Ergonomic Assessment of Musculoskeletal Disorders\' Risk Factors in Construction Workers by PATH Method

Introduction: work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the most common occupational injuries. This study was conducted to evaluate the risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders in construction workers. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 among 82 construction workers in the West Azerbaijan Province. In this study the PATH method was used and the percentages of trunks, hands, feet, hand carriage activities, and tools used in the occupations was determined. To describe the data, descriptive statistics were applied. Results: The mean of age and working experience of the participants were 37.28 ± 6.68 and 11.94 ± 7.17 years, respectively. The highest body position was in the trunk (34.5 %), hands (55.8 %), and legs (50 %) were neutral. The maximum load weigh less than 5 kg (29 %). Conclusion: Construction is a widespread activity with multiple occupations and tasks associated with serious risk factors for musculoskeletal system. To improve the working conditions of these workers ergonomic interventions is necessary

Association between Shift Working and Markers of Obesity: A Cross Sectional Study on Taxi Drivers in Yazd, Iran

Background: Obesity is one of the most important health problems, so it is very important to identify its causes. Shift work is one of the factors that causes people to become obese. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between shift work and obesity in taxi drivers. Methods: In this cross sectional study conducted in 2016, 120 male taxi drivers from Yazd were studied for demographic characteristics and some anthropometric indices. To describe the data, descriptive statistics were used; to compare the prevalence of overweight, general and abdominal obesity, chi-square test was used and to compare quantitative variables, independent t-test and Mann-Whitney test were used. Results: The results showed that the mean weight, waist circumference, body mass index and waist to hip ratio (WHR) were significantly higher in shift workers (P < 0.05). In this study, the prevalence of overweight in shift and day workers was 41.4 and 46% (P = 0.61), general obesity was 34.3 and 20% (P = 0.08), and abdominal obesity was 82.9 and 82% (P = 0.90), respectively. Spearman correlation coefficient showed a positive and significant correlation between age and WHR as well as work experience and WHR in shift workers (r = 0.34 and r = 0.31, respectively). Also, a positive and significant correlation was found between age and WHR in day workers (r = 0.35). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that shift work in taxi drivers is associated with an increased probability of overweight, general and abdominal obesity

Investigating relationship between sleep disorders and work ability among workers in construction workshops

Introduction: Sleep is one of the important physiologic needs in daily life cycle, and a part of quality of life. Sleep disorders are considered as one of the most common health problems in work communities that can affect physical, mental performance and ability to work. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the relationship between sleep disorders and work ability in construction workers. Material and Methods: This study is descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional. Samples of 220 people were selected by random sampling method from construction workers and personnel. Data collection tools in this study included sleep quality questionnaire, insomnia severity questionnaire and work ability questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 19) and, considering the objectives, descriptive statistics and analytical tests including paired t-test, Pearson’s correlation, Kruskal-Wallis, multiple linear regression and logistic regression were used. Results: Average age, body mass index, working hours and work experience were calculated as 34.2 ± 8.5 years old, 55.58 ± 2.78, 10.5 ± 1.25 hours and 12.7 ± 6.5 years, respectively. The mean indices of insomnia severity, Petersburg quality of sleep index and work ability were 6.6 ± 5.35, 4.95 ± 2.43 and 42.5 ± 5.13, respectively. The relationship between the work ability with sleep disorders was statistically significant. Variables of marital status, types of employment and smoking, independent of the variables of insomnia severity and sleep quality, significantly affected the work ability index, so that the R2 of these variables were 0.246 and 0.242 of the changes in work ability index, respectively. Conclusion: Any disturbance in sleep and resting can cause poor sleep quality. As a result, it severely reduces the ability of employees to work. Therefore, it is suggested that, in order to increase the index of work ability and, thus, the efficiency of an organization, special attention be paid to sleep-resting programs of employees

Ergonomic Assessment of the Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Cleaners

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common occupational health problem that led to rising costs and declining efficiency of the labor force. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and assess the risk of these disorders among cleaners. Methods: In this analytic cross-sectional study, among the colleges and dormitories cleaners of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, 76 people were selected by census method. Data were collected by the Nordic questionnaire and REBA method. We used mean, sd, and frequency table for describing data. To compare the averages, we used independent sample t test. The Chi-square test was used for comparing the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Results: The mean age and experience of the participants were 37.28 9.69 and 11.94 7.17, respectively. The most prevalent disorders were related to Lumbar (51.3 %), ankle (48.7 %) and knee (47.4 %), respectively. There was no significant difference between mean of age and experience of people with musculoskeletal disorder compared with those without musculoskeletal disorder. Conclusion: The results showed a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and recalls the need for corrective actions to improve the people working conditions

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Taxi Drivers in Yazd, Iran, 2016

Abstract Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the first cause of death in the worldwide. Taxi drivers are a high risk group for developing cardiovascular disease, due to exposure to unhealthy working conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among taxi drivers. Methods: This cross-sectional study in 2016, was conducted on 110 taxi drivers that selected by simple random sampling method. Prevalence of dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking, hypertension and diabetes were estimated. Descriptive statistics and the extended Fisher exact test were used for data analysis. Results: In this study, all participants were male, with mean age and experience 46.4&plusmn;11.6 and 11.3&plusmn;8.8 years, respectively. Among all subjects, 89.1% of people had at least one risk factor, 30% two risk factors, 22.7% three risk factors, 14.5% four risk factors and 4.5% five risk factors. This study showed that prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and smoking among subjects were 35.5, 10, 66.4 and 12.7, respectively. Also 45.45% and 25.45 % of individuals were overweight and obese, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study showed a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (especially low HDL-C) among taxi drivers. Training courses in order to lifestyle modification can be effective for preventing the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases in these people. &nbsp; Keywords: Taxi drivers, Risk factors, Cardiovascular disease &nbsp; &nbsp

Frequency-Based Analysis of Auditory Threshold Shifts Induced by Noise Color in Rats

Introduction: Colored noises with acoustic and psychoacoustic characteristics have several biological effects on human or animal health. While studies on auditory effects focus on noise’s physical aspects, its psychoacoustic aspects can also result in health and safety risks. Therefore, this study aims to investigate frequency-based damages due to exposure to colored noise in an animal model. Material and Methods: Twenty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups (6 in each group). The groups included the control (no exposure) and three exposure groups (white, pink, and violet). The rats were exposed to 110 dB SPL for 4 hr/day for 14 consecutive days. Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) with click and tone-burst stimuli were recorded one day before (baseline), 7, and 14 days after exposure. Statistical analyses were conducted using ANOVA and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in ABR threshold values in exposure groups (p<0.05). Hearing threshold shifts in the white noise group showed a homogeneous pattern, violet noise showed an increasing pattern, and pink noise showed a decreasing pattern in low frequencies and a homogeneous pattern with increasing frequency. The highest shift in hearing threshold was observed in exposure groups from day 0 to 14. Additionally, the shift in hearing threshold in the second week was less than in the first one. Conclusion: The current study observed that noise’s power spectral density affected hair cells’ damage severity. Accordingly, pink noise causes less damage to the cochlea compared to white and violet. Over time after noise exposure, cochlear pathogenesis gradually decreases and hair cell lesions become stable

Supplemental Material - Effect of occupational noise exposure on cortisol hormone level: A systematic review

Supplemental Material for Effect of occupational noise exposure on cortisol hormone level: A systematic review by Shadi Naderyan Fe'li, Mohammad Reza Monazam, Rajabali Hokmabadi and Vida Rezaei-Hachesu in Noise & Vibration Worldwide</p