165 research outputs found
Preventing Melanoma with the Help of Occupational Physicians
 Melanoma incidence is increasing constantly worldwide in recent years: 132,000 melanoma skin cancers occur globally each year (WHO-INTERSUN). Despite this, no adequate evidence regarding the role of cumulative solar UV exposure in inducing the skin cancer has been provided. Recently, some studies appear to indicate that, also in patients with melanoma history, the habit of completely avoiding sun exposure is not a positive prognostic factor. According to IARC monograph published in 2012, evidences regarding UV risk factors for melanoma are the intermittent UV exposure with recurrent sunburns, especially in childhood and adolescence. According to these findings, various studies on occupational exposure to solar radiation (SR) failed to find an association between the performance of an outdoor job and the risk of melanoma. Recently, in Italy melanoma due to SR exposure has been erased from the national list of occupational diseases (D.P.R. 1124/65, last modification in 2014). But, in Europe an occupational health surveillance is needed for workers exposed to Artificial UV radiation according to EU Directive 2006/25/CE, and a skin examination for these workers is suggested, but quite paradoxically there are not similar indications for workers exposed to natural UV radiation. Considering the great number of outdoor workers employed in Europe, at least 14 million according to OSHA, and worldwide, the consideration of occupational solar radiation exposure as a specific professional risk requiring the health surveillance of exposed workers will be very helpful in order to prevent melanoma and other UV related diseases. </jats:p
Occupational Health and Safety in the Healthcare Sector
Healthcare workers are exposed to several different occupational risk factors, and they pay
an important tribute in terms of occupational diseases and work-related injuries. Currently, the
COVID-19 pandemic has focused the attention on the problem of the infectious risk, which is certainly
among the risks typically expected and specifically recognized for the health personnel, but also other
occupational risks should not be overlooked, as, e.g., the risks associated with work-organization
factors and with the exposure to chemical and physical agents. The health consequences associated
with the exposure to all these factors have relevant impacts in terms of induced diseases, DALYs,
sickness absence from work and costs for the health systems.
According to these premises, this reprint has collected manuscripts addressing topics related
to the prevention of the occupational risks in the healthcare sector, including original articles and
reviews on the prevention of work-related illnesses and injuries of the health personnel, as well as
on the evaluation of the risks in the healthcare workplaces, and on the topics of risk perception and
of the knowledge and attitudes of the workers towards the preventive procedures and the use of
protections. The themes of the prevention of occupational infectious risk, biomechanical overload
of the musculoskeletal system and work-related psychosocial factors are specifically discussed in the
papers collected
Macular degeneration and occupational risk factors: a systematic review
Purpose: Macular degeneration is a multi-factorial disease, leading cause of blindness for people over 50 years old in developed countries. To date, the knowledge on possible occupational factors involved in the development of the disease is scant. Method: We performed a systematic scientific literature search on the association between macular degeneration and occupational risk factors searching the MedLine and Scopus databases. Results: We examined 158 articles and, according to the inclusion criteria, 13 peer-reviewed studies evaluating occupational risk factors for macular degeneration or reporting the frequency of the disease in specific groups of workers were included in the review. Ten on thirteen articles evaluated the presence of macular degeneration in workers exposed to solar radiation. Only one study found that non-specific history of occupational chemical exposure was associated with the disease. Two studies showed an association between macular degeneration and the general category of “blue-collar” workers, but they did not identify the specific risk factors involved. Conclusions: To date few studies have examined occupational risk factors for macular degeneration. Nevertheless, available data indicate that long-term occupational solar radiation exposure, in particular for its blue-light component, is associated with macular degeneration in outdoor workers
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