Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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...

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...

BackgroundLung cancer compensation systems for occupational exposure to asbestos commonly apply Helsinki criteria, which assume 4% excess lung cancer risk per fibre-year of asbestos exposure. The Probability of Causation (PoC) is [≥]50% at 25 fibre-years (risk doubling threshold). Large case-control studies have suggested steeper exposure-response relations at lower exposures. We aimed to estimate PoC of asbestos-related lung cancer to evaluate exposure thresholds for compensation of lung ca...

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...

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic required South African public sector HIV viral load (VL) laboratories to scale up Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing while maintaining essential HIV services. This placed additional pressure on diagnostic services. This dual mandate introduced significant occupational and environmental challenges (OEC) for staff that remain underexplored. ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the OEC and effects that staff experienced during t...

BackgroundEnvironment-wide association studies (ExWAS) offer a systematic approach to identifying chemical biomarker-health outcome associations, yet few have applied rigorous multi-stage validation. MethodsWe screened 92 chemical biomarkers against 48 health outcomes in NHANES 2017-2018 (2,796 tests across four screening rounds; not all chemicals were crossed with all outcomes). Associations passing an initial FDR screen were subjected to cross-cycle validation in NHANES 2015-2016--the primary...

Abstract This protocol is reported in accordance with the SPIRIT 2025 guidelines for clinical trial protocols. Introduction: Young children, from birth to age 5 y are particularly vulnerable to indoor air pollutants and respiratory pathogens. Portable air purifiers (or filtration) and upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) are two widely used interventions with the potential to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and reduce sick-related absences. However, a review of the literature re...

BackgroundProlonged wakefulness, restricted sleep, and circadian factors can impact driving performance and road safety. Currently, there are no effective objective roadside tests to detect the state of drivers sleepiness during or prior to driving, or predict future driving impairment risk. This paper reports on an extended wakefulness protocol used to determine if a portable virtual reality device to administer vestibular-ocular motor function (VOM) tests can effectively detect 1) drivers stat...

The co-occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in industrial environments poses complex toxicological risks that standard additive models fail to capture. This study elucidates a novel "metabolic blockade" mechanism wherein PFAS competitively inhibits the renal excretion of VOC metabolites, thereby amplifying neurotoxic burdens. Utilizing a Double Machine Learning (DML) framework on data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ...

BackgroundWorking while sick (presenteeism) with an infectious disease contributes to the spread of infections and is detrimental to productivity. Respiratory illnesses are a common cause of sickness in the working population and understanding the prevalence of presenteeism linked to respiratory illness is therefore important. MethodsWinter Covid Infection Study (WCIS) panel members in work aged 18-64 were surveyed in February - March 2024 and asked about presenteeism in the previous 28 days. M...

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 (...

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 ...

BackgroundGlyphosate-based herbicides are among the most widely used agricultural chemicals globally. Concerns regarding their carcinogenic potential, particularly in relation to non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), persist despite multiple prior systematic reviews and meta-analyses. However, these reviews have demonstrated important methodological limitations and inconsistent analytic decisions, limiting confidence in their conclusions. ObjectiveTo conduct a rigorous, up-to-date systematic review and ...

Purpose To quantify and compare the peak force applied on the glottis during endotracheal intubation across five laryngoscopy techniques, two intubation conditions (standard and simulated laryngospasm), and two operator experience levels, and to assess the effects of stylet use and operator anthropometric characteristics on applied force. Methods This prospective, manikin-based experimental study enrolled 50 operators (30 experienced, 20 less experienced). Each performed endotracheal intubation ...

ObjectivesThis study aimed to determine the prevalence of occupational fatigue and identify its primary risk factors among long-distance truck drivers operating along the key Kenya-Uganda transport corridor, a vital artery for regional commerce where comprehensive data has been limited. MethodsA cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with 207 exclusively male long-distance truck drivers at the Busia and Malaba border points. Participants completed structured questionnaires capturing dem...

ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify characteristics that define population need groups with similar mental health service needs within prisons and describe the mix of services required to meet those needs. MethodsMixed methods were used, including three iterative, semi-structured focus groups, followed by an online survey, seeking information on the characteristics that define service needs, how these can identify groups of people who require mental health care in prisons and the services req...

BackgroundSexual minority (SM) individuals have worse mental health than heterosexual peers. However, there is no total population-based and national-level evidence on differences in risk of self-harm and suicide by sexual orientation. This study provides the first national population-based estimates in England and Wales. MethodsUsing 2021 Census data linked with hospital records and death registrations, we analysed sexual orientation (SO) differences in: (i) at least one hospital inpatient adm...

ObjectiveTo develop and conduct preliminary testing of the reliability and validity of the Healthcare Worker (HCW) Culture of Support Scale (COS), intended to assess health worker perceptions of institutional support resources and organizational culture related to their well-being. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted with 533 HCWs from ambulatory clinic and rural hospital settings. The survey included validated measures and newly developed items. Exploratory and confirmatory factor an...

Objectives: Compare Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI) scores over time following ACL reconstruction (ACLR) between male and female patients aged 15 to 25 years with primary ACL injuries and ACL reinjuries. Design: Retrospective cohort design. Setting: Sports physical therapy clinics. Participants: 332 patients aged 15-25 years who underwent ACLR following either primary ACL injury or ACL reinjury, either contralateral or ipsilateral graft reinjury, and had a...

The global nursing workforce is aging, yet limited research has explored the lived experiences of never married nurses entering midlife and later adulthood. Existing studies have primarily focused on burnout and retention, with less attention to the social and existential dimensions of aging without a spouse or children. This study aimed to explore the experiences of never married clinical nurses aged 40 years and older, focusing on perceptions of aging, professional identity, social support, an...