Distribution of age, gender, and occupation among individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome based on the National Health Insurance data and National Employment Insurance data

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate the basic characteristics of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and its differences between occupations using Korea's National Health Insurance (NHI) and National Employment Insurance (NEI). METHODS: The study participants were obtained from the NEI and NHI data from 2008 to 2015, with a diagnosis code of G560 (CTS) as the main or sub-diagnosis. Data about gender, age, diabetes mellitus, smoking, drinking, and length of employment, information about type of occupation, and number of employees according to age and occupation were obtained from NHI and NEI data. In total, 240 occupations were classified into blue-collar (BC) and white-collar (WC) work. In addition, each occupation was classified as high-risk and low-risk groups depending on the degree of wrist usage. RESULTS: The number of patients with CTS per 100,000 individuals increased with advancing age, and it was higher in women (4,572.2) than in men (1,798.5). Furthermore, the number was higher in BC workers (3,247.5) than in WC workers (1,824.1) as well as in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group in both BC workers (3,527.8 vs. 1,908.2) and WC workers (1,829.9 vs. 1,754.4). The number of patients with CTS was higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group among male and female BC workers and female WC workers. However, the number was higher in the low-risk group among male WC workers. In the BC category, the number of patients with CTS was highest among food processing-related workers (19,984.5). In the WC category, the number of patients with CTS was highest among social workers and counselors (7,444.1). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are expected to help identify occupational differences in patterns of CTS. High number of patients with CTS was seen in new jobs, as well as in previous studies.

Breastfeeding Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice among White-Collar and Blue-Collar Workers in Indonesia

BACKGROUND: Working status is identified as a major risk factor of poor breastfeeding practices among workers. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and factors associated with breastfeeding practice among white-collar and blue-collar workers in Indonesia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in two factories and three government offices in Jakarta from December 2015 to February 2016. Subjects were woman workers whose children were age 6 to 24 months old and actively working in the factory and/or office. The factors studied were selected socio-demographic and occupational characteristics, score on knowledge and attitude, and breastfeeding practice during working hours. RESULTS: From a total of 192 subjects, 73% of white-collar workers had good knowledge on breastfeeding, in contrast with 55% of blue-collar workers who had not good breastfeeding knowledge (P < 0.001). Most of the subjects were conducting breast pumping during working hours, however 15% of white-collar workers and 17% of blue-collar workers never breastfeed nor breast pumped at work. Working status (P = 0.005) and knowledge (P = 0.002) were factors associated with breastfeeding practice among workers. CONCLUSION: White-collar workers have a better knowledge, attitude, and practice toward breastfeeding. Knowledge improvement related to breastfeeding benefits and supports to working mothers are a key priority, however advocacy to employers, managers, and supervisors in providing breastfeeding facilitation and program support were also critical to successful breastfeeding practice among workers.

An analysis on sub-health status and influencing factors of white-collar population in Hangzhou City / 预防医学

Objective In the current study, we aim to analyze the sub-health status and its potential influencing factors on white-collar population in Hangzhou, and to provide the basis for improving their health consciousness and life styles. Methods A total of 2156 employees who work at private enterprises, state-owned enterprises, joint ventures and sole proprietorship enterprises in Hangzhou, were recruited for the survey on the sub-health status via a stratified cluster random sampling method. The sub-health incidence was assessed using the standard sub-health rating scale (SHMS V1.0) and the risk factors for sub-health were analyzed by the logistic regression. Results A total of 2156 questionnaires were distributed and 2117 were returned. The valid questionnaires were 2046 and the responsive rate was 96.65%. Among the 2046 respondents, sub-health was 1062, accounting for 51.91%. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male, age over 30 years old, divorce/widowhood, joint venture, sole proprietorship, bad habits, family disharmony and low job recognition were risk factors for sub-health in white-collar population. Marriage, master degree, management positions, senior white-collar workers, monthly income of more than 5000 yuan, regular sports, serving state-owned enterprises were the sub-health protection factors for white-collar population. Conclusion Totally 51.91% of the white-collar workers in Hangzhou were in sub-health state. Furthermore, male, over 30 years old, divorced/widowed, working in joint venture or sole proprietorship, bad habits, family disharmony and low job recognition are risk factors for sub-health.

Occupational Stress Among White Collar Employees In Esfahan Steel Company, Iran

Occupational stress is one of the major health hazards among blue and white-collar workers. However there is no data on occupational stress among white-collar workers in Iran. Aim of this study was to investigate occupational stress among white collar employees in Esfahan Steel Company organization (ESCO), Iran. A cross– sectional survey was conducted through face to face interview using validated standardized questionnaire on occupational stress among 200 white-collar workers from ESCO who agreed to participate in the study, the response rate of participation was 100%. The logistic regression test was used to determine significant associated factors of occupational stress among the study sample.. It is found that among the six items measuring source of stress, the highest source of stress related to economic problem, 117 (59.7%). The statistical analysis showed sources of stress such as task type (p=0.0001), economic problem (p=0.0001), work environment (p=0.0001) and children problem (p=0.05) were significantly associated with having stress among the workers. We found that around half of the white collar workers were under stress at ESCO. Main sources of the occupational stress of white colour workers related to their work environment, economic problem; task type, and related their children.

Factors Influencing Health Promoting Behaviour according to the Type A/B Personality of White Collar Workers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The study was done to identify factors influencing health promoting behaviour in office workers according to the type A/B personality. METHODS: The data were collected by questionnaires from 249 workers in Seoul and Gyung-gi province. Measures were a health promoting behaviour, the type of personality, self-esteem, perceived health status, social support, and job stress. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, t-test, and stepwise multiple regression with SPSS/WIN 15.0 version. RESULTS: This study suggests that A type office workers have a little lower degree in health promoting behaviour, self-esteem, social support and have a higher degree in perceived health status, perceived symptoms and job stress than those of B type office workers. The factors which influence A type office workers on health promoting behaviour are social support, perceived health status and self-esteem, which accounted for 40.2% of the variance and those of B type office workers, self-esteem and perceived health status accounted for 24.5%. CONCLUSION: It needs to develop and operate self-management program for health maintenance and promotion for the type A/B personality White Collar Workers.

Factors Influencing Health Promoting Behaviour according to the Type A/B Personality of White Collar Workers / 산업간호학회지

PURPOSE: The study was done to identify factors influencing health promoting behaviour in office workers according to the type A/B personality. METHODS: The data were collected by questionnaires from 249 workers in Seoul and Gyung-gi province. Measures were a health promoting behaviour, the type of personality, self-esteem, perceived health status, social support, and job stress. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, t-test, and stepwise multiple regression with SPSS/WIN 15.0 version. RESULTS: This study suggests that A type office workers have a little lower degree in health promoting behaviour, self-esteem, social support and have a higher degree in perceived health status, perceived symptoms and job stress than those of B type office workers. The factors which influence A type office workers on health promoting behaviour are social support, perceived health status and self-esteem, which accounted for 40.2% of the variance and those of B type office workers, self-esteem and perceived health status accounted for 24.5%. CONCLUSION: It needs to develop and operate self-management program for health maintenance and promotion for the type A/B personality White Collar Workers.

Study of socio-demographic factors affecting prevalence of hypertension among bank employees of Surat City.

Cardiovascular diseases including hypertension are increasing in developing countries especially among high-risk group people like bank employees. A cross-sectional study of 1493 bank employees of Surat city was conducted during August, 2004 to September, 2005 to study the prevalence of hypertension among bank employees and the effects of socio-demographic factors on prevalence of hypertension. Data were analyzed using epi 6 software. The χ[2] -test was applied as a nonparametric test of statistical significance. Prevalence of hypertension was 30.4% and prehypertension was 34.5%. Out of 455 found as hypertensive, 258 (56.70%) were not having any symptoms at the time of examination. Prevalence was high among persons with age 50 years and above (48.5%); among male (32.5%) as compared to female (23.1%); among employees having small family size; among separated/divorcee person (40.0%). Prevalence of hypertension increased with seniority of the official position of bank employee with highest prevalence among managers (45.9%). Prevalence of hypertension was noted highest among the higher socioeconomic group; SEC I (35.0%) followed by class II (20.4%). Effects of different risk factors of hypertension were observed here. This study may help in identifying the common profile of hypertensive or persons at risk, which may further help in identifying the risk group and planning the group specific IEC interventions.

Second-hand Smoke Exposure and Urine Cotinine Levels by Occupation in the Busan, Ulsan, Kyeongnam Provinces / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: Exposure to second-hand smoke varied by smoking rate in the workplace and no-smoking policies. The purpose of this study was to estimate the status of second-hand smoke exposure by occupation through urine cotinine analysis in Busan, Ulsan, and Kyeongnam provinces. METHODS: Data was obtained from the National Institute of Environmental Research of Korea as 'The 2008 Korea National Survey for Environmental Pollutants in Human Body'. We selected 629 non-smokers who lived in Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongnam provinces. General and occupational characteristics were gathered using a structured questionnaire. Urine cotinine concentrations were analyzed by a gas chromatograph-mass selective detector. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Chi-square test, Student t-test and ANOVA. RESULTS: The geometric mean (geometric standard deviation) of urine cotinine concentration was 17.11 (2.74) ng/ml. The urine cotinine concentration of the middle school graduate group (18.47 (2.86) ng/ml) was higher than the college graduate group (15.64 (2.60) ng/ml, p=0.212). Also, the cotinine concentration of current drinkers (18.98 (2.47) ng/ml) was higher than non-drinkers (16.15 (2.88) ng/ml, p=0.054). The proportion who smelled smoke was higher in workers (38.5%) than in non-workers (29.7%, p=0.02). Therefore, urine cotinine concentration was higher in workers (17.29 (2.66) ng/ml) than in non-workers (16.97 (2.81) ng/ml) but not at a statistically significant amount (p=0.826). In addition, cotinine concentration between the group who smelled smoke (20.45 (2.42) ng/ml) and the group who did not smelled smoke (15.53 (2.78) ng/ml) was significantly different (p=0.016) in workers but not in non-workers (17.08 (2.42) ng/ml vs 16.92 (2.98) ng/ml, p=0.942). According to the National Center for Health Statistics occupational categories in the US and the Korea Standard Classification of Occupations, the urine cotinine concentration of white collar workers such as technical workers and administrators, professional specialists, and managers was higher (18.01 (2.55) ng/ml) than that of blue collar workers such as plant and machine operators and assemblers, elementary occupations, and craft and related trades workers (15.36 (3.48) ng/ml). CONCLUSIONS: The workplace is an important contributor to second-hand smoke exposure in Busan, Ulsan and Kyeongnam provinces. Unlike in advanced countries, where anti-smoking policies have been implemented, urine cotinine concentration in people in Busan, Ulsan and Kyeongnam provinces was higher in the white collar group than in the blue collar group. This result might be due to a higher indoor second-hand smoking rate of workplaces in these areas. Further studies are needed to evaluate the correlation between regional characteristics of industries, anti-smoking policies in the workplace, smoking rates and urine cotinine concentrations of workers.

Estudio de siete casos de personas condenadas por delitos contra la administración pública en Colombia, entre el 2009 y el 2010, desde la perspectiva criminológica / Study of seven showcases of people sentenced for offenses against public administration in Colombia between 2009 and 2010, from a criminological perspective

El objetivo de la presente investigación es describir características criminológicas de un grupo de siete personas condenadas por delitos contra la administración pública. Se tuvieron en cuenta variables sociodemográficas, el modus operandi (variable criminológica) y la personalidad (variable psicológica). En esta investigación, de tipo exploratorio, con análisis descriptivo y muestreo intencional, participaron siete hombres internados en dos cárceles de Bogotá y Villavicencio, entre el 2009 y el 2010, con edad promedio de 44 años. Se utilizaron como instrumentos el cuestionario de personalidad 16 PF forma B, la entrevista semiestructurada de modus operandi, el cuestionario de variables sociodemográficas y el cuestionario de deseabilidad social de Domínguez, Salas-Menotti y Reyes (2008). Los resultados revelan que existen rasgos de personalidad comunes en al menos cinco participantes: tendencia a pensamiento concreto, inestabilidad emocional, dominancia, locus de control externo, suspicacia, nivel alto de normatividad pero asociado a dolor psicológico, estabilidad laboral y buena remuneración, estudios superiores en ciencias económicas y derecho. Son personas sin investigaciones previas, actúan solas o recurren a un mínimo de personas, sin realizar mayores conductas para encubrir los actos delictivos; cometen los delitos en un período corto de tiempo. El tiempo de condena promedio fue de 84 meses.

This research is aimed at describing criminological characteristics among a group of seven individuals sentenced for offenses against public administration. Socio-demographic variables were taken into account, as well as modus operandi (criminological variable) and personality (psychological variable). In this research of exploratory nature, with a descriptive analysis and intentional sampling, six male inmates (average age 44) of two prisons in Bogota and Villavicencio took part between 2009 and 2010. As instruments, the personality questionnaire 16 PF, form B, the semistructured interview on modus operandi, the socio-demographic variables and the social desirability questionnaire by Dominguez, Salas-Menotti and Reyes (2008) were used. The results reveal that there are personality traits commonly shared by at least five participants, such as tendency to specific, concrete thought, emotional instability, dominance, external control locus, suspiciousness, a high normativity level though associated to physical pain, work stability and good remuneration, higher education studies in economic sciences and law. These are people with no prior investigation backgrounds; they act alone or with the help of a minimum number of people, without further behaviors to cover their criminal acts. Their offenses are perpetrated in a short period of time. Average prison sentence: 84 months.

Analysis of the Influence of Job Stress and Psychosocial Factors on Self Perceived Fatigue in White Collar Male Workers Using the Structural Equation Model / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to determine the self-perceived fatigue and its association with job stress and psychosocial factors among white collar male workers. METHODS: The self-administered questionnaires were given to 872 workers employed in 42 work places located in Daejeon City and Chungnam Province during the period from February 1st to April 30th, 2009. The questionnaire surveys included socio-demographic characteristics, job-related characteristics, health-related behaviors, a Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), psychosocial factors (type A behavior pattern, locus of control, self-esteem) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS). RESULTS: Concerning the correlation of self-perceived fatigue with various factors, while the level of self-perceived fatigue was positively correlated with the job demands, a type A behavior pattern and self-esteem, it was negatively correlated with job autonomy and supervisor support. With the analysis of the covariance structure, JCQ (job demand, job autonomy, supervisor support and coworker support) had more of an influence on the level of self-perceived fatigue than the psychosocial factors (type A behavior pattern, locus of control, self-esteem). The inter-relational effects were that the higher the JCQ and psychosocial factors, the higher the level of self-perceived fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: The study results indicated that the level of self-perceived fatigue was more influenced by the JCQ than the psychosocial factors. Thus, an effective strategy for fatigue reduction among workers requires additional programs that will focus on innovated job specifications and managed psychosocial factors.

Association Between Job-Stress and VDT Work, and Musculoskeletal Symptoms of Neck and Shoulder Among White-Collar Workers / 대한산업의학회지

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the association of job stress and working with video display terminal (VDT) to musculoskeletal symptoms of the neck-shoulder which were most common in white-collar workers. METHODS: From 122 workplaces, 1,790 white-collar workers with no trauma, and no history of musculoskeletal disease were selected for the study. The questionnaire survey included general characteristics, work related characteristics, Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and musculoskeletal symptoms. Multiple logistic regression, adjusted for age, smoking status, drinking habit, housekeeping, work time, job tenure, and work-load change, were used to evaluate the effects of job stress and VDT-work on the symptoms. RESULTS: The prevalence of neck-shoulder symptoms was overall 24.3% overall. The prevalence odds ratio of job demand (high/low) to neck-shoulder symptoms, adjusted for general and work-related factors, was 1.56 (95% confidence interval 1.12~2.17), and that of job strain (high strain/low strain) was 1.72 (1.07~2.79). However, VDT-work was not associated with neck-shoulder symptoms in the multiple logistic regression model. CONCLUSIONS: To prevent musculoskeletal disorders in white-collar workers, it is important to consider psychosocial factors such as job demand and job strain, as well as VDT-work.

Life Style and Perception of Obesity of Male White Collar Workers / 영남의대학술지

BACKGROUND: This study investigated and analyzed the life style of male white-collar workers and their perception of obesity to determine how to improve eating habits and prevent obesity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the questionnaires distributed to and collected from 300 male white-collar workers in Daegu, the survey was conducted from December 20, 2005 to February 28, 2006. Two hundred sets of collected questionnaires were used for the analysis, and SPSS WIN 12.0 was employed to analyze the data. RESULTS: Forty-two percent of subjects had weights ranging between 71 kg and 80 kg; 39.5%, weighted between 61 kg and 70 kg. The waist measurements of 64.5% of all respondents were between 32 and 34 inches. The lifestyle questions found that 54% of respondents were smokers and 88.5% drank alcohol. In addition, 62.5% of all respondents reported doing exercise, whereas 37.5% reported no exercise. CONCLUSION: The height and weight of 200 respondents were used to calculate the body mass index (BMI). Only 31.6% had a normal BMI, whereas 32% were found to be overweight, a condition likely to lead to obesity. Meanwhile, 36.5% of respondents were obese or morbidly obese.