MedWorm: Occupational Health Top 20

Fatigue research in 2011: From the bench to practice.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:26:54 +0100

Authors: Dawson D Abstract Over the last 20 years, academic, industry and community stakeholders have been meeting at a biennial scientific conference to discuss fatigue-related research and policy in the transportation, resources and health sectors. During this period, the research conducted around the world has progressed substantially: we now better understand the basic processes of sleep and circadian physiology that underpin performance; we better understand that fatigue risk management in the absence of any discussion about sleep is fruitless at worst and inadequate at best; and we are improving the capacity of models and other technologies to assist us to predict, monitor, identify, minimise and mitigate fatigue-related risk. At the same time however, the relationship betwee...

MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

Occupational contact allergens: Are they also associated with occupational asthma?

American Journal of Industrial Medicine — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:39:28 +0100

ConclusionsSeveral common OCAs can also potentially cause OA. Inhalation and dermal exposures to these agents should be controlled and both OA and AOCD should be considered as possible health outcomes. Increased consistency in sensitizer notations is needed. Am. J. Ind. Med. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Source: American Journal of Industrial Medicine)

The effect of sleep restriction on snacking behaviour during a week of simulated shiftwork.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:24:44 +0100

Authors: Heath G, Roach GD, Dorrian J, Ferguson SA, Darwent D, Sargent C Abstract Due to irregular working hours shiftworkers experience circadian disruption and sleep restriction. There is some evidence to indicate that these factors adversely affect health through changes in snacking behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of sleep restriction, prior wake and circadian phase on snacking behaviour during a week of simulated shiftwork. Twenty-four healthy males (age: 22.0±3.6 years, mean±SD) lived in a sleep laboratory for 12 consecutive days. Participants were assigned to one of two schedules: a moderate sleep restriction condition (n=10) equivalent to a 6-h sleep opportunity per 24h or a severe sleep restriction condition (n=14) equivalent to a 4-h sleep ...

Systematic individual differences in sleep homeostatic and circadian rhythm contributions to neurobehavioral impairment during sleep deprivation.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:26:32 +0100

Authors: Van Dongen HP, Bender AM, Dinges DF Abstract Individual differences in vulnerability to neurobehavioral performance impairment during sleep deprivation are considerable and represent a neurobiological trait. Genetic polymorphisms reported to be predictors have suggested the involvement of the homeostatic and circadian processes of sleep regulation in determining this trait. We applied mathematical and statistical modeling of these two processes to psychomotor vigilance performance and sleep physiological data from a laboratory study of repeated exposure to 36h of total sleep deprivation in 9 healthy young adults. This served to quantify the respective contributions of individual differences in the two processes to the magnitudes of participants' individual vulnerabilities ...

A model of shiftworker sleep/wake behaviour.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:26:43 +0100

Authors: Darwent D, Dawson D, Roach GD Abstract Software-based biomathematical models of alertness provide a means to estimate fatigue-related risk in advance of a schedule being worked. Obtaining a good estimate of employees' sleep/wake behaviour during non-work periods is critical in obtaining accurate estimates of alertness. This is because estimates of alertness are generated based on estimated sleep and wake times, not rest and work times per se. The purpose of the current analysis was to evaluate the predictive validity of a novel version of a previously published sleep predictor model. This model was originally designed to predict sleep probability for aviation pilots in connection with long-haul flight operations. It has since been modified to predict sleep periods for indu...

Professional driving and prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging - a case-control study.

Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: WBV may be a cause of LBP but it was not associated with PID or nerve root entrapment in this study. PMID: 22249859 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health)

MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

Predicting pilot's sleep during layovers using their own behaviour or data from colleagues: Implications for biomathematical models.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:26:22 +0100

This study investigated the predictive value of sleep timing and duration data for a particular individual on a break between shifts relative to data from their colleagues. Sleep diaries and wrist actigraphy were collected from 306 international long-haul pilots for at least 2-weeks. Fifty layovers, equivalent in origin and destination, length and timing, were completed twice by individual pilots. Matched layovers done by other pilots (n=2311) were also identified. Layover periods were analysed for minute-by-minute correspondence of sleep or wake (yes/no), and total sleep time (TST). Using an individual's own data improved concordance by approximately 5% relative to using a large sample of different pilots, and by 10% relative to using a random sample of 50 different pilots. Using an indiv...

Duty periods with early start times restrict the amount of sleep obtained by short-haul airline pilots.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:26:11 +0100

Authors: Roach GD, Sargent C, Darwent D, Dawson D Abstract Most of the research related to human fatigue in the aviation industry has focussed on long-haul pilots, but short-haul pilots also experience elevated levels of fatigue. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of early start times on the amount of sleep obtained prior to duty and on fatigue levels at the start of duty. Seventy short-haul pilots collected data regarding their duty schedule and sleep/wake behaviour for at least two weeks. Data were collected using self-report duty/sleep diaries and wrist activity monitors. Mixed-effects regression analyses were used to examine the effects of duty start time (04:00-10:00h) on (i) the total amount of sleep obtained in the 12h prior to the start of duty and (ii) self-ra...

Increased lung cancer risk among bricklayers in an Italian population‐based case–control study

American Journal of Industrial Medicine — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0100

ConclusionsOur findings provide additional evidence of increased lung cancer risk in Italian bricklayers. The association is plausible because they are exposed to several carcinogens, notably crystalline silica. Am. J. Ind. Med. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Source: American Journal of Industrial Medicine)

Can a simple balance task be used to assess fitness for duty?

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:24:23 +0100

Authors: Sargent C, Darwent D, Ferguson SA, Roach GD Abstract Human fatigue, caused by sleep loss, extended wakefulness, and/or circadian misalignment, is a major cause of workplace errors, incidents and accidents. In some industries, employees are required to undertake fitness for duty testing at the start of a shift to identify instances where their fatigue risk is elevated, so that minimisation and/or mitigation strategies can be implemented. Postural balance has been proposed as a fitness for duty test for fatigue, but it is largely untested. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of sleep loss, extended wakefulness and circadian phase on postural balance. Fourteen male participants spent 10 consecutive days in a sleep laboratory, including three adaptat...

The influence of circadian time and sleep dose on subjective fatigue ratings.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:25:06 +0100

Authors: Ferguson SA, Paech GM, Sargent C, Darwent D, Kennaway DJ, Roach GD Abstract Subjective ratings of fatigue are increasingly being used as part of a suite of tools to assess fatigue-related risk on the road and in the workplace. There is some debate however, as to whether individuals can accurately gauge their own fatigue states, particularly under conditions of sleep restriction. It is also unclear which references are used by individuals to assess fatigue - for example prior sleep, time of day, workload, or previous ratings. The current study used a sophisticated laboratory protocol to examine the independent contributions of sleep, circadian phase and sleep debt to fatigue ratings. Importantly, participants had no knowledge of time of day, how much sleep they were getting...

MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

At home and away: Measuring the sleep of Australian truck drivers.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:25:39 +0100

This study examined sleep at home and in truck cabs, in truck drivers who were actively working during the time of the study. Thirty-seven male drivers aged between 24 and 63 years (age: 48.7±9.0 years; mean±SD) wore activity monitors (also known as 'sleep watches') and completed work and sleep diaries for a period of 21 days, recording their subjective fatigue levels before, during and after work shifts, and before and after sleep periods. They also self-rated their sleep quality and noted the number of times they woke during sleep periods. Analyses focused on home versus in-truck sleep periods. The subjective data suggested that a greater quantity (P<.001) and quality (P<.05) of sleep was obtained at home than in the truck, and that sleeping at home more effectively reduced fatig...

Combined Effects of Salicylic Acid and Furosemide and Noise on Hearing

Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: This result is very surprising, if not paradoxical. Drugs which provide protection from a noise induced hearing loss when administered alone, not only do not provide protection when given together, but also induce a greater hearing loss when accompanied by noise. This observation may be related to the finding that the depression of the endocochlear potential normally caused by furosemide is reduced in the presence of salicylic acid, so that the protection usually provided by furosemide is not present when it is administered together with salicylic acid. Thus it seems that each drug may interfere with the protective action of the other when coupled with noise. (Source: Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology)

Cadmium exposure and cancer mortality in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cohort

Occupational and Environmental Medicine — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

Conclusions Cadmium appears to be associated with overall cancer mortality in men and women, but the specific cancers associated differ between men and women, suggesting avenues for future research. Limitations of the study include the possibility of uncontrolled confounding by cigarette smoking or other factors, and the limited number of deaths due to some cancers. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)

Health care reform implementation and occupational therapy.

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

Authors: Braveman B, Metzler CA PMID: 22251827 [PubMed - in process] (Source: The American Journal of Occupational Therapy)

The joint association of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms with disability retirement - a longitudinal, register-linked study.

Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

CONCLUSION: Frequent insomnia symptoms dominate the joint association of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms with subsequent disability retirement. Examining exclusively sleep duration would provide an incomplete understanding of the consequences of poor sleep. PMID: 22234460 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health)

MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

Back pain among health care workers in Pennsylvania 2002--2006.

Work — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Due to a lack of detailed reports regarding the incidence of back pain among Pennsylvania healthcare workers, it is recommended that a survey of healthcare workers who perform patient handling be completed. PMID: 22246309 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Work)

Beyond working time: Factors affecting sleep behaviour in rail safety workers.

Accident; Analysis and Prevention. — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:25:49 +0100

Authors: Paterson JL, Dorrian J, Clarkson L, Darwent D, Ferguson SA Abstract There are many factors that may affect the sleep behaviour and subsequent fatigue risk of shift workers. In the Australian rail industry the emphasis is primarily on the impact of working time on sleep. The extent to which factors other than working time might affect the sleep behaviour of employees in the large and diverse Australian rail industry is largely unknown. The present study used sleep, work and fatigue diaries completed for two weeks, in conjunction with actigraphy, to understand the contribution of demographic and health factors to sleep behaviour in 40 rail safety workers. Both shift type and having dependents were significant predictors of sleep duration (P<.05). Sleep duration was greate...

Onset of mucosal, dermal and general symptoms in relation to biomarkers and exposures in the dwelling. A cohort study from 1992 to 2002

Indoor Air — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

In conclusion, female gender, dampness or indoor moulds, indoor painting and biomarkers of allergy and inflammation were associated with a higher incidence of SBS symptoms, in particular mucosal symptoms.© 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S (Source: Indoor Air)

Neurocognitive habilitation therapy for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: an adaptation of the alert program®.

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

CONCLUSION. These findings yield promising evidence of the effectiveness of the neurocognitive habilitation intervention in improving executive functioning and emotional problem solving in children with FAS or ARND. PMID: 22251828 [PubMed - in process] (Source: The American Journal of Occupational Therapy)