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Background@#The objective of this study is to identify the working conditions and health status of Vietnamese male migrant workers in Republic of Korea, in comparison to the Korean general population. @*Methods@#We conducted our survey through the Migrant People Center, and we received completed questionnaires from 87 male Vietnamese migrant workers. The questionnaire employed was identical to those used in the Korean Working Conditions Survey and the 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The collected data from the Vietnamese migrant workers was then compared with the Korean reference population using indirect age-standardization. @*Results@#Vietnamese male workers demonstrated a higher prevalence of health problems including hearing problems (age-standardized prevalence ratio (aSPR) 13.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.07–20.4), skin problems (aSPR 13.49, 95% CI: 8.07–20.4), and low back pain (aSPR 8.40, 95% CI: 6.50–10.69). Elevated exposure to workplace hazards such as chemicals (aSPR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.51–3.51), organic solvents (aSPR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.44–3.28), handling of heavy objects (aSPR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.24–2.21), and high temperatures (aSPR 1.96, 95% CI: 1.46–2.57) was observed among them. Additionally, they faced a higher risk of no personal protective equipment (aSPR 2.53, 95% CI: 1.26–4.52) and a greater prevalence of unmet medical needs (aSPR 7.14, 95% CI: 4.74–10.32). @*Conclusion@#Our findings highlight the elevated workplace hazards, health problems, and unmet medical needs among Vietnamese male workers compared to the Korean reference population. These findings underscores the urgency for enhanced scrutiny over working conditions and protective equipment provision, coupled with efforts to improve healthcare accessibility and worker education.
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Background@#It has been 10 years since the outbreak of lung disease caused by humidifier disinfectants in Korea, but the health effects have not yet been summarized. Therefore, this study aims to systematically examine the health effects of humidifier disinfectants that have been discovered so far. @*Methods@#All literature with humidifier disinfectants and their representative components as the main words were collected based on the web, including PubMed, Research Information Sharing Service, and government publication reports. A total of 902 studies were searched, of which 196 were selected. They were divided into four groups: published human studies (group 1), published animal and cytotoxicology studies (group 2), technical reports (group 3), and gray literature (group 4). @*Results@#Out of the 196 studies, 97 (49.5%) were published in peer-reviewed journals as original research. Group 1 consisted of 49 articles (50.5%), while group 2 consisted of 48 articles (49.5%). Overall, respiratory diseases such as humidifier disinfectant associated lung injury, interstitial lung disease, and asthma have a clear correlation, but other effects such as liver, heart, thymus, thyroid, fetal growth, metabolic abnormalities, and eyes are observed in toxicological experimental studies, but have not yet been identified in epidemiologic studies. @*Conclusion@#The current level of evidence does not completely rule out the effects of humidifier disinfectants on extrapulmonary disease. Based on the toxicological evidence so far, it is required to monitor the population of humidifier disinfectant exposure continuously to see if similar damage occurs.
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Background@#This study investigates the safety and health status of geographically isolated and confined workers. @*Methods@#This study was conducted in Baekryeong Island in Korea in 2020. The agestandardized prevalence ratios (aSPR) for occupational injury, unmet medical needs, psychological status, and lifestyle were estimated from the available data. Also, we compared the aSPRs of workers in Baekryeong Island with a reference study population who participated in a nationally representative survey in Korea. @*Results@#The study revealed that Baekryeong Island workers had an increased risk of acquiring health and safety problems compared to the general worker population. The island workers showed a significant increase in unmet medical care (aSPR, 5.319; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.984–6.958) and occupational injury (aSPR, 8.371; 95% CI, 3.820–15.892). @*Conclusion@#This study identified the safety and health problems of geographically isolated workers in Baekryeong Island. The risk of occupational injury and unmet medical care are simultaneously highlighted in the region's population, thereby underscoring the importance of prevention.
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Background@#This study investigates the safety and health status of geographically isolated and confined workers. @*Methods@#This study was conducted in Baekryeong Island in Korea in 2020. The agestandardized prevalence ratios (aSPR) for occupational injury, unmet medical needs, psychological status, and lifestyle were estimated from the available data. Also, we compared the aSPRs of workers in Baekryeong Island with a reference study population who participated in a nationally representative survey in Korea. @*Results@#The study revealed that Baekryeong Island workers had an increased risk of acquiring health and safety problems compared to the general worker population. The island workers showed a significant increase in unmet medical care (aSPR, 5.319; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.984–6.958) and occupational injury (aSPR, 8.371; 95% CI, 3.820–15.892). @*Conclusion@#This study identified the safety and health problems of geographically isolated workers in Baekryeong Island. The risk of occupational injury and unmet medical care are simultaneously highlighted in the region's population, thereby underscoring the importance of prevention.
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Background@#This study aimed to investigate whether working long hours was related to infertility among female Korean workers, while taking age into consideration. @*Methods@#We used data from the 2018 National Survey on Fertility and Family Health and Welfare in Korea that is a cross-sectional, nationally representative, and population-based survey. Infertility was defined as women who were not pregnant after regular unprotected intercourse for a year. Working long hours was classified as ≥52 hours, and subgroups as per age were classified on the basis of being younger or older than 40 years of age. Differences in infertility risk between the long working hour group and none were estimated in crude and fully adjusted logistic regression models with age-group stratification. @*Results@#Of 5,909 Korean female workers, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of infertility for working long hours were 1.295 (0.948–1.737) and 1.303 (0.921–1.809), respectively. In the subgroup of patients below 40 years of age, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.957 (1.216–3.039) and 1.921 (1.144–3.120), whereas those aged 40 years or older had 0.994 (0.647–1.471) and 0.939 (0.560–1.501), respectively. The weighted prevalence of infertility increased as weekly working hours increased only for the younger than 40-year subgroup. @*Conclusions@#Infertility is associated with working long hours, especially in young-aged workers. Thus, the working schedule must be structured to better suit young female workers.
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BACKGROUND: To investigate the risk of injury for indirect employment in Korea, we compared work environment, workplace exposure, and injury risk according to the type of employment contract between Korea and European Union (EU) countries. METHODS: We analyzed data of blue-collar workers from the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2014) and the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (2015) and compared workplace risk factors and preventive factors for occupational injuries. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the relationship between occupational injury and the type of employment contract after adjusting for age and sex. RESULTS: For descriptive characteristics, a relatively older age, lower income, lower proportion of full-time work, greater proportion in small-sized companies, and fewer unionizations were noted in indirect employment in Korea than in direct employment. Workplace exposure was significantly higher in indirect employment in both Korea and Europe. Among safety-related factors, indirect employment in both Korea and Europe lacked the support of company education, coworkers, and supervisors. Indirectly employed blue-collar workers had a significantly higher risk of occupational injury than those directly employed in Korea (odds ratio [OR]: 1.876), whereas there was no significant difference between directly and indirectly employed workers in EU countries (OR: 1.038). CONCLUSIONS: Indirectly employed blue-collar workers have an increased risk of occupational injury in Korea.
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Education , Employment , Europe , European Union , Korea , Logistic Models , Occupational Injuries , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: This study examined the long-term preventive effects of a case management service on suicide reattempts, and clarified the factors related to suicide reattempts. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of suicide attempters who visited the emergency department of Ulsan University Hospital from August 28, 2013 to July 31, 2017. A 4-week case management service was provided to consenting participants, either face-to-face or by telephone. Using survival analysis, we analyzed differences in the time to the next emergency department visit for a suicide attempt according to whether participants completed the case management service. We also assessed which characteristics of participants were associated with suicide reattempts. RESULTS: We found no overall difference in time to suicide reattempt between case-managed participants and controls over the entire observation period (median period: 19 months). However, in the first 24 weeks after the initial suicide attempt, the case-managed group showed a longer time to reattempt than did the control group (log-rank test = 4.243; P = 0.039). A higher risk of reattempt was found among participants with the medical benefit type of health insurance compared to those with national health insurance (hazard ratio [HR], 5.134; P < 0.001) and among participants aged 20–39 compared to those aged ≥ 60 (HR, 3.502; P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Case management had only short-term benefits (within 24 weeks of initial suicide attempt). Risk factors for suicide reattempts were having a medical benefit health insurance and being aged 20–39 years.