Articles

“It’s still a great adventure” – exploring offshore employees’ working conditions in a qualitative study

Despite the particular demands inherent to offshore work, little is known about the working conditions of employees in the German offshore wind industry. To date, neither offshore employees’ job demands and re...

Authors: Janika Mette, Marcial Velasco Garrido, Volker Harth, Alexandra M. Preisser and Stefanie Mache

Pulmonary injury associated with spray of a water-based nano-sized waterproofing product: a case study

In most reported cases of lung trauma with water proofing products, volatile organic compounds (VOC) have a prominent role. Here we report on a case involving ten workers exposed to a sprayed product containin...

Authors: Paul T. J. Scheepers, Lucie Masen-Poos, Frits G. B. G. J. van Rooy, Arné Oerlemans, Eline van Daalen, Robbert Cremers, Hera Lichtenbeld, Bonne Biesma, Jorid B. Sørli, Ismo K. Koponen, Søren Thor Larsen, Peder Wolkoff and Asger W. Nørgaard

Heavy metals effect on breast cancer progression

Breast cancer is the most frequent localization of malignant process in American women and women of European countries. To date it is not possible to control the morbidity growth due to lack of effective ways ...

Authors: А. Romaniuk, M. Lyndin, V. Sikora, Y. Lyndina, S. Romaniuk and K. Sikora

Risk of lymphoma subtypes by occupational exposure in Southern Italy

Occupational exposure is known to play a role in the aetiology of lymphomas. The aim of the present work was to explore the occupational risk of the major B-cell lymphoma subtypes using a case–control study de...

Authors: Giovanni Maria Ferri, Giorgina Specchia, Patrizio Mazza, Giuseppe Ingravallo, Graziana Intranuovo, Chiara Monica Guastadisegno, Maria Luisa Congedo, Gianfranco Lagioia, Maria Cristina Loparco, Annamaria Giordano, Tommasina Perrone, Francesco Guadio, Caterina Spinosa, Carla Minoia, Lucia D’Onghia, Michela Strusi…

Prevalence, predictors and economic burden of morbidities among waste-pickers of Mumbai, India: a cross-sectional study

The occupation of waste-picking characterised as 3Ds – dangerous, drudgery and demanding. In this context, the study aimed to assess occupational morbidities among the waste-pickers and attempts to identify po...

Authors: Praveen Chokhandre, Shrikant Singh and Gyan Chandra Kashyap

Can yesterday’s smoking research inform today’s shiftwork research? Epistemological consequences for exposures and doses due to circadian disruption at and off work

In 1950, landmark epidemiology studies by Wynder & Graham and Doll & Hill contributed to identifying smoking as a potent carcinogen. In 2007, IARC classified shiftwork involving circadian disruption (CD) as pr...

Authors: Thomas C. Erren and Philip Lewis

Health utilities for chronic low back pain

Chronic low back pain (LBP) is a common health problem, with a large potential for primary prevention. Health utilities (HU) reflect which proportion of their expected remaining life time individuals would hyp...

Authors: Anna Lene Seidler, Constanze Rethberg, Jochen Schmitt, Albert Nienhaus and Andreas Seidler

Work participation of patients with musculoskeletal disorders: is this addressed in physical therapy practice?

Musculoskeletal disorders are the main complaints for visiting a physical therapist (PT) in primary health care; they have a negative effect on an individual’s quality of life and result in a major cost to soc...

Authors: Wiebke Oswald, Nathan Hutting, Josephine A. Engels, J. Bart Staal, Maria W. G. Nijhuis-van der Sanden and Yvonne F. Heerkens

Assessment of museum staff exposure to arsenic while handling contaminated exhibits by urinalysis of arsenic species

Preservation of museum objects with inorganic arsenic compounds and contamination of the surroundings has previously been documented. The present study addresses the exposure of museum staff by measuring arsen...

Authors: Amanda Mithander, Thomas Göen, Gitte Felding and Peter Jacobsen

Migrating pleural plaque in a patient with asbestos induced pleural disease: a case report

Health surveillance of formerly asbestos exposed individuals focus on early detection of asbestos related diseases, such as lung fibrosis (asbestosis), pleural plaques, mesothelioma and lung cancer in particul...

Authors: Christian Eisenhawer, Michael K. Felten, Thomas Hager, Mikhail Gronostayskiy, Philipp Bruners, Andrea Tannapfel and Thomas Kraus

The Portuguese long version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II (COPSOQ II) – a validation study

Psychosocial risks are now widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges for occupational safety and health (OSH) and a major public health concern. The aim of this paper is to investigate the Portuguese ...

Authors: Susel Rosário, Luís F. Azevedo, João A. Fonseca, Albert Nienhaus, Matthias Nübling and José Torres da Costa

An etiologic prediction model incorporating biomarkers to predict the bladder cancer risk associated with occupational exposure to aromatic amines: a pilot study

No etiological prediction model incorporating biomarkers is available to predict bladder cancer risk associated with occupational exposure to aromatic amines.

Authors: Giuseppe Mastrangelo, Angela Carta, Cecilia Arici, Sofia Pavanello and Stefano Porru

Self-reported safety practices and associated factors among employees of Dashen brewery share company, Gondar, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

According to International Labor Organization (ILO), occupational accidents and work-related diseases are the causes for millions of deaths of workers every year. In addition, many millions of workers suffer n...

Authors: Solomon Tesfa Tezera, Daniel Haile Chercos and Awrajaw Dessie

Fostering needs assessment and access to medical rehabilitation for patients with chronic disease and endangered work ability: protocol of a multilevel evaluation on the effectiveness and efficacy of a CME intervention for general practitioners

Studies show that endangered work ability (EWA) can be maintained or restored through medical rehabilitation (MR). For patients, general practitioners (GP) represent an important point of access to MR in outpa...

Authors: Stephan Fuchs, Katrin Parthier, Andreas Wienke, Wilfried Mau and Andreas Klement

Prevalence, habits and personal attitudes towards smoking among health care professionals

Tobacco use is the second major cause of morbidity and the 4th most common health risk factor in the world. Medical professionals have a critical role in the process of smoking cessation both as advisers and b...

Authors: Brankica Juranić, Željko Rakošec, Jelena Jakab, Štefica Mikšić, Suzana Vuletić, Marul Ivandić and Ivka Blažević

Correlates of employment status in individuals with asthma: a cross-sectional survey

This study aims to elucidate factors that among adults with asthma are associated with working full-time.

Authors: Saara Taponen, Lauri Lehtimäki, Kirsi Karvala, Ritva Luukkonen and Jukka Uitti

An index to characterize female career promotion in academic medicine

Imbalances in female career promotion are a key factor of gender disparities at the workplace. They may lead to stress and stress-related diseases including burnout, depression or cardiovascular diseases. Sinc...

Authors: Dörthe Brüggmann and David A. Groneberg

Retraction Note: Assessment of the influence of whole body vibration on Cochlear function

Authors: Seyyed-Ali Moussavi-Najarkola, Ali Khavanin, Ramazan Mirzaei, Mojdeh Salehnia and Mehdi Akbari

The effect of effort-reward imbalance on the health of childcare workers in Hamburg: a longitudinal study

The prevalence of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) among qualified childcare workers in Germany is currently estimated at around 65%. High rates of burnout and musculoskeletal symptoms (MS) have also been reporte...

Authors: Peter Koch, Jan Felix Kersten, Johanna Stranzinger and Albert Nienhaus

An evaluation of the protective role of vitamin C in reactive oxygen species-induced hepatotoxicity due to hexavalent chromium in vitro and in vivo

Drinking water contamination with hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] has become one of the most serious public health problems, thus the investigation of Cr (VI)-induced hepatotoxicity has attracted much attention ...

Authors: Xiali Zhong, Ming Zeng, Huanfeng Bian, Caigao Zhong and Fang Xiao

Work-related floors as injury hazards – a nationwide pilot project analyzing floors in theatres and education establishments in Germany

An adequate dance floor is said to prevent injuries. On the basis of scientific research, numerous recommendations regarding an adequate dance floor have been developed. Up to the present, however, studies hav...

Authors: Eileen M. Wanke, Mike Schmidt, Doris Klingelhöfer, Jeremy Leslie-Spinks, Daniela Ohlendorf and David A. Groneberg

Assessment of long-term cultivated human precision-cut lung slices as an ex vivo system for evaluation of chronic cytotoxicity and functionality

Investigation of basic chronic inflammatory mechanisms and development of new therapeutics targeting the respiratory tract requires appropriate testing systems, including those to monitor long- persistence. Hu...

Authors: Vanessa Neuhaus, Dirk Schaudien, Tatiana Golovina, Ulla-Angela Temann, Carolann Thompson, Torsten Lippmann, Claus Bersch, Olaf Pfennig, Danny Jonigk, Peter Braubach, Hans-Gerd Fieguth, Gregor Warnecke, Vidadi Yusibov, Katherina Sewald and Armin Braun

Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection among foreign students in Lübeck, Germany tested with QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube and QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus

The tuberculosis (TB) incidence rate in foreign-born individuals has been increasing in Germany in recent years. Foreign students may be an important source of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in low-incid...

Authors: Elia Noemi Gallegos Morales, Johannes Knierer, Anja Schablon, Albert Nienhaus and Jan Felix Kersten

Short Questionnaire for Workplace Analysis (KFZA): factorial validation in physicians and nurses working in hospital settings

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in psychosocial workplace risk assessments in Germany. One of the questionnaires commonly employed for this purpose is the Short Questionnaire for Workpla...

Authors: Patricia Appel, Michael Schuler, Heiner Vogel, Amina Oezelsel and Hermann Faller

Prevention of krait bites by sleeping above ground: preliminary results from an observational pilot study

Neurotoxic envenoming following the bites of kraits (Bungarus spp.) is a common cause of death in the dry zone of Sri Lanka and elsewhere in South Asia. Most of these bites occur at night and are inflicted on peo...

Authors: Chaturaka Rodrigo, Selvanayagam Kirushanthan and Ariaranee Gnanathasan

Effect of low-level CO₂ on innate inflammatory protein response to organic dust from swine confinement barns

Organic hog barn dust (HDE) exposure induces lung inflammation and long-term decreases in lung function in agricultural workers. While concentrations of common gasses in confined animal facilities are well cha...

Authors: David Schneberger, Jane M. DeVasure, Kristina L. Bailey, Debra J. Romberger and Todd A. Wyatt

Ford and Edison in a modern regulatory environment: the first-in-human trial of night-work and artificial light

A thought experiment places Henry Ford and Thomas Alva Edison in a modern regulatory environment. In a utopian occupational world devoid of night-shifts or artificial light, Ford wants to experiment with “work...

Authors: Thomas C. Erren, David M. Shaw, Ursula Wild and J. Valérie Groß

Work related injury among Saudi Star Agro Industry workers in Gambella region, Ethiopia; a cross-sectional study

Work injury is an important cause of morbidity and mortality, much of these work injuries burden can be found in industry required heavy manual work such as, agriculture and fishers. Hence; agriculture is cons...

Authors: Daniel Haile Chercos and Demeke Berhanu

Potential exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and selected adverse pregnancy outcomes: a follow-up study of pregnant women referred for occupational counselling

Experimental evidence indicates that fetal exposure to xenobiotics with the potential to interfere with the endogenous steroid hormone regulation of fetal development may reduce birth weight. However, epidemio...

Authors: Jessica Bengtsson, Pernille Søgaard Thygesen, Linda Kaerlev, Lisbeth E. Knudsen and Jens Peter Bonde

Fit to play: posture and seating position analysis with professional musicians - a study protocol

Musical performance-associated musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a common health problem among professional musicians. Considering the manifold consequences arising for the musicians, they can be seen as a t...

Authors: Daniela Ohlendorf, Eileen M Wanke, Natalie Filmann, David A Groneberg and Alexander Gerber

Occupational contact dermatitis from protein in sea products: who is the most affected, the fisherman or the chef?

Protein contact dermatitis has frequently been reported in case studies (usually in cases involving contact with seafood products), but there are very few descriptive series.

Authors: B. Loddé, P. Cros, A. M. Roguedas-Contios, R. Pougnet, D. Lucas, JD. Dewitte and L. Misery

Screening for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a residence home for elderly in Germany

Since many hospitals report high MRSA colonization rates among elderly patients, and because it has been shown that S. aureus colonization increases with advancing age, there are concerns about the introduction o...

Authors: Jürgen Becker and Roland Diel

Work-related exposures and disorders among physical therapists: experiences and beliefs of professional representatives assessed using a qualitative approach

According to international study results, physical therapists are afflicted with work-related musculoskeletal, psychosocial and dermal disorders as well as infections. The few existing studies in German-speaki...

Authors: Maria Girbig, Alice Freiberg, Stefanie Deckert, Diana Druschke, Christian Kopkow, Albert Nienhaus and Andreas Seidler

QFT-Plus: a plus in variability? – Evaluation of new generation IGRA in serial testing of students with a migration background in Germany

Currently available Interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) show a considerable variability in serial testing for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI).

Authors: J. Knierer, E. N. Gallegos Morales, A. Schablon, A. Nienhaus and J. F. Kersten

Differential activation of RAW 264.7 macrophages by size-segregated crystalline silica

Occupational exposure to crystalline silica is a well-established occupational hazard. Once in the lung, crystalline silica particles can result in the activation of alveolar macrophages (AM), potentially lead...

Authors: Steven E. Mischler, Emanuele G. Cauda, Michelangelo Di Giuseppe, Linda J. McWilliams, Claudette St. Croix, Ming Sun, Jonathan Franks and Luis A. Ortiz

Selected toxic and essential heavy metals in impacted teeth and the surrounding mandibular bones of people exposed to heavy metals in the environment

The elemental composition of bones and teeth can allow exposure to heavy metals in the environment to be estimated. The aim of this study was to determine whether impacted mandibular teeth and the surrounding ...

Authors: Piotr Malara, Agnieszka Fischer and Beata Malara

It is worth 10 million working hours a year to have your toilet paper folded?

From our experience the toilet paper is folded in the bathrooms in rooms in branded hotels. We aimed to study the total time yearly spent in the world on folding hotel toilet paper.

Authors: Rickard Ljung, Hedvig Ljung and Harald Ljung

Hydrofluoric acid burns in the western Zhejiang Province of China: a 10-year epidemiological study

Chemical burns caused by hydrofluoric acid (HF) frequently occur in the Western Zhejiang Province. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of HF burns within this region.

Authors: Yuanhai Zhang, Jianfen Zhang, Xinhua Jiang, Liangfang Ni, Chunjiang Ye, Chunmao Han, Komal Sharma and Xingang Wang

A diagnostic bias might be a much simpler explanation for the apparently elevated risk for nasopharyngeal cancer with respect to formaldehyde

In 2009, a working group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified formaldehyde as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) and concluded that formaldehyde causes cancer of the nasopharynx (NPC) an...

Authors: Matthias Möhner and Andrea Wendt

Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection in healthcare workers at a hospital in Naples, Italy, a low-incidence country

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at higher risk than the general population of contracting tuberculosis (TB). Moreover, although subjects with latent TB infection (LTBI) are asymptomatic and are not infectious, t...

Authors: Monica Lamberti, Mariarosaria Muoio, Antonio Arnese, Sharon Borrelli, Teresa Di Lorenzo, Elpidio Maria Garzillo, Giuseppe Signoriello, Stefania De Pascalis, Nicola Coppola and Albert Nienhaus

Hepatitis C among healthcare personnel: secondary data analyses of costs and trends for hepatitis C infections with occupational causes

Hepatitis C infection is a global public health issue. Chronic hepatitis C infection is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to describe the costs for occupationally-ca...

Authors: Claudia Westermann, Madeleine Dulon, Dana Wendeler and Albert Nienhaus

Prevalence and predictors of musculoskeletal pain among Danish fishermen – results from a cross-sectional survey

Fishermen work in a physically challenging work environment. The aim of this analysis was to estimate the prevalence and predictors of musculoskeletal pain among Danish fishermen.

Authors: Gabriele Berg-Beckhoff, Helle Østergaard and Jørgen Riis Jepsen

Use of moulded hearing protectors by child care workers - an interventional pilot study

Employees of a multi-site institution for children and adolescents started to wear moulded hearing protectors (MHPs) during working hours, as they were suffering from a high level of noise exposure. It was agr...

Authors: Peter Koch, Johanna Stranzinger, Jan Felix Kersten and Albert Nienhaus

Alternative drugs go global: possible lead and/ or mercury intoxication from imported natural health products and a need for scientifically evaluated poisoning monitoring from environmental exposures

With increases in globalization, cultural remedies from Chinese, Ayurvedic, Arab and other traditions have become more available to international consumers, offering unfamiliar “Natural Health Products” (NHP),...

Authors: Lygia Therese Budnik, Xaver Baur, Volker Harth and Axel Hahn

Work-related injuries among farmers: a cross-sectional study from rural Nepal

Agriculture work is one of the most hazardous occupations across countries of all income groups. In Nepal, 74 % of people are working in the agricultural sector. This study aims to identify patterns and factor...

Authors: Devendra Bhattarai, Suman Bahadur Singh, Dharanidhar Baral, Ram Bilakshan Sah, Shyam Sundar Budhathoki and Paras K. Pokharel

Imbalances in the German public health system - numbers of state-certified occupational physicians and relation to socioeconomic data

State-certified occupational physicians who work as civil servants in the Federal Republic of Germany are key players in the German Public Health system. They control i.e. the legal compliance in occupational ...

Authors: Christoph Gyo, Michael Boll, Dörthe Brüggmann, Doris Klingelhöfer, David Quarcoo and David A. Groneberg

Fungal cell wall agents and bacterial lipopolysaccharide in organic dust as possible risk factors for pulmonary sarcoidosis

Composition of organic dust is very complex, involving particles of microbial, animal and plant origin. Several environmental exposure studies associate microbial cell wall agents in organic dust with various ...

Authors: Sanja Stopinšek, Alojz Ihan, Barbara Salobir, Marjeta Terčelj and Saša Simčič

Total and respirable dust exposures among carpenters and demolition workers during indoor work in Denmark

Within the construction industry the risk of lung disorders depends on the specific professions probably due to variations in the levels of dust exposure, and with dust levels depending on the work task and jo...

Authors: Lilli Kirkeskov, Dorte Jessing Agerby Hanskov and Charlotte Brauer

Improved method for measurement of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in rat lung

Previously, we have developed and reported the method of measuring multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) in the lung from rats exposed to MWCNT intratracheally. The present research was performed to improve the...

Authors: Makoto Ohnishi, Masaaki Suzuki, Masahiro Yamamoto, Tatsuya Kasai, Hirokazu Kano, Hideki Senoh, Ichiro Higashikubo, Akihiro Araki and Shoji Fukushima

Gendermetrics.NET: a novel software for analyzing the gender representation in scientific authoring

Imbalances in female career promotion are believed to be strong in the field of academic science. A primary parameter to analyze gender inequalities is the gender authoring in scientific publications. Since th...

Authors: Michael H. K. Bendels, Dörthe Brüggmann, Norman Schöffel and David A. Groneberg