Assessment of DNA damages in lymphocytes of agricultural workers exposed to pesticides by comet assay in a cross-sectional study

Purpose: To assess the predictive power of the comet assay in the context of occupational exposure to pesticides. Materials and methods: The recruited subjects completed a structured questionnaire and gave a blood sample. Exposure to pesticides was measured by means of an algorithm based on Dosemeci’s work (Agricultural Health Study). Approximately 50 images were analyzed for each sample via fluores- cence microscopy. The extent of DNA damage was estimated by tail moment (TM) and is the product of tail DNA (%) and tail Length. Results: Crude significant risks (odds ratios, ORs) for values higher than the 75th percentile of TM were observed among the exposed subjects (score>1). The frequency of some confounding factors (sex, age and smoking) was significantly higher among the exposed workers. A significant dose–effect relationship was observed between TM and exposure score. Significant high-risk estimates (ORs), adjusted by the studied confounding factors, among exposure to pesticides and TM, % tail DNA and tail length were confirmed using unconditional logistic regression models. Conclusions: The adjusted associations (ORs) between the comet parameters and exposure to pesti- cides were significant. The sensitivity of the comet test was low (41%), the specificity (89%) and the predictive positive value (0.77) were found acceptable

Factors contributing to construction injuries in building industry

The official data on fatal occupational injuries in Italy provvided by INAIL (workers compensation authority) aree considered to be incomplete and with limited information on risk ..

Healthy Diet And Reduction Of Chronic Disease Risks Of Night Shift Workers

The large increase in epidemiological studies on night shift work is due to the important effects of night shift work on workers' health and psychophysical wellbeing. The short-term effects-insomnia, difficulties in managing work and private life, lower work performance, and more work and extra-work accidents-are easily studied. However, there are several long-term effects that are difficult to study because of the need for detailed exposure assessment and the long latency periods of these diseases

Indagine sull'applicazione degli adempimenti previvisti dal D.Lgs 81/2008 in un campione di aziende agricole della provincia di Bari.

La Puglia conserva la propria vocazione rurale occupando nel settore agro-zootecnico oltre 127.000 addetti distribuiti fra piccole e medie imprese agricole a prevalente conduzione diretta. I rischi occupazionali in agricoltura sono molteplici e complessi e l’incremento delle denunce di malattie professionali occorse in questo settore all’ente assicuratore lo conferma. Il D. Lgs 81/08 prevede l’emanazione di disposizioni ministeriali per la semplificazione delle attività di formazione, informazione e sorveglianza sanitaria dei lavoratori agricoli avventizi tuttora mancanti. Per i coltivatori diretti la sorveglianza sanitaria è facoltativa. Lo studio analizza lo stato dell’applicazione degli adempimenti previsti dal D. Lgs 81/08 in un gruppo di 50 aziende agricole della provincia di Bari evidenziando carenze. L’analisi delle possibili cause suggerisce l’opportunità di promuovere l’organizzazione delle piccole e medie imprese agricole in consorzi che offrano supporto anche per la corretta e completa valutazione dei rischi, per la formazione e l’informazione dei lavoratori occupati in agricoltura e per l’effettuazione della sorveglianza sanitaria. Parole chiave: agricoltura, testo unico sicurezza, valutazione risch

Il fenomeno infortunistico a rischio biologico nel personale infermieristico dell'azienda ospedaliera di Foggia: individuazione del fabbisogno formativo

Health care workers represent an important job category at biological- risk injuries. Possible exposure of these workers could be studied through the evaluation of indirect indices such as the incidence of injuries with biological agents, workers compliance to universal precautions, frequency of contact with potential sources of exposure to biological agents. The aim of the study was to investigate the ways of occurrence of injuries involving biological agents in a group of nurses, in order to design a subsequent training programs. The study population was represented by 53 nurses from 5 divisions of the Foggia Hospital. To each subject was administered a questionnaire to collect information about demographic data and occupational history, taking into account previous accidents involving biological agents. The Injuries Registry of The Foggia Hospital, updated to March 2006, was consulted to verify the information provided by interviewed workers. The results show that procedures mostly associated to the injuries occurrence are those involving needlesticks (endovenous/intramuscular injections; blood drawning etc.) Fatigue and, in a less extent, hurry are reported by affected workers as principal causes of the events. The identification of factors associated to injuries in health care workers allows specific prevention programmes to be targeted at those workers at greater risk

La movimentazione manual edei pazienti: un metodo sintetico per la valutazione del rischio.

La movimentazione manuale dei carichi e le patologie ad essa correlate sono oggetto di crescente interesse da parte degli addetti alla prevenzione negli ambienti di lavoro. Gli operatori sanitari rappresentano una delle categorie a rischio, in quanto adibiti alla movimentazione manuale dei pazienti che rappresentano un “carico "tipico”. È necessaria, quindi, la valutazione del rischio relativo alla movimentazione manuale, ai movimenti ripetuti degli arti superiori ed a posture incongrue e frequentemente instabili. Lo studio prevede il confronto di un metodo integrato con i tre metodi maggiormente utilizzati (MAPO, REBA, OCRA). I risultati evidenziano la possibilità e la convenienza dell’utilizzare un unico metodo integrato nella valutazione della movimentazione manuale dei pazienti