Overview of work-related diseases and occupational injury surveillance system in the UK / 环境与职业医学

The UK's work-related diseases and occupational injury surveillance system consists of Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), Labour Force Survey (LFS), The Health and Occupation Research network in General Practice (THOR-GP), and Reporting to The Health and Occupation Research network by specialist physicians. This article briefly described the scope, content, and methods of each surveillance programme in the UK work-related diseases and occupational injury surveillance system, and summarized their advantages and disadvantages. Among them, employers are required to report to relevant law enforcement authorities by RIDDOR, data are highly accessible but with a concern of serious underreport, and it is the only data source of fatal occupational injuries; LFS, a representative national household sample survey, covering occupational injuries and work-related diseases, is the primary data source of non-fatal occupational injuries and work-related diseases such as stress, anxiety, and depression, but collects non-clinically proven data based on self-perception; general practitioners report clinically confirmed work-related diseases, which is more scientific in attribution and is a good secondary source of work-related diseases; specialist physicians report clinically confirmed cases of higher severity, which is the primary source of data on conditions such as asthma and dermatitis, but may underestimate morbidity. Each surveillance programme of the system has its own characteristics, intersects, and complements each other, which can provide reference for the construction of occupational injury surveillance system in China.

Application of lost workdays in surveillance and assessment of non-fatal occupational injuries: Based on European Statistics on Accidents at Work / 环境与职业医学

Background The severity of occupational injury in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany is usually analyzed using lost workdays, but in existing occupational injury surveillance research in China, the application of this index is rare. Objective To evaluate the application value of lost workdays in non-fatal occupational injury surveillance, and provide a reference for the construction of occupational injury surveillance index system. Methods The public data of European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW) from 2010 to 2019 on non-fatal injury accidents in 27 member states of the European Union were used. Non-fatal occupational injury is defined as an injury event during occupational activities or at work resulting a victim's absence from work for ≥4 d. According to the European Statistics on Accidents at Work-Summary methodology, the lost workdays were divided into 8 categories (4-6 d, 7-13 d, 14-20 d, 21-30 d, 31-91 d, 92-182 d, 183 d and above, and unknown). Annual percentage change (APC) and the average annual percentage change (AAPC) were used to evaluate the overall trend changes in the incidence rate of non-fatal occupational injury accidents in different lost workdays from 2010 to 2019, and the non-fatal occupational injury accidents in key industries. The characteristics of the occurrence of non-fatal occupational injuries were analyzed in conjunction with the changes in non-fatal occupational injuries in different lost workdays in the industry. Results From 2010 to 2019, the overall incidence of non-fatal occupational injury accidents in the European Union showed a downward trend, and the AAPC was −1.0% (P<0.05). The accident rates of lost workdays of 4-6 d and 92-182 d showed an upward trend, and the AAPC were 7.9% and 5.8% respectively (P<0.05). The average annual accident rates of non-fatal occupational injuries (≥4 d) in Categories C (manufacturing industry), E (water supply, sewage treatment, waste management and remediation), and F (construction industry) showed a linear downward trend, and the AAPC were −3.0%, −2.5%, and −1.5%, respectively (P<0.05). However, among them, the rate of non-fatal occupational injury accidents with 92-182 d of lost workdays in the manufacturing industry showed a significant upward trend, with an AAPC of 3.7% (P<0.001). Conclusion Using lost workdays combined with APC and AAPC by Join-point linear regression analysis can measure the severity and trend changes of non-fatal occupational injury accidents in different industries and different lost workdays. This indicator has an important practical significance in evaluating the effectiveness of occupational injury prevention and control strategies adopted by countries and enterprises.

Applicability of feature selection combined with Boosting algorithm in severity prediction of non-fatal occupational injuries in miners / 环境与职业医学

Background Identification and analysis of influencing factors of occupational injury is an important research content of feature selection. In recent years, with the rise of machine learning algorithms, feature selection combined with Boosting algorithm provides a new analysis idea to construct occupational injury prediction models. Objective To evaluate applicability of Boosting algorithm-based model in predicting severity of miners' non-fatal occupational injuries, and provide a basis for rationally predicting the severity level of miners' non-fatal occupational injuries. Methods The publicly available data of the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) from 2001 to 2021 on metal miners' non-fatal occupational injuries were used, and the outcome variables were lost working days < 105 d (minor injury) and ≥ 105 d (serious injury). Four different feature sets were screened out by four feature selection methods including least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regression, stepwise regression, single factor + Lasso regression, and single factor + stepwise regression. Logistic regression, gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) were selected to construct prediction models by training with the four feature sets. A total of 12 prediction models of severity of miners' non-fatal occupational injuries were built and their area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and Youden index were calculated for model evaluation. Results According to the results of four feature selection methods, age, time of accident occurrence, total length of service, cause of injury, activities that triggered injury occurrence, body part of injury, nature of injury, and outcome of injury were identified as influencing factors of non-fatal occupational injury severity in miners. Feature set 4 was the optimal set screened out by single factor+stepwise regression and the GBDT model presented the best predictive performance in predicting the severity of non-fatal occupational injuries. The associated specificity, sensitivity, and Youden index were 0.7530, 0.9490, and 0.7020, respectively. The AUC values of logistic regression, GBDT, and XGBoost models trained by feature set 4 were 0.8526 (95%CI: 0.8387, 0.8750), 0.8640 (95%CI: 0.8474, 0.8806), and 0.8603 (95%CI: 0.8439, 0.8773), respectively, higher than the AUC values trained by feature set 2 [0.8487 (95%CI: 0.8203, 0.8669), 0.8110 (95%CI: 0.8012, 0.8344), and 0.8439 (95%CI: 0.8245, 0.8561), respectively] . The AUC values of GBDT and XGBoost models trained by feature set 4 were higher than that of logistic regression model. Conclusion The performance of the prediction models constructed by predictors screened out by two feature selection methods is better than those by single feature selection methods. At the same time, under the condition of optimal feature set, the performance of model prediction based on Boosting is better than that of traditional logistic regression model.

Chronic inflammatory diseases, subclinical atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular diseases: Design, objectives, and baseline characteristics of a prospective case-cohort study ‒ ELSA-Brasil

Abstract Objectives This analysis describes the protocol of a study with a case-cohort to design to prospectively evaluate the incidence of subclinical atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in Chronic Inflammatory Disease (CID) participants compared to non-diseased ones. Methods A high-risk group for CID was defined based on data collected in all visits on self-reported medical diagnosis, use of medicines, and levels of high-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein >10 mg/L. The comparison group is the Aleatory Cohort Sample (ACS): a group with 10% of participants selected at baseline who represent the entire cohort. In both groups, specific biomarkers for DIC, markers of subclinical atherosclerosis, and CVD morbimortality will be tested using weighted Cox. Results The high-risk group (n = 2,949; aged 53.6 ± 9.2; 65.5% women) and the ACS (n=1543; 52.2±8.8; 54.1% women) were identified. Beyond being older and mostly women, participants in the high-risk group present low average income (29.1% vs. 24.8%, p < 0.0001), higher BMI (Kg/m2) (28.1 vs. 26.9, p < 0.0001), higher waist circumference (cm) (93.3 vs. 91, p < 0.0001), higher frequencies of hypertension (40.2% vs. 34.5%, p < 0.0001), diabetes (20.7% vs. 17%, p = 0.003) depression (5.8% vs. 3.9%, p = 0.007) and higher levels of GlycA a new inflammatory marker (p < 0.0001) compared to the ACS. Conclusions The high-risk group selected mostly women, older, lower-income/education, higher BMI, waist circumference, and of hypertension, diabetes, depression, and higher levels of GlycA when compared to the ACS. The strategy chosen to define the high-risk group seems adequate given that multiple sociodemographic and clinical characteristics are compatible with CID.

Factors influencing the length of emergency room stay and hospital stay in non-fatal bicycle accidents: A retrospective analysis / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

PURPOSE@#Lengthy hospitalization places a burden on patients and healthcare resources. However, the factors affecting the length of hospital stay (LHoS) and length of emergency room stay (LERS) in non-fatal bicycle accidents are currently unclear. We investigated these factors to inform efforts to minimize hospitalization.@*METHODS@#We performed a retrospective analysis of data from non-fatal injured bicyclists admitted to the Emergency and Critical Care Center at Kyoto Medical Center between January 2012 and December 2016. We measured LHoS, LERS, mechanism of injury, head injury prevalence, polytrauma, operations performed, injury severity score (ISS), abbreviated injury scale (AIS) score, maximum AIS score, and trauma and injury severity score probability of survival. We conducted multiple regression analysis to determine predictors of LHoS and LERS.@*RESULTS@#Within the study period, 82 victims met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included. Mean age was (46.0 ± 24.7) years. Overall mean LHoS was (16.8 ± 25.2) days, mean LERS was (10.6 ± 14.7) days, median ISS was 9 (interquartile range (IQR): 3-16), median maximum AIS was 3 (IQR: 1-4), and median trauma and injury severity score probability of survival was 98.0% (IQR: 95.5%-99.6%). Age, maximum AIS, ISS, and prevalence of surgery were significantly greater in long LHoS and LERS group compared with short LHoS and LERS group (p < 0.05). Performance of surgery independently explained LHoS (p = 0.0003) and ISS independently explained LERS (p = 0.0009).@*CONCLUSION@#Surgery was associated with long hospital stays and ISS was associated with long emergency room stays. To improve the quality life of the bicyclists, preventive measures for reducing injury severity or avoiding injuries needing operation are required.

GENDER SPECIFIC ANALYSIS IN SUICIDE STUDY / Шинэ санаа Шинэ нээлт

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is an important socio-economic, public and mental health problem. An estimated 804000 suicide deaths occurred worldwide in 2012, representing an annual global suicide rate of 11.4 per 100000 populations (15.0 for malesand 8.0 for females). Gender is more significant variable for suicide study and many scientists noticed gender specific issues in suicide studies. Our goal was to identify the gender specific issues in suicide.This study is based on records provided by the local Health Centers of 21 provinces, particularly psychiatric-addiction care units; all local prosecution offices rural areas and 8 central organizations, which are registered suicide cases. We conducted the study by descriptive andretrospective design.Total of 6537 cases were registered at national level and 75.4% of the total cases were male. A sex ratio of male and female was 3:1. As noted, reported suicide cases were noticeably higher amongst males than females, this was most prominent in the 18-39 years age group. Most caseswere committed themselves by strangling and no difference for both sexes.The gender specific issues in suicide study are more significant variables.

SEASONALITY AND SUICIDE / Шинэ санаа Шинэ нээлт

Seasonality in suicide is one of those topics in epidemiology that we believe to know much about but understand fairly little in actuality. Since the 19th century many scholars have reported uniformly higher suicide frequencies in spring and summer than in autumn and winter. There had been very few studies on seasonality of Mongolian suicide. In this research, we wanted tofind the seasonal pattern and the relationship between behavioral characteristic and seasonal variation of suicide.This study is based on records provided by the local Health Centers of 21 provinces, particularly psychiatric-addiction care units; all local prosecution offices rural areasand 8 central organizations, which are registered suicide cases. We conducted the study by descriptive and retrospective design. Seasonal spring and early summer peak of suicide emerged in total suicide population. All concerned suicidecases were much more registered in spring time, and fatalsuicidalbehaviorcases registered fewer in autumn. National average percentage of fatal and non-fatalsuicidal behaviorcases was approximately in either seasons, but much more registered in spring time (x2=2.81; p≤0.000). Also most of fatal suicidal behavior cases were notedduring less human alertness hours in work days (x2=19.732a; p≤0.020).Seasonal variations of fatal suicidal behavioral haracteristic might play very important roles in suicide study.

Occupational Injury Statistics in Korea

OBJECTIVES: The occupational accident rate was officially reported to be 0.77 per 100 workers in 2001 and 0.70 in 2009. The stagnant decrease in accident rate raises a question about the effectiveness of prevention activity because there have been active prevention efforts in the past 10 years. It is also necessary to know the exact status of occupational injuries to direct a prevention strategy. METHODS: The author re-analyzed occupational injury statistics to find the reason for stagnant decreases in occupational injuries. Compensated occupational injuries cases were used to calculate fatal and non-fatal injury rates. Injuries from commuting accidents and sports activities were excluded as well as occupational diseases. The number of workers was adjusted to that of full time equivalent employees. RESULTS: The fatal injury rate excluding injuries associated with commuting accidents, sports activities, and occupational diseases decreased from 12.59 in 2001 to 8.20 in 2009. In 2007, 67.5% of accidents that involved being caught in objects, which are mostly caused by machines and equipment, occurred in the manufacturing industry; this type of incident has decreased since 2001. The fatal and non-fatal injury rates in the manufacturing industry have continuously decreased while the rates in the service industry have not changed from 2001 to 2009. Non-fatal injuries might not be reported in many cases. The number of insured workers was underestimated as long working hours were not adjusted for in the reporting system. CONCLUSION: The occupational fatal injury rate has decreased and the non-fatal injury rate might have decreased during the last 10 years, although the statistics show stagnancy. The decrease of the injury rate was countervailed by various factors. Hence, the current accident rate does not reflect the actual situation of accidents in Korea. Korea needs to develop an improved system to more accurately calculate occupational fatal and non-fatal injury rates.

The Status of Occupational Accidents and Injuries and the Implications / 대한산업의학회지

Since 1964, when the official statistics on occupational injury rates had been produced for the first time, the rates have showed a steady decline until 2000. However, the injury rate has been stagnant since 2000 although the fatal injury rate has decreased 40% in the same period. The non-fatal injury rate per 100 employees was 0.63 while the fatal injury rate per 100,000 employees was 9.74 in 2010. Traumatic injuries accounted for 86.8% of all injuries, followed by non-traumatic injuries at 8.4% and injuries by traffic accidents at 4.6%. Injuries caused by being caught in objects, hit by flying or falling objects and collisions have decreased while those caused by slip and fall on same level and fall from the height have increased. The decrease in injuries caused by being caught in objects may be the result of prevention efforts because 68.6% of them occurred in the manufacturing industry where most efforts for prevention have been invested. The increase in injuries involving slips and falls on same level may be caused by the growing number of employees in the service industry where 51% of the cases occurred. The construction industry accounted for 40.2% of all fatal injuries, and falls from the height caused 54.3% of the fatality. The non-fatal injury rate of Korea is lower than that of industrialized countries while its fatal injury rate is comparatively higher. It is probably caused by many unclaimed cases of mild non-fatal injuries whereas most fatal injuries were filed. Another problem is that the injury rate does not include injuries that occur to workers who are not eligible for the compensation scheme. This information can be obtained through a surveillance system or the national survey. Therefore, the attention of occupational physicians should focus on injuries as well as diseases occurring at work, and also on all working population whose injuries and diseases are not covered by the compensation scheme.

An epidemiological survey on the incidence of non-fatal injury and influencing factors among children under 5 years old in China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To determine the incidence of non-fatal injuries and related influencing factors among children under 5 years old in China. Methods Data involving 10 819 children under 5 years old was from the Fourth National Health Service Survey of China. Injury-related indicators include: history of ever having had an injury, its frequency, cause, location and severity of the injury.A two-level Poissun regression was used to examine the significance of related socio-economic variables. Results The overall incidence rate of nonfatal injuries among children under 5 years old was 16.0 per 1000 population in the prior 12 months. The first three leading causes of non-fatal injuries were falls,animal bite, fire/bum among children under 1 year old,with the rates as 3.9, 1.8 and 1.8 per 1000 population, respectively. For children aged I to 4 years old, the first three leading causes were animal bite, fall, fire/burn with rates as 6.5,6.0 and 2.9 per 1000 population, respectively. 83.0% and 69.0% of last injuries occurred at home for the above said two age groups. No disability was found among children younger than 1 year old who suffered from a nonfatal injury while for the 1-4 age group, the disability accounted for 1.0% of injury-induced outcomes. After adjusting other variables,boys had 1.57 times the risk of injury compared with girls in the 1-4 age group (P＜0.05). The differences on the effects regarding ethmicity,per capita household income, and place were insignificant (P＞0.05). None of the socio-economic variables was found that significantly related to the non-fatal injury risk among children under 1 year old (P＞0.05). Conclusion The incidence of nonfatal injuries among children under 5 years old was 16.0 per 1000 population in the prior 12 months. The three leading causes of injuries were animal bite, falls, fire/bum respectively. Home was the most common place that non-fatal injuries occurred. Boys had a higher risk of injury compared with girls among children aged 1 to 4 years old and the difference was significant.

Management System of Occupational Diseases in Korea: Statistics, Report and Monitoring System

The management system of occupational diseases in Korea can be assessed from the perspective of a surveillance system. Workers' compensation insurance reports are used to produce official statistics on occupational diseases in Korea. National working conditions surveys are used to monitor the magnitude of work-related symptoms and signs in the labor force. A health examination program was introduced to detect occupational diseases through both selective and mass screening programs. The Working Environment Measurement Institution assesses workers' exposure to hazards in the workplace. Government regulates that the employer should do health examinations and working conditions measurement through contracted private agencies and following the Occupational Safety and Health Act. It is hoped that these institutions may be able to effectively detect and monitor occupational diseases and hazards in the workplace. In view of this, the occupational management system in Korea is well designed, except for the national survey system. In the future, national surveys for detection of hazards and ill-health outcomes in workers should be developed. The existing surveillance system for occupational disease can be improved by providing more refined information through statistical analysis of surveillance data.

Cost analysis for the management of acute coronary syndrome using different quality of care indicators

OBJECTIVE: This study determined the economic burden for nonfatal uncomplicated acute coronary syndrome (ACS) using 100% compliance to certain a) non-invasive or b) invasive and non-invasive diagnostic and therapeutic interventions with class I recommendations in the American College of Cardiology-American Heart Association (ACC-AHA) clinical practice guidelines for ACS in three tertiary hospitals using the societal perspective. It also determined the costs using the patient perspective in the setting of one private tertiary hospital. METHODS: This study was a cost analysis that included a) costs of patient resources, b) production losses, and c) costs of other resources or sectors, from hospitalization to one month post-discharge for ACS. Several models were constructed due to variations in the costs of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in the three settings. RESULTS: Using the societal perspective, one model for non-invasive options yielded the following (costs as of January 31, 2009): hospital A, Php87,014 - 124,799; hospital B, Php75,592 - 96,072; hospital C, Php71,969 - 92,148. Excluding fibrinolytic therapy, the lowest total cost would be Php65,000. However, if coronary angiography was added to the models for hospital C, the cost was Php107,154 - 134,574 (coronary angiography was not available in hospitals A and B). Using the patient perspective, the adjusted mean cost for the model which used the least expensive medication was Php96,421 (Standard Deviation = 34,076). CONCLUSION: The economic burden for nonfatal uncomplicated ACS may range from Php65,000 - 134,574.

Prevalencia de accidentes de tránsito no fatales en México: resultados de la ENSANUT 2006 / Prevalence of non-fatal road traffic injuries in Mexico: results from ENSANUT 2006

OBJETIVO: Determinar la prevalencia y distribución de los accidentes de tránsito no fatales (ATNF) en México. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se utilizaron datos de la ENSANUT 2006. En los hogares visitados se seleccionó a un adulto, un adolescente y un niño, hasta conformar una muestra de 94197 sujetos que representa a la N de 102 886 482 individuos. La variable dependiente fue la prevalencia de ATNF en los 12 meses anteriores a la encuesta. RESULTADOS: La prevalencia de accidentes (de tránsito o no) fue de 6.0 por ciento y de esa cifra 16.7 por ciento correspondió a ATNF. Los hombres del grupo de 20 a 44 años, los habitantes de áreas urbanas y los de mejor nivel socioeconómico (NSE) presentaron mayor prevalencia (p<0.05). Jalisco, Aguascalientes y Sonora registraron la mayor prevalencia y Guerrero, Michoacán y Oaxaca la menor. CONCLUSIONES: Los ATNF en México se concentran en hombres de edad productiva en zonas urbanas y se relacionan con el NSE individual y el desarrollo económico de cada estado.

OBJECTIVE: To determine non-fatal road traffic injuries (NFRTI) prevalence and its distribution in Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from ENSANUT Survey 2006 were used. Using simple random sampling, one adult, one adolescent and one child were selected in each household, constituting a final sample of 94 197 representing an N of 102 886 482 people. The dependent variable was the prevalence of road traffic injuries (RTI) during the 12 months prior to the survey. RESULTS: The general accident prevalence was 6.0 percent; 16.7 percent corresponded to NFRTI. Men in the 20 to 44 age group living in urban areas and with high socioeconomic status had a higher RTI prevalence (p<0.05). Jalisco, Aguascalientes and Sonora were states with the highest prevalence of RTI, while Guerrero, Michoacan and Oaxaca were those with the lowest. CONCLUSIONS: NFRTI are frequent in Mexico and they are concentrated among men in productive ages in urban areas; they are associated with socioeconomic status at the individual level and with the state's development at the population level.