Gender and age disparities in the associations of occupational factors with alcohol abuse and smoking in the French working population

Association Between Temporary Employment and Current Smoking and Change in Smoking Behaviors: A Prospective Cohort Study From South Korea (2009-2018)

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have suggested that employment insecurity is associated with adverse health outcomes. We explored the association between temporary employment and smoking behaviors.

METHODS

We analyzed 11,795 workers (51,867 observations) from the Korea Health Panel Study (2009-2018). Employment types were categorized as regular, fixed-term, or daily, based on the duration of labor contract. The outcomes were current smoking status and changes in smoking behavior (initiation or cessation) in the following year. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

The proportions of fixed-term and daily workers were 41.2% and 16.4% for women and 23.6% and 12.4% for men, respectively. Temporary employment was associated with increased odds of current smoking, while also demonstrating prospective associations with changes in smoking behaviors. For instance, in prospective analyses, male workers with fixed-term and daily employments were associated with a decreased likelihood of smoking cessation (OR 0.77; 95% CI, 0.65-0.91 for fixed-term employment and OR 0.66; 95% CI, 0.52-0.83 for daily employment) in the following year compared to those with regular employment. Moreover, those experiencing consecutive temporary employment was most inversely associated with smoking cessation in both men (OR 0.56; 95% CI, 0.44-0.71) and women (OR 0.37; 95% CI, 0.16-0.85) compared to those experiencing consecutive regular employment. However, no clear association between temporary employment and smoking initiation was observed in both men and women.

CONCLUSION

Temporary employment is directly associated with current smoking and inversely associated with smoking cessation. Policies are needed to improve job insecurity among temporary employees.

Association between job satisfaction and current smoking and change in smoking behavior: a 16-year longitudinal study in South Korea

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Previous studies have found that job satisfaction is closely associated with various health outcomes of workers. Our study measured the association between job satisfaction and current smoking and change in smoking behavior.

DESIGN

Data from the longitudinal Korea Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) that consist of nationally representative samples were used. The repeated measures analysis was conducted.

SETTING

South Korea, 2005-2021.

PARTICIPANTS

In total, 21 154 workers in Korea followed from 2005 to 2021 (145 120 observations) were included as study participants.

MEASUREMENTS

The main predictor variable, job satisfaction, was assessed using a five-item general job satisfaction questionnaire. Job satisfaction was classified into 'dissatisfied', 'neutral' and 'satisfied', according to the tertiles of the sum of scores. The outcomes of interest were current smoking and initiation and cessation of smoking in the subsequent year.

FINDINGS

Compared with those with a neutral level of job satisfaction, those who reported dissatisfaction with their job had an increased risk of smoking initiation [odds ratio (OR) = 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01-1.22)]. Workers satisfied with their jobs were associated with a decreased likelihood of current smoking (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.94-0.98) and smoking initiation (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.81-0.99). There was a positive relationship between cumulative years of job dissatisfaction and smoking risk: > 4 years of experiencing job dissatisfaction was positively related to current smoking (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.06-1.24) and smoking initiation (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.00-1.49) and negatively related to smoking cessation (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.72-0.99).

CONCLUSIONS

In Korea, job dissatisfaction appears to be associated with an increased risk of smoking initiation.

Investigating the potential association of temporary employment and job dissatisfaction with alcohol use disorder and depressive symptoms: a 13-wave longitudinal analysis

BACKGROUND

There has been growing interest in protecting workers' mental health. Identifying social determinants that affect workers' mental health could play an important role in preventing psychiatric diseases.

AIMS

We investigated the effects of temporary employment and job dissatisfaction on alcohol use disorder and depressive symptoms.

METHOD

The Korea Welfare Panel Study data-set (2009-2021) was used, and 9611 participants with 52 639 observations were included. Generalised linear mixed models were employed to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. The relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) was calculated to assess supra-additive interactions between temporary employment and job dissatisfaction.

RESULTS

Increased risks for depressive symptoms were observed among fixed-term workers (odds ratio 1.12, 95% CI 1.00-1.26) and daily labourers (odds ratio 1.68, 95% CI 1.44-1.95). Daily labourers were associated with an increased risk of alcohol use disorder (odds ratio 1.54, 95% CI 1.22-1.95). Job dissatisfaction was associated with alcohol use disorder (odds ratio 1.78, 95% CI 1.52-2.08) and depressive symptoms (odds ratio 4.88, 95% CI 4.36-5.46). This effect became stronger when workers were concurrently exposed to temporary employment and job dissatisfaction. Daily labourers with job dissatisfaction showed the highest risks for alcohol use disorder (odds ratio 2.99, 95% CI 2.21-4.03) and depressive symptoms (odds ratio 9.00, 95% CI 7.36-11.02). RERIs between daily employment and job dissatisfaction were >0 for alcohol use disorder (0.91, 95% CI 0.06-1.76) and depressive symptoms (3.47, 95% CI 1.80-5.14), indicating a supra-additive interaction.

CONCLUSIONS

We revealed that temporary employment and job dissatisfaction had detrimental effects on alcohol use disorder and depressive symptoms.

Are workplace factors associated with employee alcohol use? The WIRUS cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

Sociodemographic predictors of employee alcohol use are well established in the literature, but knowledge about associations between workplace factors and alcohol use is less explored. The aim of this study was to explore whether workplace factors were associated with employee alcohol use (consumption and alcohol-related problems).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study. Linear and binary logistic regression analyses.

SETTING

Heterogeneous sample of employees (workers and supervisors) from 22 companies across geographical locations and work divisions in Norway.

PARTICIPANTS

Employees (N=5388) responded on survey items measuring workplace factors and alcohol use.

OUTCOMES

Data on alcohol use were collected with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Consumption was measured with the AUDIT-C (the first three items), and alcohol-related problems were operationalised as a sum score of 8 or higher on the full 10-item AUDIT.

RESULTS

Higher levels of alcohol consumption were associated with more liberal workplace drinking social norms (b=1.37, p<0.001), working full-time (b=0.18, p<0.001), working from holiday home (b=0.40, p<0.01), being a supervisor (b=0.25, p<0.001), having supervisors with less desired leadership qualities (b=-0.10, p<0.01), shorter working hours (b=-0.03, p<0.05), higher workplace social support (b=0.13, p<0.05) and higher income (b=0.02, p<0.001). Alcohol-related problems were associated with more liberal workplace drinking social norms (OR=3.52, p<0.001) and shorter working hours (OR=0.94, p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Workplace drinking social norms were the supremely most dominant predictor of both consumption and alcohol-related problems. Results suggest that some workplace factors may play a role in explaining employee alcohol consumption, although the predictive ability of these factors was limited. This study points to the importance of drinking social norms, workplace drinking culture and leadership for understanding employee alcohol use.

Prevalence and risk factors of sexually transmitted infections among French service members

INTRODUCTION

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) have always represented a public health concern in the military, yet most studies rely on self-reports among non-random samples of military populations. In addition, most of the studies exploring STI rates among the military focus on US service members. This paper assesses the prevalence and correlates of STIs in the French military using biomarkers and compares self-reported versus diagnosed STIs.

METHODS

Data are drawn from the COSEMIL study, a national sexual health survey conducted in the French military in 2014 and 2015. A random sample of 784 men and 141 women aged 18-57 years completed a self-administered questionnaire and provided biological samples for STI testing. We used logistic regression modeling to identify the correlates of STI diagnosis and self-reports.

RESULTS

The prevalence of diagnosed STIs was 4.7% [3.8-5.9], mostly due to Chlamydia trachomatis. This rate was four times higher than the 12 months self-reported rate of 1.1% [0.6-2.3]. Reported STI rates were similar among men and women (1.1% versus 1.8%), but diagnosed STI rates were twice as high among females versus males (10.4% versus 4.1%, p = 0.007). There were significant differences in the determinants of reported versus diagnosed STIs. In particular, age and sexual orientation were associated with reported STIs, but not with diagnosed STIs. Conversely, STI counseling and depression were associated with STI diagnosis but not with STI reports.

CONCLUSION

This study underlines the need to use biomarkers in population-based surveys, given the differential and substantial underreporting of STIs. Results also highlight the need for programmatic adaptation to address gender inequalities in STI rates, by developing women's health services in the French military. Addressing such needs not only benefits women but could also serve as a strategy to reduce overall STI rates as most military women have military partners, increasing the risk of internal transmission.

Smoking habits in French farmers: a cross-sectional study

Background

Farmers are exposed to multiple air contaminants that may interact with tobacco smoking in the development of respiratory diseases. Farmers are currently considered to smoke less than non-farmers, but precise data in different categories of age and farming activities are lacking.

Methods

Smoking habits were studied in a cross-sectional study involving 4105 farmers and 996 non-farming controls aged 40–74 years in 9 French departments between October 2012 and May 2013. Three age groups were defined (40–54, 55–64 and 65-74years). Farmers were divided into four activity groups, namely cattle breeders, livestock farmers working in confined spaces, crop farmers and others. Smoking prevalence was compared between farmers and controls, and odds ratios (ORs) for smoking adjusted for age were calculated.

Results

The adjusted OR for ever-smoking was lower among farmers than among non-farmers in all age categories, but the ORs for current smoking were similar in farmers and controls. Smoking prevalence varied according to the type of farming activity, and was lower than in non-farming controls only among cattle breeders and confined livestock farmers. In farmers, the proportion of smokers was higher in the youngest age categories compared with the older age classes.

Conclusions

Our results confirm that the prevalence of ever-smokers is lower in farmers than in non-farmers. Nevertheless, our data show that active smoking prevalence is similar in farmers and in non-farmers. This suggests that farmers, just like non-farmers, should be targeted by primary prevention campaigns against smoking.

Relationships between substance initiation sequence and further substance use: A French nationwide retrospective study

The Gateway theory (GT) proposes that tobacco or alcohol use lead to cannabis use, which can itself be followed by other illicit drugs (OID) onset. Aim of this study was to evaluate if the order of initiation sequence could influence further substance use. Data from a 2010 population-based survey were used (22,774 subjects aged 15-64). Using reported ages at initiations, 7 sequences were identified: initiation of tobacco only (T), cannabis or OID only, tobacco followed by cannabis (T-C), cannabis followed by tobacco (C-T), alternative 2-substance sequences, gateway sequence (T-C-OID) and 3-substance alternative sequences. Logistics regressions were performed to study the impact of sequence on further use (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and OID), and substance use disorders (SUD) (tobacco, alcohol and cannabis). The most observed sequences were T (45.5%), T-C (20.5%), C-T (5.1%) and T-C-OID (3.5%). Further use and SUD likelihoods, whatever the substance considered, increased with the number of substances previously initiated. However, for a same number of substances initiated, current use and SUD likelihoods did not significantly vary according to sequence. Polysubstance initiation appears as a better predictor of further use and SUD than the initiation sequence, questioning the GT and being more in line with a common liability to substance use.

Associations of psychological capital, demographic and occupational factors with cigarette smoking among Chinese underground coal miners

Background

As a specific male occupational group, underground coal miners have been commonly found to have a high prevalence of cigarette smoking. It is of urgent need to explore some factors that could be intervened to reduce smoking from personal or internal perspective. The purpose of the present study was to examine the associations of psychological capital (PsyCap), demographic and occupational factors with smoking among Chinese underground coal miners.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a coal-mining population in northeast China. Twenty-five hundreds of male underground miners were sampled from six coal mines. Self-administered questionnaires involving current smoking status, specific scales to measure the levels of PsyCap, effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and perceived physical environment (PPE), and some demographic and occupational factors were completed anonymously after a day shift. Complete responses were obtained from 1,956 participants (response rate: 78.2%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the factors in relation to current smoking.

Results

The overall smoking prevalence was 52.4%. After controlling for demographic and occupational variables, PsyCap was not associated with smoking. Compared with the miners in the lowest tertile of resilience, the odds ratios (ORs) of smoking for the miners in the intermediate tertile and highest tertile were 1.30 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.99–1.70) and 1.58 (95% CI: 1.13–2.20), respectively. Compared with the miners in the lowest tertile of optimism, the ORs of smoking for the miners in the intermediate tertile and highest tertile were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.61–1.03) and 0.69 (95% CI: 0.51–0.92), respectively. Low education and high PPE were the risk factors of smoking, whereas ERI had no association with smoking.

Conclusions

More than half of the underground coal miners were current smokers, which indicated that cigarette smoking might be a common health risk behavior in this occupational population. High resilience and PPE, together with low education were the risk factors of smoking, whereas high optimism was a protective factor. Consequently, PsyCap had mixed effects on cigarette smoking. Investment in resilience and optimism should be given more attention for the purposes of the prevention and reduction of smoking among occupational populations.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-1349-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The role of occupational activities and work environment in occupational injury and interplay of personal factors in various age groups among Indian and French coalminers

OBJECTIVE

The role of occupational hazards in occupational injury may be mediated by individual factors across various age groups. This study assessed the role of occupational hazards as well as contribution of individual factors to injuries among Indian and French coalminers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We conducted a case-control study on 245 injured workers and on 330 controls without any injuries from Indian coal mines using face-to-face interviews, and a retrospective study on 516 French coalminers using a self-administered questionnaire including potential occupational and personal factors. Data were analyzed using logistic models.

RESULTS

The annual rate of injuries was 5.5% for Indian coalminers and 14.9% for the French ones. Logistic model including all occupational factors showed that major injury causes were: hand-tools, material handling, machines, and environment/work-geological/strata conditions among Indian miners (adjusted odds-ratios 2.01 to 3.30) and biomechanical exposure score among French miners (adjusted odds-ratio 3.01 for score the 1-4, 3.47 for the score 5-7, and 7.26 for score ≥ 8, vs. score 0). Personal factors among Indian and French coalminers reduced/exacerbated the roles of various occupational hazards to a different extent depending on workers' age.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that injury roles of occupational hazards were reduced or exacerbated by personal factors depending on workers' age in both populations. This knowledge is useful when designing prevention which should definitely consider workers' age.

Mortality gradient across the labour market core-periphery structure: a 13-year mortality follow-up study in north-eastern France

PURPOSE

This study explores mortality related to temporary employment, about which very little is known to date.

METHODS

In 1996, a health survey was carried out in the French region of Lorraine, and all members of 8,000 randomly chosen households were followed up for mortality over a 13-year period. Mortality of subjects in relation to their employment situation at baseline was analysed using a Cox survival regression.

RESULTS

In comparison with permanent workers, for unemployed men, we found age and occupation-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of 4.1 for all-causes of death and 3.9 for non-violent causes, and for male temporary workers a HR of 2.2 for both all-causes and non-violent causes of death. Bad health, tobacco smoking and alcohol misuse explained 17 % of the excess risk for the unemployed and 41 % of that for temporary workers.

CONCLUSION

The observation of large mortality inequalities across the labour market core-periphery structure has important policy implications, particularly in terms of prevention focused on unhealthy behaviours among male unemployed and temporary workers.