International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Purpose: The GIG-OSH cohort was established to investigate the impact of digital platform work on occupational safety and health (OSH), working and employment conditions, and health in seven countries in Europe. Participants: The cohort comprises 3,945 digital platform workers from seven European countries. The sample includes both web-based workers (e.g., micro-tasking, freelance design) and on-location workers (e.g., delivery, transport). Participants were recruited using non-probabilistic sam...

ObjectiveThis study aimed to adapt and validate Levensteins Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) within the Ecuadorian sociocultural context. The PSQ measures perceived stress across two temporal frames: general (past two years) and specific (past month). MethodsThe research followed five sequential phases. Study 1: linguistic and cultural adaptation through standardized translation, back-translation, expert review, and a pilot test with 300 participants. Study 2: item refinement with an additi...

Policing is one of the most rewarding occupations; however, it is stressful and demanding. This study was designed to explore stress, stress management, and coping mechanisms among Nigerian Police Officers working across four geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Using an exploratory design, forty in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with police officers. Data was collected using an interview guide. The interviews were conducted in English and the participants indigenous languages (by preference)...

BackgroundOutdoor workers are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of heat, but many studies focus on heat exposure in residential settings only. This leads to a limited understanding of the full mortality burden due to occupational heat exposures. Here, we aimed to improve estimates of the total, short-term mortality burden attributable to outdoor occupational heat exposure in the United States (US). MethodsWe developed a panel data set for 3,108 US counties during 2010-2019 by linki...

Millions of outdoor workers cannot avoid wildfire smoke, likely leading to inequalities in exposure and health risk. We characterized work-related exposure to wildfire PM2.5 for 3,108 contiguous US counties during 2006-2019. Despite experiencing less ambient exposure to wildfire PM2.5, counties with higher portions of non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic Americans experienced higher work-related exposure. We also find suggestive evidence that the effect of ambient smoke fine particulate matter (PM2.5...

BackgroundEmerging research indicates that light exposure may influence sleep quality. Identifying key light-exposure behaviours associated with poor sleep quality in athletes may allow practitioners to efficiently screen for sleep difficulties and prioritise athletes for further assessment. Translating these findings into a practical screening tool could enhance willingness of high-performance professionals to monitor sleep and light exposure in athletes. HypothesisKey predictor variables iden...

IntroductionGrowing evidence suggests pesticide exposure can affect emotional well-being; limited research exists across adolescence and young adulthood. We examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of pesticide biomarkers with anxiety and depression scores. MethodsWe analyzed 646 participants from Ecuadorian agricultural communities: 510 in 2016 (ages 11-17y) and 485 in 2022 (17-24y). Twelve urinary insecticide metabolites were measured. Validated questionnaires assessed depressio...

IntroductionMusculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs) are ubiquitous in the U.S. military, especially among high-performing service members such as Marines. Given that female service members only started to be assigned to ground combat roles since December 2015, evaluation of sex on MSKI risk in ground combat occupations has not been possible until there was an ample population to study. The purpose of this population-level epidemiological study was to assess (1) if female sex was a salient risk factor f...

BackgroundMeteorological factors such as barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature have been linked to weather-related symptoms in the general population, yet little is known about their influence on athletes daily well-being and performance. Individual variability in weather sensitivity has been reported in biometeorology research, suggesting that only certain individuals exhibit pronounced physiological responses to environmental fluctuations. However, no studies have examined within-pers...

BackgroundAir pollution caused by fine particles has been recognized as a significant environmental risk factor. Over the past two decades, there has been a substantial increase in evidence on the impact of air pollutants on mortality and morbidity in vulnerable groups, such as children under 5 years of age, people over 60 years of age, and people with comorbidities, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. However, most studies have focused on nosologically identified respiratory and card...

This study compared the effects of a 25-min nap opportunity and a 10-min non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) condition on perceptual, cognitive, and physical performance in physically active young adults. Sixty participants (26 female, 34 male; 22 {+/-} 4 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups (nap, NSDR, control; n = 20 each). All groups completed identical assessments immediately, 20 min, and 40 min post-intervention. Mixed-effects models, adjusted for sex, prior-night sleep, and weekly p...

PurposeFemale artistic swimmers successful competitive performance depends on several physical performance factors such as postural control, flexibility, muscle strength, and aerobic endurance. Flexibility is a highly important physical component that can directly impact successful performance. Pilates could be an appealing training modality to artistic swimmers due to the sports reliance on precise body control and synchronized movements. This study aimed to assess the impact of an 8-week Pilat...

BackgroundDengue outbreaks have become a severe threat to Bangladesh as the infections and mortality numbers are skyrocketing in recent years. Favorable environmental and anthropogenic conditions have established the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka city as the epicenter of dengue outbreak. Studies have showed that climate change induced extreme weather events are exacerbating Aedes mosquito breeding and dengue virus transmission conditions. Methodology/Principal FindingsIn this study, short-term (...

Compassion fatigue is a well-documented hazard among healthcare and veterinary professionals, yet the psychological toll on informal caregivers of feral cat colonies, likely numbering several tens of thousands in Portugal, remains largely unexplored. This cross-sectional study examines internal and external factors associated with the secondary traumatic stress component of compassion fatigue among 172 informal caregivers in Portugal. Secondary traumatic stress refers to work-related secondary e...

Food costs are more significantly impacted by climate change as countries grow. It is well known that climate change has an impact on the productivity of most agricultural goods, but it is unclear how specifically it will affect food costs. The present research explores how the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, a widely used climate indicator, affects food prices around the world. This is achieved by applying a robust bivariate Hurst exponent (robust bHe). The research creates a color map ...

Work-related stress is a major public health issue affecting workers across various sectors. Individuals experiencing work-related stress are more likely to consume psychoactive substances, primarily alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis, as well as psychoactive medications, which may be used as coping mechanisms. Work-related stress is also associated with adverse outcomes such as burnout, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. In France, early childhood professionals, including "ATSEMs", "animate...

IntroductionAtmospheric conditions under climate change increase pressure on healthcare systems. Especially, the intensive care units (ICU) are vulnerable due to low buffer capacity and high utilization rates. MethodsDaily ICU cases from 2009 to 2023 were derived from the German statutory health insurance data of eleven regional AOK insurances. Cases were stratified by age and sex. Generalized additive models were used to investigate the associations between daily ICU cases and lagged atmospher...

ObjectiveTo investigate the attitude and behavior intention of community medical staff towards respite services and analyze its influencing factors, so as to provide reference for the development of respite services. MethodsA multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to select 348 community medical staff to conduct a survey through the questionnaire star. Single factor and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the factors affecting the attitude and behavior intention of ...

Indigenous, mountain communities residing upstream of Bhumibol Dam, Thailand, rely on vulnerable natural water sources for their water supply, yet remain unaware of the associated health risks. This study assessed the water quality, usage patterns and contamination pathways across six villages upstream of Bhumibol Dam to shed light on the obstacles to sustainable water security . Samples from 38 water sources of drinking and/or non-drinking water, soil, and the edible parts of crops were subject...

ObjectivesDeterminants of functional injury severity in young athletes remain incompletely understood. Conventional assumptions emphasize contact sport participation and skeletal immaturity as major drivers of severe injury; however, severity definitions based on surgery or time loss are strongly influenced by health-care systems and competition contexts. We investigated factors associated with early functional severity after lower-extremity sports injury using a large clinical cohort. MethodsT...