Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships of workers being diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and being identified as close contacts of infected persons with unemployment in Japan.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study using questionnaires about COVID-19 administered to Japanese workers. A baseline survey conducted on December 22-25, 2020, was used to determine history of being diagnosed with COVID-19 or being identified as a close contact of an infected person. Unemployment since the baseline survey was ascertained with a follow-up survey on February 18 and 19, 2021. The odds ratios (ORs) of unemployment were estimated using a multilevel logistic model with adjusted covariates nested in prefecture of residence.

Results: Women (n = 8771) accounted for 44% of the total sample (n = 19 941), and the mean age was 48.0 years. In terms of unemployment because of negative reasons, the multivariate analysis showed that the OR of unemployment associated with being diagnosed with COVID-19 was 2.40 (95% CI: 1.15-5.01) and that the OR associated with being identified as a close contact was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.31-3.11).

Conclusions: There is an association between workers being diagnosed with COVID-19 and unemployment. The reason is not clear, but if the unemployment is unwanted by the individual, workplace adjustment may help prevent unwilling unemployment.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a web-based brief intervention (BI) program to record daily drinking among people with problem drinking in workplace settings.

Methods: A two-armed, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial were conducted at six workplaces in Japan. After obtaining written consent to participate in the study, workers with an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score of 8 or higher were randomly assigned into two groups. The participants allocated to the intervention group recorded their daily alcohol consumption for 4 weeks using the program, while those allocated to the control group received no intervention. Outcome measures included the amount of alcohol consumption in past 7 days using the Timeline Follow-Back method in the program at baseline, 8th week, and 12th week and written AUDIT score at baseline and 12th week.

Results: Hundred participants were assigned to either the intervention group (n = 50) or control group (n = 50). The results of two-way repeated measures ANOVA showed a statistically significant interaction between the group and the week factors in the two primary outcomes (number of alcohol-free days, total drinks) and secondary outcomes (AUDIT score) (p = .04, .02, and .03, respectively). The between-group effect sizes (Hedges' g; 95% CI) of the outcomes at 12th week were 0.53; 0.13-0.93 (total drinks), 0.44; 0.04-0.84 (AUDIT score), 0.43; 0.03-0.83 (number of alcohol-free days).

Conclusions: The web-based BI program for problem drinking was considered to be effective in reducing alcohol consumption and the AUDIT score in workplace settings.

Purpose: We investigated occupational dose to the lens of the eye for physicians engaged in radiology procedures. We evaluated the potential for compliance with the new-equivalent dose limits to the lens of the eye. Further, a “multiple radiation protection” protocol was proposed according to the basic principles of occupational health, and its effectiveness was estimated.

Methods: Physicians engaged in radiology procedure at medical facilities in Japan were included in this study. The eye lens dose (3-mm dose equivalent: H_p(3)) for each participant was measured using a small radio-photoluminescence glass dosimeter mounted on lead glasses. Physicians were directed to procedure multiple radiation protection measures to evaluate their usefulness.

Results: The H_p(3) was reduced by multiple radiation protection in all physicians. In particular, the H_p(3) reduced from 207.7 to 43.2 μSv/procedure and from 21.6 to 10.2 μSv/procedure in cardiovascular internal physician and cerebrovascular physician, respectively, after the implementation of the proposed multiple radiation protection measures. The dose reduction rate of these measures was 53% (range: 37%-79%).

Conclusions: The radiation doses received by the eye lenses of physicians engaged in radiology procedure may exceed the dose limits to the lens of the eye if radio-protective equipment and imaging conditions are not properly controlled. However, based on the lens equivalent dose data, the implementation of “multiple radiation protection” according to the basic principles of occupational health can ensure compliance with the new-equivalent dose limits to the lens of the eye without placing an undue burden on individual physicians or medical facilities.

Objective: A sufficient duration of time off after work is necessary to ensure workers’ health. Better quality of off-job time can also facilitate recovery from fatigue, but its quantitative influence is largely unknown. We aimed to examine how off-job time quality (as measured by the frequency of emailing after work), and off-job duration is associated with psychological detachment, actigraphic sleep, and saliva cortisol using a 1-month observational study.

Methods: The participants were 58 daytime employees working at an information technology company. Sleep actigraphy and saliva cortisol as well as self-reported outcomes were repeatedly measured for 1 month. Two-way (work e-mail frequency × off-job time) multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analyses were performed in both continuous and categorical variables.

Results: The frequency of work e-mailing after hours was significantly associated with self-reported outcomes and actigraphic sleep quality, while a significant association was not found in cortisol awakening responses and actigraphic sleep duration. A significantly larger cortisol response after awakening was found in shorter, rather than longer, durations of off-job time. Self-reported detachment, rumination and carry-over fatigue showed significant interactions between work e-mail and off-job time, suggesting that worse outcomes were found in a higher frequency of work e-mail even when employees had longer amounts of off-job time.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that ensuring the quality and duration of off-job time is beneficial for recovery from work with sufficient sleep. Specifically, the frequency of e-mailing after work should be minimized to make recovery complete.

Objectives: Asbestos causes lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma in humans, but the precise mechanism has not been well understood. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a short non-coding RNA that suppresses gene expression and participates in human diseases including cancer. In this study, we examined the expression levels of miRNA and potential target genes in lung tissues of asbestos-exposed mice by microarray analysis.

Methods: We intratracheally administered asbestos (chrysotile and crocidolite, 0.05 or 0.2 mg/instillation) to 6-week-old ICR male mice four times weekly. We extracted total RNA from lung tissues and performed microarray analysis for miRNA and gene expression. We also carried out real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry to confirm the results of microarray analysis.

Results: Microarray analysis revealed that the expression levels of 14 miRNAs were significantly changed by chrysotile and/or crocidolite (>2-fold, P < .05). Especially, miR-21, an oncogenic miRNA, was significantly upregulated by both chrysotile and crocidolite. In database analysis, miR-21 was predicted to target tumor suppressor genes programmed cell death 4 (Pdcd4) and reversion-inducing-cysteine-rich protein with kazal motifs (Reck). Although real-time PCR showed that Pdcd4 was not significantly downregulated by asbestos exposure, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry revealed that PDCD4 expression was reduced especially by chrysotile. Reck was significantly downregulated by chrysotile in real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry.

Conclusions: This is the first study demonstrating that miR-21 was upregulated and corresponding tumor suppressor genes were downregulated in lung tissues of asbestos-exposed animals. These molecular events are considered to be an early response to asbestos exposure and may contribute to pulmonary toxicity and carcinogenesis.