Evaluation the Effect of Serum Lead Levels on Thyroid Function in Battery Industry Workers.

Objective: To assess the relationships between blood lead levels and thyroid functional tests in battery industry workers. Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 personnel of a battery factory in 2019. The checklist including demographic information of employees (age, sex, work experience, smoking, etc.) of the work shift, work environment, and duration of work was completed. Venous blood samples were also taken from the participants to check blood levels of lead and thyroid hormones. Results: The mean age of participants was 36.1 ± 5.6 years and their mean TSH and lead levels were 3.69 ± 2.45 mIU/L and 297.9 ± 174.2 µg/L, respectively. Participants were divided into two groups based on job duties: administrative and working in the production line. Participants were divided into two groups based on blood lead levels: normal (less than 300 µg/L) and high lead level (more than 300 µg/L). Only the work experience between these two groups was significantly different and was higher in the high lead group compared to the normal lead group and no significant difference was observed between different groups based on lead level in terms of TSH level and thyroid hormones. Conclusion: Our study showed that although the amount of whole blood lead concentration is not related to thyroid hormone levels and thyroid function, but with increasing work experience, the amount of whole blood lead also increases significantly and since lead poisoning can have many health hazards, employers must plan to minimize the lead exposure of workers and provide protective equipment for workers.

Evaluation of Work-Related Symptoms by Job Exposure Matrix in Chronic Pulmonary Diseases - A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the high prevalence of occupational airway disorders, they are usually underestimated by physicians. This study designed to study the prevalence of work-related symptoms (WRS) and their association with occupational exposure in outpatient pulmonary clinics. METHODS: Adults with more than one year of lower respiratory symptoms were included. Retired patients, housewives and those unable to perform spirometry were excluded. Demographic, anthropometric and medical data were documented. The Persian version of National institute for health and safety respiratory questionnaire was used to classify job titles. WRS were defined as 2 (or more) positive questions with improvement of symptoms on days off work. Job exposure matrix (JEM) was used for classifying the type of occupational exposure into one of three categories: high molecular weight (HKW), low molecular weight (LMW) and mixed. RESULTS: A total of 250 patients (69% male) with mean (±SD) age of 40 (±11.6) years, 178 cases of asthma and 59 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cases entered. Occupational exposure was seen in 51.2% of patients (26, 51 and 51 cases with HMW, LMW and mixed, respectively). WRS were lower in those who exercised regularly (24.6% vs. 39.4%) and higher in those with eczema (62.5% vs. 33.6%). Eczema had an odds ratio (OR) of 4.13 (95% CI 1.3 to 12.9, P = 0.01). Exposure to LMW almost tripled the risk of WRS (OR: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.4 to 5.9, P = 0.003) in our patients. CONCLUSION: Pulmonologists are firmly advised to take their patients' occupational and vocational exposures into consideration for treatment plans, especially in those with positive history of eczema and exposure to LMW.

Assessment of the relationship between physical working conditions and different levels of work ability.

Early leaving of workplace by work forces is one of the fundamental problems worldwide. Maintenance and enhancement of employees work ability are important for raising productivity. This study investigated the relationship between work ability index and physical working conditions and was carried out in 2013 on 641 workers at a manufacturing plant in Tehran. Work ability was assessed by the questionnaire of work ability index and the participants were classified into four work ability groups of poor, moderate, good, and excellent. Physical working conditions were evaluated by the MUSIC-Norrtalje questionnaire and the participants were classified into two groups with proper and poor physical working conditions. The mean score of work ability questionnaire was 42.40; and 2.5% (16 persons), 9.2% (59 persons), 38.2% (245 persons), and 50.1% (321 persons) of the participants were in poor, moderate, good, and excellent work ability groups, respectively. The mean score of physical working conditions questionnaire was 20.06. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that even after adjusting the confounding variables, a significant correlation existed between work ability and physical working conditions (p < 0.05). According to the results of this study, there may be a correlation between physical working conditions such as awkward postures, repetitive movements, load lifting, exposure to whole body vibration and so on with work ability. Therefore it seems that enhancement of the quality of physical working conditions may increase work ability.

A study on job postures and musculoskeletal illnesses in dentists.

OBJECTIVES: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) compose a large part of occupational diseases in dental professionals, prevention of which is dependent on assessment and improvement of job postures by means of ergonomic interventions. This study was aimed at evaluation of ergonomic conditions of the profession of dentists and also at assessing the relationship between MSDs and conditions of work. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed among 65 dentists using the method of Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). The prevalence of MSDs was obtained by the use of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). RESULTS: In this investigation, the prevalence of MSDs for different body parts was: 75.9% for the neck, 58.6% for the shoulders, 56.9% for the upper back, 48.3% for the lower back and 44.8% for the wrist. Job analysis by the use of REBA showed that 89.6% of limbs in group A and 79.3% of limbs in group B had a score > 4. Only neck and lower back pain have significant relationship with the risk levels obtained using the REBA method. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that work postures of dentists need to be improved. In addition to education, work station design, rest period during work and regular physical activities should be taken into account.