[Comparison of sleep disorders in shift and non-shift workers employed in a printing factory in Tehran 2010]

According to the previous studies, 25 percent of the total workforce is faced with the shift working. Sleep disorders are the most common health complaint of the shift workers. This study was designed to examine the sleep status of workers in a printing factory. We aimed to investigate the association between prevalence of sleep disorders with shift working and other probable factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted among workers of a printing factory in Tehran, 2010. Required information was gathered through a questionnaire consisting of three parts: Demographic data, ESS questionnaire [Epworth Sleepiness Scale] and SMII questionnaire [Sleep Med Insomnia Index]. Collected data from 385 questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS software version 16. P values <0. 05 were considered significant statistically. According to the results of the analysis, shift working, drug consumption and smoking were significantly associated with the prevalence of sleep disorders [especially with prevalence of insomnia]. Logistic regression analysis was also performed for insomnia. The Odds Ratio for shift working and drug consumption were 2.3 and 3.2, respectively. Based on this study, shift working could be considered as an important risk factor of sleep disorders. However, further studies are needed to confirm this theory and to plan for reducing such disorders among shift workers

Knowledge and practice assessment of workers in a pharmaceutical company about prevention of coronary artery disease

Coronary artery disease is one of the most common reasons of death around the world. Also, according to previous studies, the incidence of coronary artery disease is rapidly increasing in developing countries such as Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practice of pharmaceutical company workers towards the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In this cross sectional study that was conducted in Tehran, 1223 workers of a pharmaceutical company were enrolled. Data was collected using a questionnaire that assessed the level of knowledge and practice of the participants towards coronary artery disease. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between study variables and the workers knowledge level. The results of this study showed that 49% of the workers were in a good level of knowledge and according to the regression analysis, the female gender, age above 28, education level higher than high school diploma, body mass index above 25 kilograms per square meters, history of hyperlipidemia, history of diabetes, history of hypertension, history of myocardial infarction, daily activity and exercise, were significantly related to a good knowledge towards coronary artery disease. In addition, the mean score of the participants' performance in preventing coronary artery disease was 4.66 out of 9. The results of this study showed that increasing level of knowledge of labors in order to prevent missing specialized work force, leads to imposition of health costs to the industry and the labor society

Hearing impairment due to cigarette smoking and simultaneous exposure to occupational noise

Noise is the most common hazard in the workplace and noise induced hearing loss considered to be the most common occupational disease as well. Cigarette smoking, in some studies, has been known to induce hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of contemporary exposure to occupational noise and cigarette smoking on hearing. 478 assembly workers of an automobile plant which were exposed to the noise more than TLV [threshold limit value] level included in this study. After considering the exclusion criteria, all participants according to the smoking status were divided in smoker and nonsmoker groups and compared for hearing impairment. Hearing impairment in this study was assessed with the offered method of American Academy of Otolaryngology [AAO]. Of 478 assembly workers, 225 persons were smokers and others non smokers. Prevalence of hearing impairment in smokers was significantly higher [p<0.001]. Hearing impairment had a significant relation with smoking status even after adjusting for cofounders like age and duration of work [OR=8.23, 95% CI=3.63-18.66]. The results of this study suggested that cigarette smokers had more hearing impairment than non smokers. According to these results we concluded that in working environments, especially in noisy ones, workers must be encouraged to quit smoking and regular audiometric tests, especially for smokers, must be applied. We must consider not only the noise, but indeed all effective elements of hearing impairment in working environment that could compromise the hearing