Ergonomic risk factors of work processes in the semiconductor industry in Peninsular Malaysia

A cross-sectional survey of semiconductor factories was conducted to identify the ergonomic risk factors in the work processes, the prevalence of body pain among workers, and the relationship between body pain and work processes. A total of 906 women semiconductor workers took part in the study. In wafer preparation and polishing, a combination of lifting weights and prolonged standing might have led to high pain prevalences in the low back (35.0% wafer preparation, 41.7% wafer polishing) and lower limbs (90.0% wafer preparation, 66.7% wafer polishing). Semiconductor front of line workers, who mostly walked around to operate machines in clean rooms, had the lowest prevalences of body pain. Semiconductor assembly middle of line workers, especially the molding workers, who did frequent lifting, had high pain prevalences in the neck/shoulders (54.8%) and upper back (43.5%). In the semiconductor assembly end of line work section, chip inspection workers who were exposed to prolonged sitting without back support had high prevalences of neck/shoulder (62.2%) and upper back pain (50.0%), while chip testing workers who had to climb steps to load units had a high prevalence of lower limb pain (68.0%). Workers in the assembly of electronic components, carrying out repetitive tasks with hands and fingers, and standing in awkward postures had high pain prevalences in the neck/shoulders (61.5%), arms (38.5%), and hands/wrists (30.8%)

Associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Objective Given the high exposure to occupational standing in specific occupations, and recent initiatives to encourage intermittent standing among white-collar workers, a better understanding of the potential health consequences of occupational standing is required. We aimed to review and quantify the epidemiological evidence on associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms. Design A systematic review was performed. Data from included articles were extracted and described, and meta-analyses conducted when data were sufficiently homogeneous. Data sources Electronic databases were systematically searched. Eligibility criteria Peer-reviewed articles on occupational standing and musculoskeletal symptoms from epidemiological studies were identified. Results Of the 11 750 articles screened, 50 articles reporting 49 studies were included (45 cross-sectional and 5 longitudinal; n=88 158 participants) describing the associations of occupational standing with musculoskeletal symptoms, including low-back (39 articles), lower extremity (14 articles) and upper extremity (18 articles) symptoms. In the meta-analysis, 'substantial' (>4 hours/workday) occupational standing was associated with the occurrence of low-back symptoms (pooled OR (95% CI) 1.31 (1.10 to 1.56)). Evidence on lower and upper extremity symptoms was too heterogeneous for meta-analyses. The majority of included studies reported statistically significant detrimental associations of occupational standing with lower extremity, but not with upper extremity symptoms. Conclusions The evidence suggests that substantial occupational standing is associated with the occurrence of low-back and (inconclusively) lower extremity symptoms, but there may not be such an association with upper extremity symptoms. However, these conclusions are tentative as only limited evidence was found from high-quality, longitudinal studies with fully adjusted models using objective measures of standing

Ergonomic risk factors of work processes in the semiconductor industry in Peninsular Malaysia

Industrial Health423373-381INHE

Field Report Ergonomic Risk Factors of Work Processes in the Semiconductor Industry in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract: A cross-sectional survey of semiconductor factories was conducted to identify the ergonomic risk factors in the work processes, the prevalence of body pain among workers, and the relationship between body pain and work processes. A total of 906 women semiconductor workers took part in the study. In wafer preparation and polishing, a combination of lifting weights and prolonged standing might have led to high pain prevalences in the low back (35.0 % wafer preparation, 41.7 % wafer polishing) and lower limbs (90.0 % wafer preparation, 66.7 % wafer polishing). Semiconductor front of line workers, who mostly walked around to operate machines in clean rooms, had the lowest prevalences of body pain. Semiconductor assembly middle of line workers, especially the molding workers, who did frequent lifting, had high pain prevalences in the neck/shoulders (54.8%) and upper back (43.5%). In the semiconductor assembly end of line work section, chip inspection workers who were exposed to prolonged sitting without back support had high prevalences of neck/shoulder (62.2%) and upper back pain (50.0%), while chip testing workers who had to climb steps to load units had a high prevalence of lower limb pain (68.0%). Workers in the assembly of electronic components, carrying out repetitive tasks with hands and fingers, and standing in awkward postures had high pain prevalences in the neck/shoulders (61.5%), arms (38.5%), and hands/wrists (30.8%)

Low prevalence of retinopathy, but high prevalence of nephropathy among Maori with newly diagnosed diabetes : Te Wai o Rona : Diabetes Prevention Strategy

Aims/hypothesis: To describe the prevalence of retinopathy and microalbuminuria at diagnosis of diabetes in a predominantly Maori study population. Methods: Biomedical assessment including photographic retinal examination was undertaken among 157 (68.9% of eligible) members of Maori families (3.3% non-Maori) diagnosed with diabetes during a community screening programme (n = 5240) as part of a diabetes prevention strategy. Results: Mean HbA1c of those with newly diagnosed diabetes was 7.8 ± 1.5% with 34.4% having an HbA1c ≥8.0%. Retinopathy was present in 3 (1.7%) subjects, cataracts in 3.2%, microalbuminuria in 29.6% and albuminuria in 7.7%. After adjusting for covariates, only smoking was a risk factor for microalbuminuria/proteinuria (current and former smokers: increased 3.81(1.32-11.0) and 3.67(1.30-10.4) fold, respectively). Conclusions: The prevalence of retinopathy at diagnosis was lower than in previous studies, yet that of microalbuminuria/proteinuria remained high. The retinopathy data suggest that case detection for diabetes in the community may be improving, but that other strategies among those at risk of diabetes, including those promoting smoking cessation, will be needed to reduce the risk of renal disease among Maori with diabetes