Knowledge and Practice Assessment of Workers in a Pharmaceutical Company about Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease is one of the most common reasons of death around the world. Also, according to previous studies, the incidence of coronary artery disease is rapidly increasing in developing countries such as Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practice of pharmaceutical company workers towards the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In this cross sectional study that was conducted in Tehran, 1223 workers of a pharmaceutical company were enrolled. Data was collected using a questionnaire that assessed the level of knowledge and practice of the participants towards coronary artery disease. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between study variables and the workers knowledge level. The results of this study showed that 49% of the workers were in a good level of knowledge and according to the regression analysis, the female gender, age above 28, education level higher than high school diploma, body mass index above 25 kilograms per square meters, history of hyperlipidemia, history of diabetes, history of hypertension, history of myocardial infarction, daily activity and exercise, were significantly related to a good knowledge towards coronary artery disease. In addition, the mean score of the participants' performance in preventing coronary artery disease was 4.66 out of 9. The results of this study showed that increasing level of knowledge of labors in order to prevent missing specialized work force, leads to imposition of health costs to the industry and the labor society

Hearing Impairment Due to Cigarette Smoking and SimultaneousExposure to Occupational Noise

Background:Noise is the most common hazard in the workplace and noise induced hearing loss considered to be the most common occupational disease as well. Cigarette smoking, in some studies, has been known to induce hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of contemporary exposure to occupational noise and cigarette smoking on hearing.Methods:478 assembly workers of an automobile plant which were exposed tothe noise more than TLV (threshold limit value)level included in this study.After considering the exclusion criteria, all participants according to the smoking status were divided in smoker and nonsmoker groups and compared for hearing impairment.Hearing impairment in this study was assessed with the offered method of American Academy of Otolaryngology (AAO).   Results :Of 478 assembly workers, 225 persons were smokers and others non   smokers.Prevalence of hearing impairment in smokers was significantly higher (p<0.001). Hearing impairment had a significant relation with smoking status even after adjusting for cofounders like age and duration of work (OR=8.23, 95% CI=3.63-18.66).Conclusion:The results of this study suggested that cigarette smokers had more hearing impairment than non smokers. According to these results we concluded that in working environments, especially in noisy ones,workers must be encouraged to quit smoking and regular audiometric tests, especially for smokers,must be applied.We must consider not only the noise, but indeed all effective elements of hearing impairment in working environment that could compromise the hearing

Utjecaj izloženosti mješavini organskih otapala na krvni tlak nepušačica koje rade u farmaceutskoj tvrtki

Some studies suggest that exposure to industrial solvents can affect blood pressure. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a mixture of organic solvents on blood pressure in women working in a pharmaceutical company in Iran. Four hundred and thirty-three women were included in the study. Women working in packing units (group 1) were not exposed to the mixture of organic solvents, women in new laboratory units (group 2) were exposed to the mixture within the permitted range and women working in old laboratory units (group 3) were exposed to the mixture above the permitted limit. We compared systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP & DBP) and prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension among groups. The results revealed a signifi cant difference in SBP and pre-hypertension (p<0.001) and hypertension (p<0.05) prevalence between the exposed and the control group, but DBP did not differ signifi cantly. Logistic regression analysis showed a signifi cant association between hypertension and exposure to mixed solvents. Odds ratio for hypertension in the group 2 and group 3 (exposed) workers was 2.36 and 3, respectively, compared to controls. Our results suggest that exposure to a mixture of organic solvents may increase SBP and hypertension and pre-hypertension prevalence in drug manufacture workers. Therefore, more attention should be paid to workers that work in such settings by periodically measuring blood pressure and implementing accurate and comprehensive programs to reduce exposure to organic solvents.smo istraživanju nastojali ispitati utjecaj mješavine organskih otapala na krvni tlak žena koje rade u farmaceutskoj tvrtki u Iranu. Četiristo trideset i tri žene bile su uključene u istraživanje. Žene koje rade u pakirnicama (G1) nisu bile izložene mješavini organskih otapala, žene koje rade u novim laboratorijskim jedinicima (G2) bile su izložene dozvoljenoj granici mješavine, a žene u starim laboratorijskim jedinicama (G3) bile su izložene količini mješavine koja je viša od dozvoljene granične vrijednosti. Usporedili smo sistolički i dijastolički krvni tlak (eng. systolic blood pressure, krat. SBP i eng. diastolic blood pressure, krat. DBP) i prevalenciju hipertenzije i prehipertenzije između navedenih skupina. Otkrili smo značajnu razliku u vrijednostima SBP-a i prevalencije prehipertenzije (p<0,001) i (p<0,05) hipertenzije između skupina G2 i G3, te kontrolne skupine (G1), ali se vrijednosti za DBP nisu značajno razlikovale. Logistička regresijska analiza pokazala je značajnu poveznicu između hipertenzije i izlaganja mješavini otapala. U usporedbi s radnicama koje nisu bile izložene mješavini, omjer izgleda za nastanak hipertenzije u skupini G2 iznosio je 2,36, a u skupini G3 3. Naši rezultati pokazuju da izlaganje mješavini organskih otapala može povisiti vrijednost SBP-a i prevalencije hipertenzije i prehipertenzije kod radnika koji rade u proizvodnji lijekova. Stoga je potrebno posvetiti veću pozornost osobama koje rade u takvim okruženjima, a mjere koje bi valjalo poduzimati uključuju redovito mjerenje krvnog tlaka i provedbu preciznih i sveobuhvatnih programa za smanjenje izlaganja organskim otapalima

Kombinirano djelovanje ototoksičnih otapala i buke na sluh radnika u tvornici automobila u Iranu

Exposure of workers to mixtures of organic solvents and to occupational noise is frequent in a number of industries. Recent studies suggest that exposure to both can cause a more severe hearing loss than exposure to noise alone. Our cross-sectional study included 411 workers of a large automobile plant divided in three groups. The fi rst group included assembly workers exposed to noise alone; the second included workers in a new paint shop, who were exposed to a mixture of organic solvents at a permissible level; and the third group included paint shop workers exposed to both noise and higher than permissible levels of organic solvents in an old paint shop. These groups were compared in terms of low-frequency hearing loss (model 1; average hearing threshold >25 dB at 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, and 2 kHz) and high-frequency hearing loss (model 2; average hearing threshold >25 dB at 3 kHz, 4 kHz, 6 kHz, and 8 kHz). High-frequency hearing loss was more common in workers exposed to a combination of noise and mixed organic solvents even at permissible levels than in workers exposed to noise alone even after correction for confounding variables. This study shows that combined exposure to mixed organic solvents and occupational noise can exacerbate hearing loss in workers. Therefore, an appropriate hearing protection programme is recommended, that would include short-interval audiometric examinations and effi cient hearing protectors.Profesionalna izloženost radnika mješavinama organskih otapala i buci česta je u mnogim industrijskim granama. Nedavna su istraživanja pokazala da izloženost i jednom i drugomu može dovesti do većih oštećenja sluha negoli samo izloženost buci. Ovo je presječno ispitivanje obuhvatilo 411 radnika velike tvornice automobila u Iranu, koji su podijeljeni u tri skupine. Prva je skupina obuhvatila radnike na sklapanju dijelova izložene samo buci, druga radnike u novoj autolakirnici, koji su uz buku bili izloženi mješavini organskih otapala u dopuštenim razinama, a treća je skupina obuhvatila radnike u staroj autolakirnici, koji su uz buku bili izloženi prekomjernim razinama mješavine organskih otapala. Te smo skupine usporedili s obzirom na gubitak sluha za niže frekvencije (0,5 kHz, 1 kHz i 2 kHz; prosječni prag >25 dB) odnosno više frekvencije (3 kHz, 4 kHz, 6 kHz i 8 kHz; prosječni prag >25 dB). Gubitak sluha za više frekvencije bio je učestaliji u radnika izloženih kombinaciji buke i mješavini organskih otapala nego u radnika izloženih samo buci, čak i kada su razine otapala bile unutar dopuštene granice te kad su se uklonile ometajuće varijable. Ovo je ispitivanje potvrdilo da istodobna profesionalna izloženost mješavini organskih otapala i buci može pogoršati gubitak sluha. Stoga je nužno osmisliti odgovarajući program zaštite sluha koji bi obuhvatio učestalo testiranje sluha i djelotvornu zaštitnu opremu