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Dally M, Suresh K, Van Dyke M, James KA, Bauer AK, Krisher L, Newman LS. Occurrence of Occupational Injuries and Within Day Changes in Wet Bulb Temperature Among Sugarcane Harvesters. J Agromedicine 2023; 28:523-531. [PMID: 36650099 DOI: 10.1080/1059924x.2023.2169425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Climate change has implications for human health worldwide, with workers in outdoor occupations in low- to middle-income countries shouldering the burden of increasing average temperatures and more frequent extreme heat days. An overlooked aspect of the human health impact is the relationship between heat exposure and increased risk of occupational injury. In this study, we examined the association between occupational injury occurrence and changes in outdoor temperatures through the workday among a cohort of Guatemalan sugarcane harvesters. METHODS Occupational injuries recorded for the 2014/2015 to 2017/2018 harvest seasons were collected from a large agribusiness employing male sugarcane harvesters in Southwest Guatemala. Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) for the same period was collected from the El Balsamo weather station. We used a logistic mixed effects model to examine the association between injury occurrence and (1) the average WBGT during the hour injury was recorded, (2) the average WBGT during the hour prior to the injury being recorded, and (3) the change in the hourly average WBGT prior to the injury being recorded. RESULTS There were 155 injuries recorded during the study period. Injuries were recorded most often between 14:00 and 16:00 (n = 62, 40%) followed by 8:00 and 10:00 (n = 56, 36%). There were significant differences in the average hourly WBGT and the hour in which injuries were recorded (p-value <.001). There were no observable associations between average hourly WBGT (OR: 1.00, 95%CI: 0.94, 1.05; p-value: 0.87), lagged average hourly WBGT (OR: 1.01, 95%CI: 0.97, 1.05; p-value: 0.71), or change in average hourly WBGT (OR: 0.96, 95%CI: 0.89, 1.04; p-value: 0.35) and recorded occupational injury. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study that has examined how changes in WBGT throughout the day are related to occupational injury among agricultural workers. Although this study did not demonstrate an association, there is a need for future research to examine how various measurements of WBGT exposure are related to occupational injury in agricultural worker populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miranda Dally
- Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Krithika Suresh
- Department of Biostatistics & Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Mike Van Dyke
- Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Katherine A James
- Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Alison K Bauer
- Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Lyndsay Krisher
- Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Lee S Newman
- Center for Health, Work & Environment, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.,Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
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McLean R, Mohan S, Radhakrishnan J. Six Years of KI Reports: Milestones Behind and Ahead. Kidney Int Rep 2022; 7:1-2. [PMID: 35005305 PMCID: PMC8720669 DOI: 10.1016/j.ekir.2021.11.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Radha McLean
- Division of Nephrology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA
| | - Sumit Mohan
- Division of Nephrology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jai Radhakrishnan
- Division of Nephrology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA
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