Factors Related to Occupational Injuries and Health Problems for Some Female Workers in Non-standard Employment / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine certain factors associated with occupational injuries and health problems for some female workers in non-standard employment. METHODS: We enrolled 754 female workers that were selected from 1,040 people who had agreed to be surveyed as part of a group or company in either the Seoul and the Kyonggi area. We performed univariate logistic regression on survey data and again performed multivariate logistic regression on those variables that were statistically significant. RESULTS: In this study, the overall incidence of occupational injury for all workers was 12.5%. The incidence rates by position were as follows: 12.9%(insurance saleswoman), 7.4%(telemarketer), 9.2%(visiting teacher), 22%(golf caddy). The most frequent complaint was lower back pain(12.8%) in insurance saleswomen, voice symptoms(37%) in telemarketers, knee and ankle symptoms(33.8%) in golf caddies, and voice symptoms(14.4%) in visiting teachers. The factors related to occupational injuries included job type, and age. The factors related to health problems were job type, psychosocial stress, accident risk, and social support. The percentage of the cases that occurred without fringe benefits including social welfare was 30.4%, and the percentage of "paid out of the person's own pocket" of ways to arrange costs of accidents was 32.5%. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, some female workers in non-standard employment had relatively high level of occupational injuries, accompanied by various health problems. In these occupational classes, the conditions for social insurance and social welfare were poor. It is necessary to expand the application of social insurances including industrial accident compensation insurance. Regardless of job category, psychosocial stress and social support were statistically significant for many symptoms. We believe that measurement of these factors is necessary. In the future, additional studies are required with the use of objective methods for additional job categories.

Occupational Stress in Relation to Cerebrovascular and Cardiovascular Disease: Longitudinal Analysis from the NSDSOS Project / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: This prospective study was performed to investigate the association between occupational stress and the development of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: A total of 8,429 employees were selected from a nationwide sample, proportional to both the Korean Standard Industrial Classification and the Korean Standard Occupational Classification. A structured self-reported questionnaire was used to access the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, health behavior and work related characteristics. 43-items of the full version of Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) were used to access the participants occupational stress. New cases of hospitalization due to cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases were evaluated using medical utilization files received from the National Health Insurance Corporation for the period of March 2004 to December 2005. A logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between occupational stress and cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. RESULTS: 43 new cases of hospitalization due to cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases were found. According to the results of the logistic regression analysis, job stressors were related with circulatory diseases after adjustment for gender, age, number of workers, employment type, shift work, smoking, alcohol intake, and regular exercise. Of the 8 subscales, insufficient job control (Adj. RR 2.802; 95% CI 1.038-7.564) and occupational climate (Adj. RR 2.365; 95% CI 1.087~5.143) were significantly associated with cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. However, no significant relationships were found between the 6 KOSS subscales and cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the short-term follow-up of about two years, the KOSS subscales of insufficient job control and occupational climate were significantly associated with cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases.

Heart Rate Variability of Carbon Disulfide Poisoned Subjects after Exposure Cessation / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: A previous study conducted in 2000 measuring the heart rate variability (HRV) of carbon disulfide (CS2)-poisoned subjects suggested that their HRV was reduced after exposure cessation. However, the study was limited by the following procedural limitations: (1) only 71 CS2-poisoned subjects participated, (2) no females participated, and (3) the CS2-poisoned subjects were older than the controls. This study was therefore conducted to overcome these limitations of the earlier study. METHODS: The study subjects comprised 122 retired workers with CS2 poisoning and the same number of age- and sex-matched controls. Information on individual age, sex, height, weight, smoking history, alcohol drinking, regular exercise, medical and occupational history, chest x-ray, and ECG recording of the two groups was collected though a self-administered questionnaire and a medical examination. Standard Deviation of NN intervals (SDNN), Root-Mean-Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD), Total Power (TP), Low Frequency (LF), High Frequency (HF), and LF/HF ratio were measured as HRV indices for 5 minutes in the sitting position. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that all HRV indices of CS2-poisoned subjects were lower than those of the controls. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that CS2 poisoning had negative association with all HRV indices and that its association with RMSSD was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that CS2-poisoned subjects continue to have reduced HRV, even though the exposure has ceased.