International Comparison of Social Support Policies on Long-Term Care in Workplaces in Aging Societies.

A decrease in the working-age population in aging societies causes a shortage of employees in workplaces due to long-term care (LTC) leave for family and relatives as well as longer working hours or overwork among those remaining in the workplace. We collected and analyzed literature and guidelines regarding social-support policies on LTC in workplaces in seven countries (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the UK, and the USA) to propose an effective way of occupational health support for those in need. Our analysis indicated the existence of a system that incorporates the public-assistance mechanism of providing unused paid leave to those in need. Additionally, recipients of informal care provided by employees tended to expand to non-family members under the current occupational health system. On the other hand, the health management of employees as informal caregivers remained neglected. Likewise, salary compensation and financial support for LTC-related leave need to be improved. In order to monitor and evaluate the progress and achievement of current legal occupational health systems and programs related to the social support of LTC among employees, the available national and/or state-based quantitative data should be comparable at the international level.

Overeating at dinner time among Japanese workers: Is overeating related to stress response and late dinner times?

There are several known risk factors for overeating, including negative feelings and hunger. It was hypothesized that overtime work is associated with stress responses and later dinner times, leading to longer periods of time without eating, and that this, in turn, leads to a strong experience of hunger and consequent overeating at dinner. The aim of this study was to examine relationships among overeating at dinner, stress responses (e.g., fatigue, anxiety, and depression), and dinner times in Japanese male workers. In December 2012, 255 Japanese male workers at a leasing company completed a self-report questionnaire about overeating at dinner, psychological stress responses, physical stress responses, and dinner times. Each worker was sent an email with a link to the questionnaire website, where his answers were collected. Relationships between overeating at dinner and lifestyle issues were investigated using multiple linear regression analysis treating overeating as a dependent variable. Factors related to overeating at dinner included psychological stress response (ß = 0.251 p < 0.001) and dinner time (ß = 0.220, p = 0.004). These cross-sectional data suggest that overeating at dinner is related to dinner time in men and to stress responses.

Overeating, late dinner, and perceived stress in Japanese workers.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined relationships among overeating at dinner, dinner time, perceived stress, and strategies for coping with stress among Japanese workers. METHODS: In December 2012, 255 male Japanese workers at a leasing company completed a questionnaire about overeating (score range: 5-20), dinner time, perceived stress, and strategies for coping with stress. Each worker was sent an email with a link to a website, where their answers were collected. Relationships among overeating, dinner time, perceived stress, and stress-related coping strategies were investigated using two-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: The analyses of cross-sectional data revealed no differences in the overeating scores among those who ate dinner before 21:00 according to their level of perceived stress. However, those who ate dinner after 21:00 and reported feeling stressed tended to overeat at dinner (F(1, 237)=5.62, p=0.019). Additionally, those with perceived stress engaged in emotional expression involving others, and those without perceived stress tended to seek help to solve their problems and change their mood. We found no significant interactions involving the items related to strategies for coping with stress. CONCLUSION: This study found that overeating at dinner was related to dinner time and perceived stress. Additionally, the combination of a late dinner time and perceived stress reinforced overeating at dinner. The results of this study do not identify a coping strategy to prevent overeating.

An effective quarantine measure reduced the total incidence of influenza A H1N1 in the workplace: another way to control the H1N1 flu pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of a non-vaccine quarantine measure against pandemic influenza A H1N1 in workplaces. METHODS: Design was quasi-cluster randomized controlled trial in two sibling companies (Cohort 1 n=6,634, Cohort 2 n=8,500). The follow-up period was from July 1st, 2009 to February 19th, 2010 (233 days). Intervention was voluntary waiting at home on full pay if the family became Influenza like Illness (ILI). The incidences of influenza A H1N1 and those of the subgroups whose families got ILI in both cohorts were compared by a Cox regression model and log-rank test. RESULTS: There were 189 and 270 workers who got H1N1 infection during the follow-up period in each cohort. In this period 317 workers in Cohort 1 were asked to wait at home for several days (100% obeyed). The intervention group (Cohort 1) showed a statistically significant lower risk (p for log-rank test=0.033) compared with the control (Cohort 2), and the hazard ratio of the intervention was 0.799 [0.658-0.970] after adjusting for age, sex, BMI and smoking status. The workers who were asked to wait at home showed H1N1 infection more frequently (49 out of 317) compared with the workers whose family got ILI but were not asked to wait and work regularly (77 out of 990, RR=2.17 [1.48-3.18]). CONCLUSIONS: The waiting on full pay policy in the workplace reduced the overall risk of influenza A H1N1 by about 20% in one flu season in Japan. This kind of non-vaccine measure will be a promising option in workplaces to control the next flu pandemic.

A flat-panel detector digital radiography and a storage phosphor computed radiography: screening for pneumoconioses.

Storage phosphor computed radiography (SR) and flat-panel detector (FPD) radiography are two types of digital X-ray utilizing different techniques. We compared these two techniques with conventional analogue chest radiograph (AR) among pneumoconiotic patients and healthy controls. Thirty individuals consisting of 20 silica-exposed ex-workers and 10 healthy controls without occupational exposure to any mineral dust were examined with chest X-ray by AR, SR and FPD. Three occupational physicians, including one NIOSH B reader, assessed the digital and conventional radiographs by the side-by-side method according to the ILO 2000 International Classification of Radiograph of Pneumoconioses (ILO/ICRP). No significant difference was shown between the subjective film qualities by AR and FPD. Inter-reader agreement of the profusion of small opacities on radiographs was high in the order of SR (kappa=0.64), FPD (kappa=0.62), and AR (kappa=0.55). The profusions of small opacity for AR and FPD by the 12-point scaled profusion of ILO/ICRP did not show a statistically significant difference, but those for AR and SR showed a significant difference. The areas under the receiver operator curves (ROC) using clinical diagnosis by a pulmonologist as the reference showed no statistically significant difference among the three radiographic techniques. FPD gives image quality as good as that of AR, and it has acceptable agreement with AR in small profusion categories, which consequently assures its application to pneumoconiosis screening. SR showed less profusion than FPD and AR, which can be fixed with image modification.

Assessment of exposure to magnetic fields in occupational settings.

OBJECTIVE: It is important to have data about occupational magnetic field intensity to consider the contribution of occupational magnetic field exposure on the human body. We conducted research on exposure to occupational magnetic fields and tried to qualify data on the distribution of magnetic field' intensity in certain general working environments with individual measurements. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We performed sample research on the exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields of workers in certain occupations and in the working environment. We also assessed the relationship between working environmental magnetic field distribution and individual exposure. RESULTS: Some occupations were found to be exposed to high magnetic fields. We observed that some workspaces, such as the transformer substation, generally had a uniform and high magnetic field measurement but employees were exposed to a lower intensity. We also found that welders were exposed to high magnetic fields at about 600 microT in a very short time but with a geometrical value of 0.08 microT. CONCLUSION: The determination of administrative levels and control levels, not only of the time weighted average of threshold limits or short term exposure limits, but also ceiling limits should be considered. More systematic research is necessary to determine variables such as operating conditions, measuring position, and frequency bands. Also, further studies will be needed to make a job-exposure matrix for the magnetic fields for each occupation type and to combine it with exposure in non-occupational settings such as commuting and ordinary life situations to explore the causal relationship between exposure to magnetic fields and disease.