of occupational accident over the past two years were selected as case group and 96 workers of the same project were selected as control group. The data were collected through a designed checklist and analyzed using logistic regression, chi-square and independent t tests. A significant association was observed between accident rate and different age groups [p<0.05]. There was a significant relationship [p=0.016] in the case of sport activities between case and control groups, and significant relationships were observed between two groups regarding education [p=0.057] and smoking [p=0.06], but there was no significant relationships between accident occurrence with marital status, residence in workplace, job related education, job experience, chronic diseases and obesity. The results of this study clarify the necessity of the use of epidemiological data in preventive and control measures in workplaces. Therefore, Developing programs for determination of physical and mental capacity of workers are essential to employ them in jobs commensurate with their abilities, especially in older workers

Effect of fortified flour in increasing Zn and Fe concentration in the serum of personnel at the Moghadam Mersad Military Station

Zinc and iron content of agricultural soils as well as wheat grain and bread are lower than standard levels. This investigation was carried out to evaluate the effect of flour fortification on the serum zinc and iron level of the bread consumers. A study on the effect of fortification and improvement of the quality of bread on the health of consumer subjects was carried out on the total personnel [17 battalions at 3 bases] of Moghadam Mersad Military Station in the 3 provinces of Kerman, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Khorasan. After 4 months from the commencement of the study, blood samples were collected from the subjects who had spent 4 months at the Baghin and Ravar Aboozar study sites. Fortification of the wheat flour was carried out at the Baghin Martyrs Station, by adding, 80 mg Zn; 50 mg Fe; 10 mg vitamin B[1]; 2.5 mg Vitamin B[2]; and 5 mg vitamin B[6] per kg of flour. Likewise substituting yeast for baking powder as well as allowing for fermentation [30, 60 and 150 mimutes] in relation to the quality of bread was evaluated. None of the persons examined showed concentrations of Zn or Fe above normal limits in their serums. In places where bread was not fortified, the average level of Zn in the blood serum of individuals was measured to be 72 microg/deciliters; whereas, the serum Zn of the test subjects consuming fortified bread for a three-month period averaged 89 microg/deciliters [P<0.01]. While the number of people using stomach-problem-related-medicines at the Beghin Martyrs Station during a 4-month period before the experiment was figured to be 1615, it was reduced to 1375 cases after the test; or a 15% decrease during a 4-month period. The results showed that there was a significant relation between the use of high quality bread and the increase in the amount of Zn and Fe in blood serum. As a result, the incidence of stomach related problems was reduced due to replacing low quality bread with fortified bread in a 4-month period and eventually the use of drugs for stomach ailments and colds decreased in the study subjects and the slogan that prevention is worth more than the cure was realized in this one respect