Articles

Digitally connected work and its consequences for strain – a systematic review

Evolving digitization has an impact not only on the organization of work, but also on the health of employees. Dealing with new technologies, integrating new processes and requirements into work, and restructu...

Authors: Sabrina Zolg, Barbara Heiden and Britta Herbig

Eating behaviour and weight development of European and Asian seafarers during stay on board and at home

Food choices on board merchant ships are limited and seafarers repeatedly described as being at high risk of developing overweight compared to the general population. Up to date, research has not distinguished...

Authors: Felix Alexander Neumann, Lukas Belz, Dorothee Dengler, Volker Harth, Thomas von Münster, Joachim Westenhöfer, Marcus Oldenburg and Birgit-Christiane Zyriax

Genome-wide mRNA profiling identifies the NRF2-regulated lymphocyte oxidative stress status in patients with silicosis

The immunomodulatory abnormalities of silicosis are related to the lymphocyte oxidative stress state. The potential effect of antioxidant therapy on silicosis may depend on the variation in nuclear factor eryt...

Authors: Yingzheng Zhao, Guangcui Xu, Haibin Li, Meiyu Chang, Cheng Xiong, Yingjun Tao, Yi Guan, Yuchun Li and Sanqiao Yao

The pupillary light reflex (PLR) as a marker for the ability to work or drive – a feasibility study

The PLR (pupillary light reflex) can be a marker for pathological medical conditions, such as neurodegenerative or mental health disorders and diseases as well as marker for physiological alterations, such as ...

Authors: Andrea Kaifie, Martin Reugels, Thomas Kraus and Michael Kursawe

Prevalence and risk factors for latent tuberculosis in polish healthcare workers: the comparison of tuberculin skin test and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) performance

Tuberculosis (TB) is still one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide. Health care workers (HCW) are at particular risk of the disease due to their constant exposure to TB patients or their specimens...

Authors: Monika Szturmowicz, Beata Broniarek-Samson and Urszula Demkow

Electrocardiographic abnormalities in medically screened German military aircrew

A resting electrocardiogram (ECG) is a well-tolerated, non-invasive, and inexpensive test for overt electrical signs of cardiac pathology and is widely used in the screening of aircrew and other high-hazard oc...

Authors: Norbert Guettler and Stefan Sammito

A mass casualty incident of infectious diseases at the port of Hamburg: an analysis of organizational structures and emergency concepts

The project “ARMIHN” (Adaptive Resiliency Management in Port) focuses on strengthening the capability to act in a mass casualty incident (MCI) due to an outbreak of infectious diseases (MCI-ID). In addition to...

Authors: Angelina Klein, Julian Heuser, Esther Henning, Nadine Sprössel, Ann-Christin Kordsmeyer, Marcus Oldenburg, Natascha Mojtahedzadeh, Jan Heidrich, Kristina Carolin Militzer, Lukas Belz, Thomas von Münster, Volker Harth, Lena Ehlers, Jens de Boer, Scarlett Kleine-Kampmann, Matthias Boldt…

Online survey among maritime pilots: job-related stress and strain and the effects on their work ability

Maritime pilots often navigate ships through challenging waterways. The required 24 h standby rotation system (ROS) poses a stressful working situation. This study aims to describe the current job-related stre...

Authors: Marcus Oldenburg, Jan Herzog, Filip Barbarewicz, Volker Harth and Hans-Joachim Jensen

Hepatitis C in healthcare personnel: follow-up analysis of treatments with direct-acting antiviral agents

Hepatitis C infections (HCV) are associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to update the results of treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) using a larger po...

Authors: Claudia Westermann, Dana Wendeler and Albert Nienhaus

Misdiagnosis in occupational and environmental medicine: a scoping review

There has been no comprehensive review for misdiagnosis in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM). The possible ramifications of an occupational disease (OD) or an environmental disease (ED) misdiagnosi...

Authors: Jinyoung Moon and HyeKyoung Yoo

Application of impedance measurement to investigate in vitro inhalation toxicity of bacteria

Workers of agriculture and intensive life stock farming are exposed to highly contaminated workplaces. Bioaerosol exposures are suspected to trigger respiratory health effects of the workers. So far, risk eval...

Authors: Stefanie Klar, Dierk-Christoph Poether, Jessica Reinert, Nicole Hüttig, Gunter Linsel and Udo Jäckel

Correction to: Serum levels of miR-21-5p and miR-339-5p associate with occupational trichloroethylene hypersensitivity syndrome

Authors: Wei Liu, Jian Zheng, Xiaohu Ren, Yuxuan Xie, Dafeng Lin, Peimao Li, Yuan Lv, Maggie Pui Man Hoi, Yanfang Zhang and Jianjun Liu

Correction to: Arterial abnormalities in the hands of workers with vibration white fingers – a magnetic resonance angiography case series

Authors: Per Vihlborg, Karim Makdoumi, Hana Gavlovská, Sverre Wikström and Pål Graff

Association between household exposure and cycle threshold in COVID-19 infected health care workers

Household SARS-COV-2 contact constitutes a high-risk exposure for health care workers (HCWs). Cycle threshold (Ct) of reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction testing provides an estimate of COVID-19 vi...

Authors: Ai Chien, Sandra Domeracki, Sandeep Guntur, Kristopher Taylor, Chuanyi M. Lu, Harry Lampiris and Paul D. Blanc

Burnout and work-life balance among physicians: the role of migration background

We want to analyze the effect of migration background (MB) on physician burnout and work-life balance.

Authors: Felix S. Hussenoeder, Erik Bodendieck, Ines Conrad, Franziska Jung and Steffi G. Riedel-Heller

Arterial abnormalities in the hands of workers with vibration white fingers – a magnetic resonance angiography case series

Vibration white finger (VWF) is a complication from exposure to hand-arm vibrations. Poor knowledge of the pathophysiology of VWF means that making an accurate prognosis is difficult. Thus, a better understand...

Authors: Per Vihlborg, Karim Makdoumi, Hana Gavlovská, Sverre Wikström and Pål Graff

Presentation of a participatory approach to develop preventive measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission in child care

It can be suspected that work in child care facilities is associated with an elevated exposure risk towards SARS-CoV-2 infections. It is still unclear under which conditions employees in those facilities can s...

Authors: Mathias Diebig, Susan Gritzka, Nico Dragano and Peter Angerer

New methods for assessing secondary performance attributes of sunscreens suitable for professional outdoor work

Outdoor workers (OW) are highly exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and thus at increased risk for developing skin cancer. An essential part of an overall strategy to reduce workplace UVR-exposure to ...

Authors: Marc Rocholl, Patricia Weinert, Stephan Bielfeldt, Sabrina Laing, Klaus Peter Wilhelm, Claas Ulrich and Swen Malte John

Heart rate variability as a strain indicator for psychological stress for emergency physicians during work and alert intervention: a systematic review

The workloads of emergency physicians are severe. The prevalence of burnout among emergency physicians is higher than with other physicians or compared to the general population. The analysis of heart rate var...

Authors: Beatrice Thielmann, Robert Pohl and Irina Böckelmann

Sleep-time physiological recovery is associated with eating habits in distressed working-age Finns with overweight: secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial

Association of physiological recovery with nutrition has scarcely been studied. We investigated whether physiological recovery during sleep relates to eating habits, i.e., eating behaviour and diet quality.

Authors: Elina Järvelä-Reijonen, Suvi Järvinen, Leila Karhunen, Tiina Föhr, Tero Myllymäki, Essi Sairanen, Sanni Lindroos, Katri Peuhkuri, Maarit Hallikainen, Jussi Pihlajamäki, Sampsa Puttonen, Riitta Korpela, Miikka Ermes, Raimo Lappalainen, Urho M. Kujala, Marjukka Kolehmainen…

Respiratory Disease Occupational Biomonitoring Collaborative Project (ROBoCoP): A longitudinal pilot study and implementation research in the Parisian transport company

The ROBoCoP project is launched within the EU COST Action CA16113 “CliniMARK” aiming to increase the number of clinically validated biomarkers and focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) biomar...

Authors: I. Guseva Canu, M. Hemmendinger, J. J. Sauvain, G. Suarez, N. B. Hopf, J. A. Pralong, T. Ben Rayana, S. Besançon, K. Sakthithasan, V. Jouannique and A. Debatisse

COVID-19 infection across workplace settings in Qatar: a comparison of COVID-19 positivity rates of screened workers from March 1st until July 31st, 2020

COVID-19 transmission was significant amongst Qatar’s working population during the March–July 2020 outbreak. The study aimed to estimate the risk of exposure for COVID-19 across various workplace settings and...

Authors: Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari, Asma Ali Al-Nuaimi, Jazeel Abdulmajeed, Sandy Semaan, Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi, Mujeeb Chettiyam Kandy and Selvakumar Swamy

Mortality from Parkinson’s disease and other causes among a workforce manufacturing paraquat: an updated retrospective cohort study

Epidemiological studies of the association between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and paraquat (PQ) exposure have given inconsistent findings. The aim of the study was to update information on the risk of PD and mor...

Authors: John Andrew Tomenson and Clive Campbell

Serum levels of miR-21-5p and miR-339-5p associate with occupational trichloroethylene hypersensitivity syndrome

Trichloroethylene (TCE) hypersensitivity syndrome (THS) is a dose-independent and potentially life-threatening disease. In this study, we sought to identify THS-related miRNAs and evaluate its potential clinic...

Authors: Wei Liu, Jian Zheng, Xiaohu Ren, Yuxuan Xie, Dafeng Lin, Peimao Li, Yuan Lv, Maggie Pui Man Hoi, Yanfang Zhang and Jianjun Liu

Artificial intelligence and robotisation in the EU - should we change OHS law?

Technological progress in the twenty-first century offers real chances for economic development of the European Union (EU). The purpose of this publication is to analyse risks and threats relating to Occupatio...

Authors: Maciej Jarota

Correction to: Exposures to 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid with or without endotoxin upregulate small cell lung cancer pathway

Authors: Geetika Kaur, B. V. Sunil Kumar, Baljit Singh and R. S. Sethi

Adverse health manifestations in the hands of vibration exposed carpenters - a cross sectional study

Despite EU regulatory standards, many workers suffer injury as a result of working with hand-held vibrating tools. Our aim of this study was to confirm whether carpenters, a highly exposed group, suffer more i...

Authors: Eva Tekavec, Lotta Löfqvist, Anna Larsson, Karin Fisk, Jakob Riddar, Tohr Nilsson and Catarina Nordander

Pushing occupational rehabilitation – implementation of a therapy diary in the outpatient aftercare of psychosomatic rehabilitation may promote the occupational reintegration process: a survey of therapists and patients

Treatment results achieved after fulfilling an inpatient psychosomatic rehabilitation are often not permanent. Additional participation in outpatient rehabilitation aftercare may reduce the risk of recurrent d...

Authors: Carolin Thiel, Cynthia Richter, Franziska-Antonia Zora Samos, Marcus Heise, Thomas Frese and Thomas Fankhaenel

Exposures to 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid with or without endotoxin upregulate small cell lung cancer pathway

Pesticide residues in food and environment along with airborne contaminants such as endotoxins pose health risk. Although herbicide 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) has been associated with increased ris...

Authors: Geetika Kaur, B. V. Sunil Kumar, Baljit Singh and R. S. Sethi

Effects of person-environment fit of gender-role orientation on burnout, engagement and hair steroids as stress biomarkers among women

Analysis on gender related differences in occupational stress and burnout levels usually reveal higher occupational stress and burnout levels for women compared to men, especially in male-dominated working env...

Authors: Eva Wacker, Axel Fischer and Julia Schorlemmer

The impact of chronic co-exposure to different heavy metals on small fibers of peripheral nerves. A study of metal industry workers

Chronic exposure to heavy metals affects various organs, among them the brain and peripheral nerves. Polyneuropathy is mainly length-dependent with predominantly sensory symptoms. There have been few studies o...

Authors: Magdalena Koszewicz, Katarzyna Markowska, Marta Waliszewska-Prosol, Rafał Poreba, Paweł Gac, Anna Szymanska-Chabowska, Grzegorz Mazur, Malgorzata Wieczorek, Maria Ejma, Krzysztof Slotwinski and Slawomir Budrewicz

Prevalence of second victims, risk factors and support strategies among young German physicians in internal medicine (SeViD-I survey)

Second victims, defined as healthcare team members being traumatised by an unanticipated clinical event or outcome, are frequent in healthcare. Evidence of this phenomenon in Germany, however, is sparse. Recen...

Authors: Reinhard Strametz, Peter Koch, Anja Vogelgesang, Amie Burbridge, Hannah Rösner, Miriam Abloescher, Wolfgang Huf, Brigitte Ettl and Matthias Raspe

Addressing future work ability of employees in GP consultations: results of a cross-sectional study

In this study we examined to what extent members of a best-practice integrated healthcare model in Germany discussed their subjective future work ability with their general practitioner (GP); furthermore, we e...

Authors: Anna T. Ehmann, Peter Martus, Achim Siegel and Monika A. Rieger

Creating a measure to operationalize engaged well-being at work

Mental well-being and work engagement are both desirable, positive states of mind that help employees to better function in the workplace. While occupational researchers have argued in favor of considering bot...

Authors: Catherin Bosle, Joachim E. Fischer and Raphael M. Herr

Sleep duration and satisfaction among physicians in tertiary public hospitals in China: a large sample national survey

To investigate the sleep duration and level of satisfaction among physicians in tertiary public hospitals in China, and to explore associated factors.

Authors: Yinuo Wu, Feng Jiang, Shichao Wu, Yuanli Liu and Yi-Lang Tang

Symmetrical dental occlusion blocking – changes of body sway and weight distribution in healthy subjects across 4 age decades

Symmetrical dental occlusion blocking is used in dentistry as a quick diagnostic tool to test for potential influences of the craniomandibular system on body sway and weight distribution. This study presents t...

Authors: C. Maurer-Grubinger, F. Adjami, I. Avaniadi, W. Christian, C. Doerry, V. Fay, V. Fisch, A. Gerez, J. Goecke, U. Kaya, J. Keller, D. Krüger, J. Pflaum, L. Porsch, C. Wischnewski, B. Scharnweber…

Ongoing downplaying of the carcinogenicity of chrysotile asbestos by vested interests

Industries that mine, manufacture and sell asbestos or asbestos-containing products have a long tradition of promoting the use of asbestos, while placing the burden of economic and health costs on workers and ...

Authors: Xaver Baur and Arthur L. Frank

Comparing burnout and work-life balance among specialists in internal medicine: the role of inpatient vs. outpatient workplace

Compared to the general population, physicians are more likely to experience increased burnout and lowered work-life balance. In our article, we want to analyze whether the workplace of a physician is associat...

Authors: Felix S. Hussenoeder, Erik Bodendieck, Franziska Jung, Ines Conrad and Steffi G. Riedel-Heller

Oxidative stress induction in woodworkers occupationally exposed to wood dust and formaldehyde

Many workers are exposed to wood dust (WD) and formaldehyde (FA), whose carcinogenic activity is supposed to be oxidative stress-mediated. This study aims to assess to what extent the occupational exposure to ...

Authors: Federica Ghelli, Valeria Bellisario, Giulia Squillacioti, Elena Grignani, Giacomo Garzaro, Martina Buglisi, Enrico Bergamaschi and Roberto Bono

Medical unfitness for work at sea: causes and incidence rate over a 12-year period in France

The purposes of the study were first to determine the incidence rate of medical unfitness for work at sea among French seafarers, second to identify the conditions (diseases or accidents) causing such incapaci...

Authors: Brice Loddé, Marie-Fleur Megard, Nicolas Le Goff, Laurent Misery, Richard Pougnet, Jean-Dominique Dewitte, David Lucas and Thierry Sauvage

Sooty bark disease of maples: the risk for hypersensitivity pneumonitis by fungal spores not only for woodman

In the middle of the twentieth century, the from North America sooty bark disease (SBD) of maples was first discovered in England and has spread in the last decades in Central Europe, in particular. The trigge...

Authors: Markus Braun, Doris Klingelhöfer and David A. Groneberg

Oxidative stress and DNA damage in agricultural workers after exposure to pesticides

Recent epidemiological studies on workers describe that exposure to pesticides can induce oxidative stress by increased production of free radicals that can accumulate in the cell and damage biological macromo...

Authors: Caterina Ledda, Emanuele Cannizzaro, Diana Cinà, Vera Filetti, Ermanno Vitale, Gianluca Paravizzini, Concettina Di Naso, Ivo Iavicoli and Venerando Rapisarda

Outdoor air pollution from industrial chemicals causing new onset of asthma or COPD: a systematic review protocol

Until today, industrial sources contribute to the multifaceted contamination of environmental air. Exposure to air pollutants has the potential to initiate and promote asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary ...

Authors: Harald Lux, Xaver Baur, Lygia Therese Budnik, Astrid Heutelbeck, João Paulo Teixeira, Emeri Neumann, Diana Adliene, Judita Puišo, David Lucas, Jakob Löndahl, Athanasios Damialis, Ozlem Goksel and Hans Orru

Promoting factors and barriers to participation in working life for people with spinal cord injury

It is still difficult for people with physical impairments to be and remain equally integrated into the labour market. For this reason, the question of occupational activity has explicitly been examined by the...

Authors: Christian Sturm, Andrea Bökel, Christoph Korallus, Veronika Geng, Yorck B. Kalke, Rainer Abel, Ines Kurze and Christoph M. Gutenbrunner

A kinematic posture analysis of neurological assistants in their daily working practice-a pilot study

The aim of this pilot study was to analyze postures during the work of neurologists with respect to their occupational activities.

Authors: Bijanzadeh Anne, Hermanns Ingo, Ellegast Rolf, Laura Fraeulin, Holzgreve Fabian, Stefanie Mache, David A. Groneberg and Ohlendorf Daniela

An assessment of medical students’ proficiency regarding the hazards of radiological examinations on the health of workers and patients: a cross-sectional study from Palestine

The use of radiological examination is increasing worldwide. Since radiation exposure can result in many health hazards, medical professionals, as well as medical students, should possess adequate knowledge re...

Authors: Ahmed Awadghanem, Mahmoud Sbaih, Mohammad Hasoon, Zaher Yassin, Ahmad M. Samara, Mosab Maree and Sa’ed H. Zyoud

Promotion of the influenza vaccination to hospital staff during pre-employment health check: a prospective, randomised, controlled trial

Vaccination is the most effective prevention of seasonal influenza. Despite its recommendation and active promotion, vaccination coverage remains low among healthcare staff. The goal of the study was to test i...

Authors: Michael Currat, Catherine Lazor-Blanchet and Giorgio Zanetti

Estimating the potential reduction in future sickness absence from optimizing group-level psychosocial work characteristics: a prospective, multicenter cohort study in German industrial settings

Absence from work due to sickness impairs organizational productivity and performance. Even in organizations with perfect work conditions, some inevitable baseline sickness absence exists amongst working popul...

Authors: Joachim E. Fischer, Bernd Genser, Peter Nauroth, David Litaker and Daniel Mauss

Occupational exposure to organophosphorus and carbamates in farmers in La Cienega, Jalisco, Mexico: oxidative stress and membrane fluidity markers

The region of La Cienega in Jalisco Mexico, is an important agricultural reference for the production of corn, sorghum and wheat, among other grains, so the use of pesticides for pest control is high. However,...

Authors: Joel Salazar-Flores, Fermín P. Pacheco-Moisés, Genaro G. Ortiz, Juan H. Torres-Jasso, Odette Romero-Rentería, Ana L. Briones-Torres and Erandis D. Torres-Sánchez

Histone H4 aggravates inflammatory injury through TLR4 in chlorine gas-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome

Chlorine gas (Cl₂) exposure remains a public health concern in household, occupational, and transportation accidents around the world. The death rate associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) cau...

Authors: Yanlin Zhang, Jian Zhao, Li Guan, Lijun Mao, Shuqiang Li and Jinyuan Zhao