[Assessment of relationship between spontaneous abortion and occupational exposure to organic solvents]

Nowadays, some studies indicate the adverse effects of exposure to chemicals, especially organic solvents on the reproductive system of females. This study aimed to assess the relationship between spontaneous abortion with occupational exposure to organic solvents in pharmaceutical industry. This is a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study which was carried out in 2010 in one of the pharmaceutical factories located in the suburbs of Tehran. During the study, married women who were working in the factory laboratory units and were exposed to mixed organic solvents were compared with married women who were working in the packing units of the factory without occupational exposure to organic solvents. Frequency of spontaneous abortion and duration of pregnancy were assessed in both two groups. Collected data were analyzed with the SPSS software using t-test, logistic regression, and chi-square test. In the present study, the frequency of spontaneous abortion in employees with exposure to organic solvents mixture was 10.7%. This study showed that even after adjustment for confounding factors, there was a significant correlation between spontaneous abortion and occupational exposure to organic solvents mixture and this correlation increased with increasing levels of exposure to organic solvents. Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between occupational exposure to mixed organic solvents and waiting time to become pregnant [TTP]. Furthermore, this study showed that even after adjustment for confounding variables, shift workers were significantly more affected by spontaneous abortion compared to daytime workers [P<0.001]. According to the results of this study, since there is probability of spontaneous abortion resulting from occupational exposure to various chemicals including organic solvents, review of the status of occupational exposure of workers can be helpful in improving the reproductive health of female workers

Association between duration of daily visual display terminal work and sleep disorders among statistics center staff in Iran

Computers have become ubiquitous in the workplace offices and since computerized jobs are more sedentary, requiring more cognitive processing, mental attention and less physical expenditure of energy, many jobs that require heavy computer use have been found to be stressful. Three hundred and sixty two clerks of national statistics centre of Iran participated in this analytic cross-sectional study. All the employees that had worked with computer during the previous three months were enrolled. The subjects with diseases affecting the patient's sleep were excluded. In addition to demographic variables, for assessment of insomnia, we designed a questionnaire consisting of 20 items. Among 362 subjects, Male and female distribution was equal [Mean age: 35.27 +/- 8.48 years, range: 20-65 years]. The most common degree was bachelor [40.6%]. We couldn't find any significant changes with respect to well-being during the day, final awakening earlier than desired, functioning during the day and with increasing the hours of working with computer. An association was observed between the duration of daily visual display terminal work and each of the eight sleep-related symptoms on the AIS, such as difficulty in falling asleep and early awakening

[Quality of life in workers with occupational dermatologic diseases that referred to Rasoul hospital in 2009]

Occupational disease as a common title of both industrial and medical fields discussed so much recently. These disorders could affect quality of life directly or by the means of a primary etiology. In a cross sectional study we gathered all related data of workers. Sampling done by all cases sampling method. We assessed quality of life in Iranian involved workers, by WHOQOL-BREF quality of life questionnaire. The mean of Hamilton score was 63.5[SD=8.8], which had shown a decreased quality of life among this population. In the other hand the mean of all 4 sections of the questionnaire were below the normal level. Work related skin disorders could affect quality of life may be resulted from primary cause or arise from the disease directly. We suggest more studies with control groups, and compared with other diseases, about quality of life

[Effects of occupational exposure with mixture of aromatic organic solvents on liver enzymes in workers of an automobile plant]

Organic solvents have a broad range of application in industry. Hepatotoxicity of different organic halogenated solvents like carbon tetrachloride has been verified in numerous studies; however, studies investigating the association between the occupational exposure with aromatic organic solvents like benzene, toluene and xylene and hepatic toxicity are limited. The goal of this study was to review the long term effects of exposure with mixture of aromatic organic solvents, in higher amounts of permissible level, on hepatic system. This is a cross sectional study which was conducted in an automobile plant. Workers employed in the painting saloon were considered as cases and workers in assembly as controls. A questionnaire, containing demographic data like age and years of employment, was completed for each of 349 workers. After considering exclusion criteria, liver enzyme level [AST, ALT and ALP] of 163 case workers was compared with 186 controls. Concentration of mixture of organic solvents in painting saloon was twice and a half as much of the permissible level. The collected data was analyzed by the SPSS software, using T score, K2 and Linear Regression. The Mean level of ALP in case group was significantly higher than the control group [P<0.001]. For AST and ALT the mean was higher in the case group but this difference was not statistically significant. Increase in ALP level had a significant association with BMI [P<0.001] and smoking [P=0.007]; yet, no significant relation was seen with age and years of employment. Our study suggested that exposure with mixture of aromatic organic solvents, in higher amounts of permissible level, can cause mild functional liver damage [cholestatic type]. So, it is recommended to use liver function tests, especially ALP, for screening of workers exposed to mixture of aromatic organic solvents, for preliminary detection of hepatic dysfunction