Allergic Symptoms in Workers in Out-Patient Card

As workers in the out-patient card storage room of a university hospital complained frequent allergic symptoms (such as runny nose, sneeze, cough, eye itching, eye redness, and also asthma like symptoms), particularly during work periods, this cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate the extent, severity, and cause of these allergic symptoms. Datas were collected by walkthrough survey and self-administrated questionnaires during 10 – 17 January 2006. Study results, showed that the work area was poorly ventilated, with molds on the air-vent slits. Some areas were dusty. Average room humidity and temperature were 46 percent and 20.4 °c respectively, whereas the recommended standards for these parameters according to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) were 30 – 60 percent and 22.8 – 25 °c respectively. The concentrations of airborne particulate matter less than 10 and 2.5 µm, as well as airborne fungi were well within the recommended standards. Concerning workers health, 36 out of totally 45 workers (80 percent) complained nose fullness, runny nose, and sneezing, while 28 workers (62.2 percent) experienced throat itching, dry throat, and hoarseness of voice. The frequencies of symptoms were minimal to moderate, affecting 20 – 30 workers (44.5 – 66.7 percent) during weekdays and 16 – 18 workers (35.6 – 40.0 percent) during the weekends. Among those with the symptoms during weekdays, 30 (66.7 percent) reported the symptoms during working hours. In conclusion, the raised temperature of work area up to the standard level is recommended, and cause of allergic symptoms among workers need further investigatio

Risk factors for the onset and persistence of neck pain in undergraduate students: 1-year prospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although neck pain is common in young adulthood, studies on predictive factors for its onset and persistence are scarce. It is therefore important to identify possible risk factors among young adults so as to prevent the development of neck pain later in life.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective study was carried out in healthy undergraduate students. At baseline, a self-administered questionnaire and standardized physical examination were used to collect data on biopsychosocial factors. At 3, 6, 9, and 12 months thereafter, follow-up data were collected on the incidence of neck pain. Those who reported neck pain on ≥ 2 consecutive follow-ups were categorized as having persistent neck pain. Two regression models were built to analyze risk factors for the onset and persistence of neck pain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the recruited sample of 684 students, 46% reported the onset of neck pain between baseline and 1-year follow-up, of whom 33% reported persistent neck pain. The onset of neck pain was associated with computer screen position not being level with the eyes and mouse position being self-rated as suitable. Factors that predicted persistence of neck pain were position of the keyboard being too high, use of computer for entertainment < 70% of total computer usage time, and students being in the second year of their studies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Neck pain is quite common among undergraduate students. This study found very few proposed risk factors that predicted onset and persistence of neck pain. The future health of undergraduate students deserves consideration. However, there is still much uncertainty about factors leading to neck pain and more research is needed on this topic.</p

Development of a risk score for low back pain in office workers - a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Low back pain (LBP) is common among office workers and is the most common cause of work-related disability in people under 45 years of age. The aetiology of LBP is widely accepted to be multi-factorial. Prognostic research into office workers at risk of developing LBP has received limited attention. The aims of this study were to develop a risk score to identify office workers likely to have LBP and to evaluate its predictive power. Methods 397 office workers filled out a self-administered questionnaire and underwent physical examination. The questionnaire gathered data on individual, work-related physical and psychosocial data as well as the presence of low back pain in the previous 4 weeks. The physical examination included measurement of body weight, height, waist circumference, hamstrings length, spinal scoliosis, spinal curve, Backache Index and lumbar stability. Logistic regression was used to select significant factors associated with LBP to build a risk score. The coefficients from the logistic regression model were transformed into the components of a risk score. Results The model included six items: previous history of working as an office worker, years of work experience, continuous standing for >2 hrs/d, frequency of forward bending during work day, chair having lumbar support and Backache Index outcome. The risk score for LBP in office workers (The Back pain Risk score for Office Workers: The BROW) was built with a risk score ranging from 0 to 9. A cut-off score of ≥4 had a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 58%. The positive predictive value and negative predictive values were 70% each. Conclusions The BROW is easy and quick to administer. It appears to have reasonable sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive values for the cut-off point of ≥4. The BROW is a promising tool for use to identify office workers in need of early interventions. Further prospective study is needed to validate the predictive performance of the BROW.</p

Immediate and long‐term effects of a very‐low‐calorie diet on diabetes remission and glycemic control in obese Thai patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

AIM A very‐low‐calorie diet (VLCD) can reverse the underlying defects of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in obese subjects. We determined the efficacy, safety, and durability of VLCD in Thai patients with DM and obesity. METHODS Twenty Thai patients with DM and obesity were enrolled. After a 2‐week trial, VLCD (600 kcal/day) was continued for 8 weeks, followed by a 4‐week transition period. Data on diabetes remission (fasting plasma glucose level &lt;126 mg/dl and HbA1c &lt;6.5% without the use of glucose‐lowering medications), glycemic control, metabolic parameters, and quality of life (QOL) were collected along with indices of insulin resistance (IR) and beta cell function. Glycemic control 12 months after discontinuation of VLCD was also examined. RESULTS Among 19 patients (age 48 ± 2 years, BMI 27.7 kg/m2) who completed the study, rapid improvement in glycemic control was observed in the first 2 weeks of VLCD. At both 8 and 12 weeks, diabetes remission was achieved in 79%. Significant weight loss was accompanied by a significant reduction in IR and an increase in beta cell function, starting at 4 weeks of VLCD. QOL also significantly increased. At 12 months after VLCD, however, DM remission was achieved in approximately 30%. CONCLUSION Very‐low‐calorie diet was effective and safe in inducing short‐term diabetes remission in Thai subjects by ameliorating beta cell function and IR. Optimal long‐term glycemic control was potentially durable as one‐third of subjects remained without diabetes medication 12 months after VLCD

Immediate and long‐term effects of a very‐low‐calorie diet on diabetes remission and glycemic control in obese Thai patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

AIM A very‐low‐calorie diet (VLCD) can reverse the underlying defects of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in obese subjects. We determined the efficacy, safety, and durability of VLCD in Thai patients with DM and obesity. METHODS Twenty Thai patients with DM and obesity were enrolled. After a 2‐week trial, VLCD (600 kcal/day) was continued for 8 weeks, followed by a 4‐week transition period. Data on diabetes remission (fasting plasma glucose level &lt;126 mg/dl and HbA1c &lt;6.5% without the use of glucose‐lowering medications), glycemic control, metabolic parameters, and quality of life (QOL) were collected along with indices of insulin resistance (IR) and beta cell function. Glycemic control 12 months after discontinuation of VLCD was also examined. RESULTS Among 19 patients (age 48 ± 2 years, BMI 27.7 kg/m2) who completed the study, rapid improvement in glycemic control was observed in the first 2 weeks of VLCD. At both 8 and 12 weeks, diabetes remission was achieved in 79%. Significant weight loss was accompanied by a significant reduction in IR and an increase in beta cell function, starting at 4 weeks of VLCD. QOL also significantly increased. At 12 months after VLCD, however, DM remission was achieved in approximately 30%. CONCLUSION Very‐low‐calorie diet was effective and safe in inducing short‐term diabetes remission in Thai subjects by ameliorating beta cell function and IR. Optimal long‐term glycemic control was potentially durable as one‐third of subjects remained without diabetes medication 12 months after VLCD

Predictive validity of three home fall hazard assessment tools for older adults in Thailand.

This study aimed to examine the predictive validity of two internationally well-known instruments, the Modified Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool (Modified HOME FAST) and the Modified Home Falls and Accidents Screening Tool-Self Report (Modified HOME FAST-SR), and the newly developed Thai Home Falls Hazard Assessment Tool (Thai-HFHAT) (69 items) in predicting falls among older Thai adults. It also aimed to examine the predictive validity of the two abbreviated versions (44 and 27 items) of the Thai-HFHAT, which were developed post hoc to accommodate older adults' limited literacy and poor vision and to facilitate the identification of high-impact home fall hazards that are prevalent in the Thailand context. A prospective cohort study was conducted among 450 participants aged 60 years and above who were assessed by the aforementioned tools at baseline, for which data on fall incidence were then collected during the one-year follow-up. The Cox proportional hazard model was applied to estimate hazard ratios (HRs); then, Harrell's C-statistics and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were conducted to identify the best cutoff point, sensitivity and specificity for each instrument. The results showed that the fall hazard rate was 2.04 times per 1,000 person-days. Taking into account both the predictive validity and applicability, the Thai-HFHAT (44 items) was found to be the most suitable screening tool due to its highest sensitivity and specificity (93% and 72%) at the cutoff score of 18. In conclusion, our study showed that these internationally validated home fall hazard assessment tools were quite applicable for Thailand, but further tailoring the tools into a specific local context yielded even more highly valid tools in predicting fall risk among older Thai adults. Although these findings were well reproducible by inferring from the internal validation results, further external validation in the independent population is necessary