International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, which initially began in China, has spread to many countries around the globe, with the number of confirmed cases increasing every day. With a death toll exceeding that of the SARS-CoV outbreak back in 2002 and 2003 in China, 2019-nCoV has led to a public health emergency of international concern, putting all health organizations on high alert. Herein, we present on an overview of the currently available information on the pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of this virus...

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BACKGROUND: Exposure to numerous chemicals, including industrial ones, may result in liver damage. The body susceptibility to the environmental hazards largely depends on the activity of the enzymes in the xenobiotic detoxification system. Function abnormalities of such enzymes due to genetic variations would increase the risk of developing various diseases. OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the relationship between polymorphism in glutathione S-transferase genes (GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1) and the risk of toxic liver damage in a group of petrochemical workers...

BACKGROUND: Arsenic, an environmental pollutant, is a carcinogenic metalloid and also an anticancer agent. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the toxicity of arsenic nanoparticles in rat hepatocytes. METHODS: Freshly isolated rat hepatocytes were exposed to 0, 20, 40, and 100 μM of arsenic nanoparticles and its bulk counterpart. Their viability, reactive oxygen species level, glutathione depletion, mitochondrial and lysosomal damage, and apoptosis were evaluated...

BACKGROUND: Workers in cement warehouses of Kerala are enduring long-standing exposure to cement dust, which is considered genotoxic. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the extent of genotoxicity and cytotoxicity caused due to exposure of cement dust among those working in cement warehouses. METHODS: The study included 82 cement warehouse workers and 82 age-matched individuals with no exposure to cement dust. Exfoliated buccal micronucleus cytome assay (BMCyt) was performed to analyze the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects caused by inhalation of cement dust...

BACKGROUND: Birth weight is very important for long-term physical, mental, health, and brain development. Pesticide exposure is thought to interfere with fetal growth, among others, through disruption of the function of the insulin-like growth hormone-1 (IGF-1) hormone. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between exposure to pesticides during pregnancy and low-birth weight (LBW) through the disruption of the IGF-1 hormone. METHODS: In a case-control study, babies born with LBW (birth weight <2500 g) and those born later with normal birth weight (=2500 g) at 2 hospitals in Brebes were chosen as cases and controls, respectively...

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BACKGROUND: Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) are abundantly produced in modern societies. In recent years, interest in the possible effects of ELF-EMFs on the immune system has progressively increased. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of ELF-EMFs with magnetic flux densities of 1, 100, 500, and 2000 μT on the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-9, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). METHODS: 80 adult male rats were exposed to ELF-EMFs at a frequency of 50 Hz for 2 h/day for 60 days...

BACKGROUND: Taking into account the differences in job requirements and conditions, it is expected that workers in some occupations are more susceptible to pain than others. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of chronic pain among workers of several petrochemical and petroleum refinery plants. We also examined the predictive role of psycho-familial variables (depression, work-family conflict and job stress) in causing chronic pain when controlling for demographic and occupational factors...

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BACKGROUND: Despite its excellent psychometric properties, St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) has not been previously used in measuring respiratory quality of life (RQoL) among traffic police and firefighters who are at risk of poor respiratory health by virtue of their occupations. OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the RQoL of the occupationally exposed (firefighters and traffic police) and the occupationally unexposed populations in Penang, Malaysia. METHODS: We recruited male traffic police and firefighters from 5 districts of Penang by convenient sampling during June to September 2018...

BACKGROUND: Heat stress is common among workers in hot-dry areas. To take preventive strategies for the protection of workers against heat stress, it is important to choose a suitable index that can accurately explain environmental parameters relative to physiological responses. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate heat stress and maximum acceptable work time (MAWT) based on physiological and environmental response in hot-dry climate among traditional bakers. METHODS: The current study was carried out on 30 traditional bakers of 3 different bread baking systems in Ahvaz, Iran...

BACKGROUND: World Health Organization's Healthy Workplace Framework and Model has emphasized addressing psychosocial work stressors as one of the important avenues toward creating a conducive workplace. Management and interventions of these adverse stressors have been unremarkable; impairing work productivity. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of psychosocial work stressors on health service productivity. METHODS: Using Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II and Healthcare Productivity Survey, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 225 health and allied health professionals in the largest referral hospital in Brunei...

BACKGROUND: Whole-body vibration (WBV) and mental workload (MWL) are common stressors among drivers who attempt to control numerous variables while driving a car, bus, or train. OBJECTIVE: To examine the individual and combined effects of the WBV and MWL on the autonomic nervous system. METHODS: ECG of 24 healthy male students was recorded using NeXus-4 while performing two difficulty levels of a computerized dual task and when they were exposing to WBV (intensity 0...

BACKGROUND: The palm oil industry is the largest contributor to global production of oils and fats. Indonesia and Malaysia are the largest producers of palm oil. More than a million workers are employed in this industry, yet there is a lack of information on their occupational health and safety. OBJECTIVE: To identify and summarize occupational hazards among oil palm plantation workers. METHODS: A search was carried out in June 2018 in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Ovid...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Truck drivers are at increased risk of diet- and physical activity-related chronic diseases. Despite this, there is a paucity of data about Australian truck drivers' diet and physical activity behaviors. A multiple choice and short response survey was distributed to truck drivers attending an Australian Truck Show. The survey asked about self-reported health, source of health information, number of serves of fruit, vegetables, unhealthy food, and sugary drink consumed per day, and frequency of moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity per week...