A survey of occupational health hazards among 7,610 female workers in China's electronics industry

Occupational injuries and risk assessment among stone crushing industry workers: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The prevalence of occupational injuries among blue-collar workers is higher in the stone-crushing industries due to high-risk and iterant nature of the work. These occupational injuries, in turn, caused workers' ill health, as well as death, which eventually diminish the gross domestic product. We aimed at assessing the attributes of occupational injuries and the risk associated with the hazards in the stone-crushing industry.

METHODS

This study utilized a questionnaire base cross-sectional survey that was conducted from September 2019 to February 2020. Data were collected from 32 stone-crushing factories of Eastern Bangladesh and analyzed to show their relationship with different variables. The risk levels associated with the frequent hazardous events were measured using a Semi-Quantitative Risk Assessment Matrix.

RESULTS

Most of the injuries were found to occur between 12:00 and 16:00 h. Nearly a fifth of the injuries were serious or critical in nature, caused the workers to be absent at least a week. Exposure to excessive dust, working without personal protective equipment (PPE), and improper lifting and handling techniques caused one-third of injuries. Wrist and hand/fingers, back and lower back, feet/toe, eye, knee, arm, neck and head, and ankle were found as most injured body parts. The primary cause of most injuries was the workers' failure to use PPE. All major hazardous events were found to possess a high-risk level.

CONCLUSION

Our finding suggests that stone crushing is one of the most hazardous industries and the practitioners must consider the findings when implementing a risk avoidance policy.

Work-related and personal factors in shoulder disorders among electronics workers: findings from an electronics enterprise in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

The electronics industry is one of the largest global industries, and significant numbers of workers are engaged in this industry. Evidence suggests two associations, including one between ergonomic risks and shoulder disorders and another between psychological stress and psychological problems among workers in this industry. Investigations on ergonomic risks, psychological stress, and sex effects for shoulder disorders in this industry are limited. This study aimed to explore personal and work-related factors associated with shoulder disorders and to investigate the combined effect of similar ergonomic risk factors.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 931 workers aged 20 to 58 from an electronics factory in Taiwan were recruited. A Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was used to assess shoulder symptoms. Sociodemographic factors and work-related factors, including psychological stress, were assessed. One hundred random sample workers with shoulder symptoms underwent a standardized clinical test for the evaluation of subacromial impingement syndrome. The ergonomic risks were assessed by the risk filter of 'upper limb disorders in the workplace', including repetition, posture, force, vibration, and duration of exposure.

RESULTS

The prevalence of shoulder symptoms was 30.5, and 19% of those with shoulder symptoms had subacromial impingement syndrome. In multivariable analyses, older age (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.37, 95% CI 1.01-1.86), repetition (aOR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.15-2.60) and posture (aOR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.10-3.11) were associated with shoulder symptoms. Regarding the gender effect, older age (aOR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.01-2.11), repetition (aOR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.00-2.68), posture (aOR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.01-3.52), and force (aOR = 1.68, 95% CI 0.99-2.85) were associated with shoulder symptoms in men, whereas posture (aOR = 2.12, 95% CI 0.99-4.57) was associated with symptoms in women.

CONCLUSIONS

This study implies that repetition and posture are important risk factors for shoulder disorders in the electronics industry. The risk exhibited sex differences, and force was more important for shoulder disorders in men. Such information is useful to help occupational health practitioners and policy makers conduct preventive programmes on shoulder disorders in this working population. Future longitudinal studies on work-related shoulder disorders are warranted.

Exploratory analysis of traditional risk factors of ischemic heart disease (IHD) among predominantly Malay Malaysian women

Background

The risk factors of ischemic heart disease (IHD) specific for women are less well studied. However, knowing the risk factors of IHD for women will empower women themselves to be better informed and thus can help them in decision making concerning their health condition. The objective of this study is to explore the commonly studied risk factors of ischemic heart disease (IHD) among a group of Malaysian women.

Methods

A case control study was conducted among 142 newly diagnosed IHD women patients registered in government hospitals in Terengganu, Malaysia and their 1:1 frequency matched population controls. Data on sociodemographic and socioeconomic profile, co-morbidities, lifestyle factors related to physical activities, dietary fat intake, stress, passive smoking history, anthropometric measurements and biochemical markers were obtained.

Results

Middle aged women were recruited with women diagnosed with diabetes (aOR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.11–3.31), having low HDL-C (aOR = 3.30, 95% CI: 1.28–8.27), those with positive family history of IHD (aOR = 1.92, 95% CI:1.13–3.26) and passive smokers (aOR = 2.99, 95% CI:1.81–4.94) were at higher odds of IHD.

Conclusions

The findings are useful for public health interventions and policy making focusing on specific women population.

Association between Emotional Symptoms and Job Demands in an Asian Electronics Factory

Various work-related issues including mental health have been described for the electronic industry. Although East Asian countries play important roles in the electronics industry, the association between job demands and emotional symptoms has been rarely examined. The present study recruited 603 workers from either office or clean room environments in an electronics factory in Taiwan. Their personal factors, work-related factors, and emotional symptoms were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. The symptoms of depression and hostility were reported in 24.88% and 24.38% of the subjects, respectively, while 14.93% reported both. A multivariate analysis showed that, overall, women workers were more likely to have emotional symptoms than male workers (odds ration (OR) = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.02-2.18). Among clean room workers, working under high pressure (OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.05-3.21), conflicting demands (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.30-3.57), and social isolation at work (OR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.23-7.30) were associated with emotional symptoms. The findings suggest that in the Asian electronics industry, for women, working under high pressure, conflicting demands, and social isolation at work are risk factors for emotional symptoms, especially for clean room workers. Further large-scale, longitudinal studies are necessary to confirm and prevent the mental health problems in this fast-evolving, highly competitive industry.

The relationship between: occupational status, biological condition and androgen hormone level among Polish adult men: the Wroclaw Male Study

Population health and its determinants are one of the major challenges to social and economic policy. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between occupational activity and biological condition in adult working Polish men. The participants of the study were 300 men (30-65 years), healthy inhabitants of the city of Wroclaw, Poland. Seventeen measures of biological condition were examined. The subjects were divided into three different occupational groups: professionals, soldiers and skilled workers. A comparison of biological age profiles of three occupational groups showed that in the majority of characteristics, professionals had the youngest biological age, whereas skilled workers had the highest biological age. The results for soldiers were not as unambiguous, but biological parameters were generally closer to those for professionals. Inborn biological predispositions and long-term impact of the working environment can influence on the biological condition of various professional groups. Knowledge of the determinants of biological condition might result in efficient use of predisposition to work or may be of help in extending their time of work ability.