[Factors related to the one-month retention of 8507 employees declared medically unfit in Hauts-de-France companies between 2014 and 2018]. / Facteurs liés au maintien dans l'entreprise à un mois chez 8507 salariés déclarés médicalement inaptes en Hauts-de-France entre 2014 et 2018.

BACKGROUND: Given the low rate of retention in a company after an employee has been found unfit for the job, our aim was to determine the factors related to employees being kept by their company one month after being declared unfit for the job due to either a musculoskeletal disease (MSD) or a mental health disorder (MHD). METHODS: This study was based on all employees declared unfit for the job by the occupational physicians in the "Unfitness" survey in the French "Hauts-de-France" region between 2014 and 2018. For each of the two groups of workers, factors related to the employees being kept by their company one month after being declared unfit for the job were studied by logistic regression. RESULTS: Only 6.9% of the 5352 workers declared unfit for the job due to MSD were kept in their company whereas 3.6% of the 3155 workers declared unfit for the job due to MHD were kept in theirs. For the two groups of workers, the proportion of employees kept by their company decreased with female gender (OR=0.63 95%CI [0.47-0.84] for MSD and OR=0.50 [0.32-0.78] for MHD for female vs. male), long sick-leave (OR=0.26 [0.18-0.40] for MSD and OR=0.22 [0.11-0.45] for MHD for sick-leave>6 months vs. no sick leave), small size of the company (<50 employees) and working in the construction field or services sector (vs. industry or administration). Concerning the employees declared unfit due to MSD alone, the proportion of employees kept by their company decreased for seniors (>50 years old) and for those with low seniority (<5 years). CONCLUSION: "Retention in a company" as a tool for "maintenance of employment" is a little-discussed subject, lending further credence to the current recommendations for reduction of inequalities in working conditions and vocational training of employees according to age and socio-occupational category, and also for reduction of inequalities in occupational pathways according to gender.

[Systemic sclerosis and occupational difficulties: Results of a prospective study]. / Sclérodermie systémique et difficultés professionnelles : résultats d'une enquête prospective.

Between 9000 and 14000 people have systemic sclerosis (ScS) in France. The work is often affected. Our study aims to assess the frequency of professional difficulties (DP) of scleroderma patients, identify these DP, the symptoms involved and the solutions used. A heteroquestionnaire was offered to scleroderma patients the Lille University Hospital. Data were cross-checked with the clinical database of the National Observatory of scleroderma patients. We used 104 questionnaires of which 84% are women. A total of 62.5%, (95% CI [52.5 to 71.8]) patients had experienced DP related to SSc, 55% reported symptoms worsened at work, 41% lower efficiency and a 19% job loss. Symptoms responsible for their DP were mainly asthenia, Raynaud syndrome, arthralgias and finger ulcerations. Only 40% of patients in difficulty were initiating steps with the county home for disabled people and 45% in informing their doctor at work (MT). The MT information absence was related to a misunderstanding of possible aid in 45% of cases, 57% of patients had not found a solution, 41% of them have lost their jobs and 31% of patients in the cohort experienced a drop in income. The impact of SSc the work is important. The aid job retention devices are under-used due to lack of knowledge of steps to take and the role of MT. Taking into account the symptoms responsible for PD must be improved to participate in this retention.

The traceability of carcinogenic occupational risks: state of progress in France compared with other European countries.

Occupational risks are constantly evolving. The complexification of these occupational risks, the context of the flexibility with the new forms of organization, the new conditions of use and the increase in occupational mobility are accentuating the difficulties of assessment of the deferred risks for the health of employees. In point of fact, if on the one hand the immediate risk (accidental, corrosive, caustic, explosive...) is properly taken into account, on the other hand this is far from the case for the deferred risk, in particular the carcinogenic risk. Now, the liability of employers (especially with regard to cancers due to asbestos) is incurred more and more often. It is they in fact who bear the brunt of the prevention of occupational risks in France. Since 2002, the French employer has thus a veritable safety performance obligation in terms of preserving the health of the employees. Now, one of the vital keys to the prevention of deferred occupational risks resides in the traceability of the exposures that the employees have undergone throughout their working lives, in particular carcinogenic. In this context, the follow-up of the exposure of the employees to carcinogenic risks then becomes a necessity. The awareness of the necessity of setting in place an occupational exposure follow-up tool is not recent. Traceability procedures exist moreover in a certain number of countries, but so far in France we have only seen ad hoc experiments of a very limited nature for the identification and storage of occupational exposure. These are not of an exhaustive nature or only relate to mainly medical data. There is no systematic tool for the follow-up of carcinogenic exposure. This is due, on the one hand to the technical difficulties of setting in place standardized tools for exposure data collation, and on the other hand to the fact that the traceability of the personal information collated may raise ethical issues of reconciling the right to health of the employees with their right to work and the observing of their individual liberties; lastly, because the amassing of such information may raise issues of liability, in particular for the employer exposing its employees to carcinogens. Such issues transcend frontiers and have to be taken into consideration in order for progress to be made in the area of traceability of occupational exposure. Very few studies have been devoted to this subject so crucial to the prevention of occupational diseases. We propose, initially, to define traceability and the issues involved. Next, we will consider the current regulatory obligations on employers in France that may contribute to the traceability of occupational exposure and their limits. Then we will examine the brakes--the legal, ethical and technical difficulties that explain why France is lagging behind in this field. Finally, we will study the French perspectives with regard to the European advances in the traceability area.

[Medicolegal aspects of occupational dermatitis]. / Aspects médicolégaux des dermatoses professionnelles.

Occupational dermatitis is very common with considerable social and economic implications. Routine screening for occupational factors is essential since it may be necessary to introduce preventive measures and compensation could be due to the patient. The general practitioner may be assisted either by the occupational therapist or by specialised services to help the patient take the administrative steps necessary in order to identify a professional disease.

Long-term assessment of a sanitary education and lumbar rehabilitation program for health care workers with chronic low back pain at the University Hospital of Lille.

A back school was established in 1992 at the University Hospital of Lille (France) for employees with low back pain. We report its medical and socioeconomic benefits with a mean time to follow-up of 4 years. Our retrospective study included 108 health care workers and provides objective data (absenteeism, use of health care) and subjective information (progression of pain and disorder, social and professional impact) before training and a mean of 4 years after training. We found that 92% of the participants were satisfied with the training and that back pain had regressed or resolved for 55% of them. Both the frequency and duration of pain had decreased significantly. Seventy percent continue to apply the advice they received in their everyday life. Dealing with the problems specific to professional activities contributed to reduce the strain experienced on the job by the health care workers and improved their satisfaction at work. Global absenteeism was reduced by 57.8%, whereas it was reduced by 33% for back pain alone 4 years after implementing this program. Our study provides evidence of the positive impact of this type of training on the way back pain is perceived and on everyday life. The assessment of the cost/efficiency ratio completes the list of durable benefits reported here.

Prevalence of cytomegalovirus infection among health care workers in pediatric and immunosuppressed adult units.

The prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection varies not only from one country to another, but also with social, economic, and environmental conditions and with professional activity. Health care workers in contact with the main vectors of the CMV (i.e., children and immunosuppressed patients) are particularly exposed to the infection. We assessed the prevalence of the virus among health care personnel in light of CMV epidemiology and the recent shift in living conditions and family size. Our study was included in a broader program evaluating the risk of infection among female hospital workers of childbearing age. The goal of the program was to implement appropriate preventive measures for personnel who were not immune to the infection. Consequently, we included only female caregivers who worked with children or immunosuppressed patients. The study was based on a clinical examination, a medical and occupational questionnaire, the assessment of tasks performed; and CMV serologic testing. The overall seroprevalence was 44.25% in our population (n = 400) and was comparable regardless of the place of work. Prevalence differed significantly with age and parity, and we also found that it was higher among personnel who worked in closer contact with the patients (nurse's aides, pediatric nurse's aides) than among those whose tasks required more technical skills (nurses, pediatric nurses) (57.3% vs 34.5%, P < 0.01). The logistic regression analysis between prevalence of CMV antibodies, age, parity, and type of job showed that "contact job" was as significant a factor as parity to explain immunization in our population (odds ratio, 2.2). We also determined a correlation between the prevalence of CMV antibodies and tasks performed. In addition, we found a non-negligible group of non-immune personnel (55.75%) and young workers (mean age: 33.4) who were potentially exposed to infection. This points to the need to establish a prevention program.