Para-occupational exposure to chemical substances: a systematic review.

Today, many health problems related to work have overshadowed workers and their families. In the meantime, chemicals are among the risk factors that have created many problems due to para-occupational exposure. In para-occupational exposures, family members are exposed to work pollutants transferred to the home environment. This study was conducted to investigate para-occupational exposure to chemicals. To conduct this systematic review, databases such as "Web of Science", "Google Scholar", "Scopus", and "SID" were used. Relevant articles in these databases were extracted by searching keywords such as "take-home exposure", "para-occupational exposure", and "chemicals" from 2000 to 2022. To extract the required data, all parts of the articles were reviewed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020). Among the 44 identified articles, 23 were selected as final articles, of which 10 were related to agriculture workers and their families, and 13 were related to other occupations. These studies mainly investigated para-occupational exposure to pesticides (14 studies) and metals (four studies). Also, contaminated work clothes, the washing place of contaminated clothes, and storage of working clothes, equipment, and chemicals were proposed as the main routes of contamination transmission. As a result of these para-occupational exposures, problems like neuro-behavioral disorders in children, end-stage renal disease, black gingival borders, and autism spectrum disorder were created or aggravated. Limiting the transmission routes and taking measures such as training and providing facilities like devoting places for washing and storing clothes in the workplaces can decrease this type of exposure.

Changes in Oxidative Stress Parameters in Terms of Simultaneous Exposure to Physical and Chemical Factors: A Systematic Review.

Background: Physical and chemical factors of workplace, either alone or in combination, contribute to oxidative stress that is harmful to the body. The combined impact of physical and chemical components of the work environment on oxidative stress was examined in this research. Methods: Research articles published from 2000 to 2021 on this topic in reliable national and international databases were collected and analyzed. Based on the preliminary screening, 120 articles were selected for the first stage. The relevance and quality of 85 suitable papers were found appropriate and evaluated by examining the purpose of the study in the next phase. Results: The data collected and presented from the articles cover simultaneous exposure to physical risk factors such as noise, radiation, and chemicals such as metal solvents, as well as different types of oxidative stress parameters like MDA, GHS, LOP, 8-OHdG, SOD, CAT, ROS, and other parameters such as research site, co-exposure effects, and target organ. Investigating the combined effect of physical and chemical variables on oxidative stress in the target organs, as well as the interaction of multiple effects on each other, was one of the key goals of the articles (synergistic, reinforcing, additive or antagonistic). Conclusion: Most of the findings of theses researches generally highlight the synergistic impact of concurrent exposure to chemical and physical risk factors on oxidative stress.

Safety culture and perception of warning signs of chemical hazards among hospital cleaning workers: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Due to the type of activities and the long-term exposure to chemicals, hospital cleaning workers require the necessary knowledge about the chemicals used and proper safety culture. This study aimed to evaluate the safety culture and perception of hospital cleaning workers' warning signs of chemical hazards. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 with the participation of 68 cleaning workers with the mean age ± (SD) and work experience ± (SD) of 36.19 ± (7.619) and 9.21 ± (5.462), respectively, in four selected Tehran hospitals in Iran. After ensuring the confidentiality of the received information and completing the demographic information checklist, each participant completed Global Harmonization System (GHS) sign perception and the safety culture questionnaires in this survey. Data were analyzed using regression and Pearson correlation tests. RESULTS: This study showed that the participant's correct perception in nine cases (81.8%) of presented GHS signs was lower than the ANSI Z535.3 standard. Among the investigated signs, "Flammable substances" and "Harmful to the environment" signs had the highest, and "Skin irritant" signs had the lowest correct perception. In addition, it was found that 55 people (80.9%) had an overall positive attitude toward the safety culture. The levels of "Work environment" (83.8%) and "Information exchange" (76.5%) had the highest and lowest positive scores for safety culture. Furthermore, there is a direct and significant relationship between the overall score of safety culture and the overall perception of the symptoms of GHS (CC = 0.313, P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: According to the obtained results, it is recommended to take the necessary measures to increase the employees' perception of the signs of chemical substances and improve their safety culture.

Occupational Exposure to Physical and Chemical Risk Factors: A Systematic Review of Reproductive Pathophysiological Effects in Women and Men.

The human reproductive system can be affected by occupational exposure to many physical and chemical risk factors. This study was carried out to review the studies conducted on the issue of the pathophysiological effects of occupational physical and chemical risk factors on the reproductive system of females and males. In this systematic review, the databases such as "Google Scholar," "Pub-Med," "Scopus," and "Web of Science" were used. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020), the studies included in our study were published between 2000 and 2021. In order to extract the required data, all sections of the articles were reviewed. Out of 57 articles we reviewed, 34 articles were related to field studies and 23 articles to clinical studies. Among them, 43 studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of chemical agents, six studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of physical factors, and 8 studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of physicochemical factors on the human reproductive system. Physical (noise, heat, and radiofrequency radiation) and chemical (such as carbamate and organophosphate pesticides, benzene, toluene, xylene, formaldehyde, NO2, CS2, manganese, lead, nickel, and n-hexane) risk factors had pathophysiological effects on the human reproductive system. The presence of these risk factors in the workplace caused damage to the human reproductive system. The rate of these negative pathophysiological effects can be reduced by performing appropriate managerial, technical, and engineering measures in work environments.

The effects of personal protective equipment on heart rate, oxygen consumption and body temperature of firefighters: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Fire extinguishing operations are carried out by firefighters equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) in dangerous environments. Although PPE protects firefighters, it can affect many physiological parameters. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of PPE on firefighters' heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (OC) and body temperature (BT). METHODS: This systematic review thoroughly reviewed relevant articles in the reliable databases "Web of Science", "Embase", "IranDoc", "IranMedex", "SID", "Magiran", "Google Scholar", "PubMed" and "Scopus" from 2010 to 2021. Some of the used search terms were "firefighters", "personal protective equipment", "heart rate" and "oxygen consumption". RESULTS: Out of the 405 studies identified through the systematic search, 18 articles were eligible according to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist, among which 11 studies were conducted in North America, three in Asia, two in Europe, and two studies in Oceania. According to the review of studies, PPE increased HR, BT, and OC. The type of PPE components, the weight of the equipment, the kind of activity of firefighters, and weather conditions were among the influencing parameters on the extent of PPE's influence on these physiological parameters. CONCLUSION: The results of the studies show that PPE separately and collectively affects the physiological parameters of HR, BT and OC. To reduce these effects, it is necessary to pay attention to several items, including the weight of PPE, the type of PPE ingredients in different weather conditions, and the type of activities of firefighters in PPE design.

Application of a novel exposure limit approach for co-exposure of chemicals: a field study by in-vitro design.

This study has suggested an occupational exposure limit (OEL) based on the co-exposure approach in an iron-foundry industry. Respirable dust was collected in an iron casting industry using the NIOSH 0600 method. The DNA damage was obtained by comet assay. The lower confidence interval of the benchmark dose (BMDL) was employed for exposure limit evaluation. The estimated BMDL of the cell line was extrapolated to human subjects. Based on the Hill model, a BMDL 1.65 µg for chemical mixture has been estimated for the A549 cell line. According to uncertainty factors, permitted daily exposure (PDE) was predicted in humans. However, PDE of 3.9 µg/m3 was specified as the time-weighted average limit for toxic respirable dust in the casting industry. In this study, OEL for active respirable dust in the casting industry has been proposed. The industry-based standard for active respirable dust has been proposed for better management of co-exposure.

The Effects of Heat Stress on Bakery Workers: A Systematic Review.

Background: Working in hot environments can cause diseases and reduce performance by upsetting the balance of physiological parameters of workers' bodies. Bakers are among the people exposed to heat stress continuously and daily. This review study aimed to investigate the effect of heat stress on bakers. Methods: In this review study, the related articles based on keywords were reviewed using "IranMedex", "Science Direct", "PubMed", "Scopus", "Web of Science", "SID", "Google Scholar", and "Magiran" databases from the years 2000 to 2021. The used search terms were "Heat stress", "Heat strain", "Heat exposure", "Heat waves", "Workplace", "Baker", and "health effects". In order to extract the required data, all parts of the articles have been reviewed. Results: Out of the 16 studies reviewed in this study, 43.75% were cross-sectional, 25% were descriptive cross-sectional, and 31.25% were performed according to other study designs. In all of the studies, the WBGT index was used to assess ambient heat stress. In most studies, the mean exposure temperature was higher than the WBGT-ACGIH limit, especially among traditional bakery workers. The findings showed that exposure to thermal stress significantly affects some hematological parameters of blood, oxidative stress, heart rate, and body temperature. Conclusion: The situation of heat stress in the bakery environment is worrying in terms of health and reduced productivity of employees. Therefore, it is essential to take the necessary preventive and control measures to reduce heat stress and the resulting strain.

Investigating the effects of occupational and environmental noise on cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present study aimed to use a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between occupational and non-occupational noise exposure expressed in various studies with cardiovascular disease. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis study based on PRISMA checklist. In this study, the researchers searched five international databases of Medline/PubMed, Embase, Scopus, ISI/web of knowledge, and Google Scholar. Search keywords included two categories noise and noise pollution, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. The Joanna Briggs Institute checklist was used to review and control the quality of the articles. After all screening stage 139 articles entered the final analysis. The results show that except for East African environmental studies and workplace studies in East Asia, Western Asia, and Northern Europe, there was a significant association between noise exposure and cardiovascular disease. Also, there was a significant difference between the intensity of sound and blood pressure in workers (OR = 1.28, CI 95%: 1.15-1.42, P < 0.001). Based on the results of environmental noise, there was a significant difference between ambient noise intensity and blood pressure (OR = 1.55, CI 95%: 1.53-1.57, P < 0.001). It can be concluded that it is very important to study and identify jobs or living environments with less than the recommended noise level and in addition to hearing aids that occur in over-standard exposures, such as cardiovascular disease.