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Occupational and Environmental Medicine May 2014Numerous occupational and environmental exposures have been shown to disrupt thyroid hormones, but much less is known about their relationships with thyroid cancer. Here... (Review)
Review
Numerous occupational and environmental exposures have been shown to disrupt thyroid hormones, but much less is known about their relationships with thyroid cancer. Here we review the epidemiology studies of occupations and occupational exposures and thyroid cancer incidence to provide insight into preventable risk factors for thyroid cancer. The published literature was searched using the Web of Knowledge database for all articles through August 2013 that had in their text 'occupation' 'job' 'employment' or 'work' and 'thyroid cancer'. After excluding 10 mortality studies and 4 studies with less than 5 exposed incident cases, we summarised the findings of 30 articles that examined thyroid cancer incidence in relation to occupations or occupational exposure. The studies were grouped by exposure/occupation category, study design and exposure assessment approach. Where available, gender-stratified results are reported. The most studied (19 of 30 studies) and the most consistent associations were observed for radiation-exposed workers and healthcare occupations. Suggestive, but inconsistent, associations were observed in studies of pesticide-exposed workers and agricultural occupations. Findings for other exposures and occupation groups were largely null. The majority of studies had few exposed cases and assessed exposure based on occupation or industry category, self-report, or generic (population-based) job exposure matrices. The suggestive, but inconsistent findings for many of the occupational exposures reviewed here indicate that more studies with larger numbers of cases and better exposure assessment are necessary, particularly for exposures known to disrupt thyroid homeostasis.
Topics: Agriculture; Health Personnel; Humans; Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure; Occupations; Pesticides; Thyroid Neoplasms
PubMed: 24604144
DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2013-101929 -
The International Journal of Behavioral... Jul 2021Although it is generally accepted that physical activity reduces the risk for chronic non-communicable disease and mortality, accumulating evidence suggests that... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Although it is generally accepted that physical activity reduces the risk for chronic non-communicable disease and mortality, accumulating evidence suggests that occupational physical activity (OPA) may not confer the same health benefits as leisure time physical activity (LTPA). It is also unclear if workers in high OPA jobs benefit from LTPA the same way as those in sedentary jobs. Our objective was to determine whether LTPA and leisure time sedentary behaviour (LTSB) confer the same health effects across occupations with different levels of OPA.
METHODS
Searches were run in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, ProQuest Public Health and Scopus from inception to June 9, 2020. Prospective or experimental studies which examined the effects of LTPA or LTSB on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal pain, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, arrhythmias and depression among adult workers grouped by OPA (low OPA/sitters, standers, moderate OPA/intermittent movers, high OPA/heavy labourers) were eligible. Results were synthesized using narrative syntheses and harvest plots, and certainty of evidence assessed with GRADE.
RESULTS
The review includes 38 papers. Across all outcomes, except cardiovascular mortality, metabolic syndrome and atrial fibrillation, greater LTPA was consistently protective among low OPA, but conferred less protection among moderate and high OPA. For cardiovascular mortality and metabolic syndrome, higher levels of LTPA were generally associated with similar risk reductions among all OPA groups. Few studies examined effects in standers and none examined effects of LTSB across OPA groups.
CONCLUSIONS
Evidence suggests that LTPA is beneficial for all workers, but with larger risk reductions among those with low compared to high OPA jobs. This suggests that, in our attempts to improve the health of workers through LTPA, tailored interventions for different occupational groups may be required. More high-quality studies are needed to establish recommended levels of LTPA/LTSB for different OPA groups.
PROTOCOL REGISTRATION
PROSPERO # CRD42020191708 .
Topics: Adult; Employment; Exercise; Humans; Leisure Activities; Motor Activity; Occupations; Prospective Studies; Sedentary Behavior; Stress, Psychological; Work; Workload
PubMed: 34284795
DOI: 10.1186/s12966-021-01166-z -
Frontiers in Public Health 2020
Topics: Leisure Activities; Occupations; Sedentary Behavior
PubMed: 32211365
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00057 -
Postgraduate Medical Journal May 2003Gastric cancer is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. There are several risk factors, with occupation emerging as one of these. There is considerable... (Review)
Review
Gastric cancer is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. There are several risk factors, with occupation emerging as one of these. There is considerable evidence that occupations in coal and tin mining, metal processing, particularly steel and iron, and rubber manufacturing industries lead to an increased risk of gastric cancer. Other "dusty" occupations-for example, wood processing, or work in high temperature environments have also been implicated but the evidence is not strong. The mechanism of pathogenesis of gastric cancer is unclear and the identification of causative agents can be difficult. Dust is thought to be a contributor to the pathological process, but well known carcinogens such as N-nitroso compounds have been detected in some environments. Further research on responsible agents is necessary and screening for detection of precursor gastric cancer lesions at the workplace merits consideration.
Topics: Chemical Industry; Food Industry; Humans; Metallurgy; Mining; Occupational Diseases; Occupations; Risk Factors; Stomach Neoplasms; Transportation; Wood
PubMed: 12782770
DOI: 10.1136/pmj.79.931.252 -
BMJ Open Jun 2022To describe the association between occupations and suicide, and to explore the effect of gender dominance in the occupation and in the workplace on the risk of suicide.
OBJECTIVES
To describe the association between occupations and suicide, and to explore the effect of gender dominance in the occupation and in the workplace on the risk of suicide.
DESIGN
Register-based cohort study.
PARTICIPANTS
3 318 050 workers in Sweden in 2005 and followed up until 2010. Exclusion criteria for the study were: missing information in the occupational codes, yearly income of <100 Swedish krona, missing information of the employer, death or migration, and registered occupational code reported from more than 5 years ago.
OUTCOME
Suicides occurring during 2006-2010 identified in the cause of death register by the International Classification of Diagnoses-10 codes X60-84 and Y10-34.
RESULTS
Occupations with increased suicide were life science and health professionals (OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.50 to 5.26) among women. In men, these were metal, machinery and related workers (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.09 to 2.05) and personal and protective service workers (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.14 to 2.22). In terms of gender dominance in the occupation, borderline associations with increased suicide risk were found for men in both male-dominated (OR: 1.32, 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.79) and female-dominated (OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 0.99 to 1.91) occupations. For women, borderline increased risk of suicide was found in female-dominated occupations (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 0.95 to 2.40). Finally, men showed a borderline increased risk of suicide in female-dominated workplaces (OR: 1.31, 95% CI: 0.94 to 1.81).
CONCLUSIONS
This study found that women in the 'life science and health professionals' group and men in the 'metal, machinery and related workers' as well as 'personal and protective service workers' groups have increased incidence of suicide also when adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, precariousness of the employment relationship, spells of unemployment, previous mental disorders and suicide attempts. Moreover, gender dominance at workplace and occupation seems to be associated with the risk of suicide among men. The results of our study are novel and are worth exploring in future qualitative studies.
Topics: Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Occupations; Sweden; Workplace
PubMed: 35738642
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-060096 -
Revista Espanola de Sanidad... 2020
Topics: Correctional Facilities; Humans; Occupations; Prisoners; Prisons
PubMed: 33300939
DOI: 10.18176/resp.00017 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2023
Topics: Humans; Neoplasms; Occupations; Risk Factors
PubMed: 38239791
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1343952 -
Journal of Occupational Health Jan 2021This study compared differences in age-standardized suicide mortality rates, personal characteristics (demographics, employment conditions, and details of suicide), and...
OBJECTIVES
This study compared differences in age-standardized suicide mortality rates, personal characteristics (demographics, employment conditions, and details of suicide), and work-related stress by gender and occupation among workers who had committed suicide in Korea.
METHODS
Data comprised 413 suicide death claims lodged with the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) from 2010 to 2018, which were coded. We calculated age-standardized suicide mortality rates by gender and occupation. The chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and t-test were conducted to examine gender differences. Frequency and percentage distribution by gender and occupation were calculated using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS
Regardless of gender, age-standardized suicide mortality rate was highest among "Managers." Women who died by suicide were significantly younger and more likely to be unmarried, live alone, and have fewer years of continuous employment than men. "Managers," "Professionals and Related Workers," and "Clerks" experienced similar work-related stresses, including "Difficult work to achieve," "Fail to achieve allocation workload," and "Change of job contents or workload." "Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers," "Craft and Related Trades Workers," and "Equipment, Machine Operating and Assembling Workers" had higher work-related stress related to "Severe disease/injury" or "Causing a serious accident" compared with other workers.
CONCLUSIONS
Work-related stress related to suicide deaths differed by gender and occupation. The gender gap of labor market participation in Korea may affect gender differences in terms of demographics and employment conditions among workers who died by suicide. Our study suggests that gender- and occupation-specific strategies and policies to reduce work-related stress can prevent suicide among workers.
Topics: Adult; Employment; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Stress; Occupations; Republic of Korea; Sex Factors; Suicide; Workers' Compensation
PubMed: 33991042
DOI: 10.1002/1348-9585.12233 -
Studies in Health Technology and... 2017There has been increasing recognition of the key role of social determinants like occupation on health. Given the relatively poor understanding of occupation information...
There has been increasing recognition of the key role of social determinants like occupation on health. Given the relatively poor understanding of occupation information in electronic health records (EHRs), we sought to characterize occupation information within free-text clinical document sources. From six distinct clinical sources, 868 total occupation-related sentences were identified for the study corpus. Building off approaches from previous studies, refined annotation guidelines were created using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Occupational Data for Health data model with elements added to increase granularity. Our corpus generated 2,005 total annotations representing 39 of 41 entity types from the enhanced data model. Highest frequency entities were: Occupation Description (17.7%); Employment Status - Not Specified (12.5%); Employer Name (11.0%); Subject (9.8%); Industry Description (6.2%). Our findings support the value of standardizing entry of EHR occupation information to improve data quality for improved patient care and secondary uses of this information.
Topics: Electronic Health Records; Employment; Humans; Industry; Occupational Health; Occupations
PubMed: 29295142
DOI: No ID Found -
BMJ Open Feb 2023To describe and synthesise studies of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence by occupation prior to the widespread vaccine roll-out.
OBJECTIVE
To describe and synthesise studies of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence by occupation prior to the widespread vaccine roll-out.
METHODS
We identified studies of occupational seroprevalence from a living systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42020183634). Electronic databases, grey literature and news media were searched for studies published during January-December 2020. Seroprevalence estimates and a free-text description of the occupation were extracted and classified according to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010 system using a machine-learning algorithm. Due to heterogeneity, results were synthesised narratively.
RESULTS
We identified 196 studies including 591 940 participants from 38 countries. Most studies (n=162; 83%) were conducted locally versus regionally or nationally. Sample sizes were generally small (median=220 participants per occupation) and 135 studies (69%) were at a high risk of bias. One or more estimates were available for 21/23 major SOC occupation groups, but over half of the estimates identified (n=359/600) were for healthcare-related occupations. 'Personal Care and Service Occupations' (median 22% (IQR 9-28%); n=14) had the highest median seroprevalence.
CONCLUSIONS
Many seroprevalence studies covering a broad range of occupations were published in the first year of the pandemic. Results suggest considerable differences in seroprevalence between occupations, although few large, high-quality studies were done. Well-designed studies are required to improve our understanding of the occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 and should be considered as an element of pandemic preparedness for future respiratory pathogens.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Algorithms; Occupations
PubMed: 36854599
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063771