Journal of Occupational Health
Online ISSN : 1348-9585
Print ISSN : 1341-9145
ISSN-L : 1341-9145
Volume 42, Issue 1
Displaying 1-9 of 9 articles from this issue
  • Noriyuki NAKANISHI, Koji NAKAMURA, Kenji SUZUKI, Kozo TATARA
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 1-7
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The Incidence of Hyperuricemia and Correlated Factors in Middle-Aged Japanese Men: Noriyuki NAKANISM, et al. Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Course of Social Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine F2—To identify the factors responsible for increases in serum uric acid (SUA), 1, 346 hyperuricemia-free (less than 7.5 mg/dl of SUA and no medication for hyperuricemia or hypertension) Japanese male office workers aged 30 to 53 yr were followed up for seven successive years with annual examinations, with an average period of observation of 6.4 yr with a standard deviation of 1.6 yr. Subjects who were found to have become hyperuricemic (SUA levels of 7.5 mg/dl or more) or who started medication for hyperuricemia during repeat survey were defined as incidence cases. An analysis by means of the Kaplan-Meier method showed that the incidence of hyperuricemia increased significantly with increases in the body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride level, SUA level, total protein level, white blood cell level, and alcohol intake. From the age-adjusted analysis with the Cox proportional hazards model, the total cholesterol level and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level emerged as significant positive and negative factors for the incidence of hyperuricemia, respectively. Multivariate analysis, excluding the SUA level as a factor in the Cox proportional hazards model, indicated that the BMI, Log triglyceride level, white blood cell level, and alcohol intake were significantly positively associated with the incidence of hyperuricemia. On the other hand, age and the HbA1c level were significantly inversely associated with the incidence of hyperuricemia. When the SUA level was included as a factor in the model, BMI and alcohol intake remained as independent factors. Furthermore, the white blood cell level was identified as marginally significant for the incidence of hyperuricemia (p=0.064). In conclusion, obesity and alcohol intake were determined to be independent predictors for the development of hyperuricemia. In addition, the white blood cell level may be a contributory factor.
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  • Takashi HANIOKA, Mikako KISHIMOTO, Keiko TAKAYA, Muneo TANAKA, Yukiko ...
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 8-13
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Utilization of Laboratory Tests of a Gingival Crevicular Sample in an Occupational Periodontal Care System: A Pilot Study: Takashi HANIOKA, et al. Department of Preventive Dentistry, Osaka University Faculty of Dentistry—Periodontal disease leads to tooth loss in workers during their later life. Workers tend not only to be unaware of the disease but also pay transient attention to their periodontal health. Therefore a variety of information on periodontal health is requested for an occupational health promotion systems, in addition to the conventional screening approaches for periodontal disease. Subgingival plaque and gingival crevicular fluid include biological materials that pose a microbial challenge and affect the host response. The aims of this pilot study were to examine whether the gingival crevicular samples obtained from workers could be tested in bulk at a laboratory, and whether the biological markers in the samples could provide information in addition to a conventional screening approach. A total of 182 periodontal sites were assessed in 96 workers by means of the Community Periodontal Index and 10 laboratory tests. Significant relationships were found between the periodontal variables and the parameters of the laboratory test. Principal component analysis revealed four components of the laboratory tests apart from conventional periodontal variables. Explanations given for the components were serum exudate and bleeding, neutrophil, periodontal pathogen and tissue destruction. These findings indicated that laboratory tests of gingival crevicular samples offer information in addition to that obtained by means of the conventional screening approach.
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  • Noriyuki NAKANISHI, Koji NAKAMURA, Kenji SUZUKI, Kozo TATARA
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 14-19
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Body Mass Index as a Measure of Health Care for Japanese Male Office Workers: Noriyuki NAKANISHI, et al. Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Course of Social Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine—Cross-sectional associations between body mass index (BMI) and medical test items in health examinations were examined in 2, 435 Japanese male office workers aged 20 to 59 yr in Osaka, Japan. From the logistic regression analyses, BMI showed a significant dose-relationship for the high levels of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressures (DBP), total cholesterol (T-CHOL), triglyceride, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP), uric acid (UA), and hemoglobin A1c and the low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, controlling for age and habits of drinking alcohol and smoking. The high levels of DBP, T-CHOL, GOT, GPT, γ-GTP and UA showed significant odds ratios (ORs) for 22.5 to 23.4 kg/m2 of BMI compared with 21.5 to 22.4 kg/m2 of BMI as the reference level. In the logistic regression analyses using the total number of abnormal findings in medical test items as a dependent variable, ORs for 22.5 to 23.4 kg/m2 of BMI relative to 21.5 to 22.4 kg /M2 of BMI were 1.49 [95% confidence interval (Cl): 1.01-2.21] for one, 1.58 (95% Cl: 1.05-2.36) for two, 3.31 (95% Cl: 1.86-5.90) for three and 3.56 (95% Cl: 1.89-6.72) for four or more. By contrast, there were no definite associations between the BMI levels of less than 21.5 kg/m2 and the total number of abnormal findings in medical test items. These results suggest that the optimal BMI level is 21.5 to 22.4 kg/m2 or somewhat below for promoting better health in this population.
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  • Peng XIN, Tomoyuki KAWADA, Yosiaki SASAZAWA, Shosuke SUZUKI
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 20-26
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Habituation of Sleep to Road Traffic Noise Assessed by Polygraphy and Rating Scale: Peng XIN, et al. Department of Public Health, Gunma University School of Medicine—The effects of road traffic noise on sleep and habituation of sleep to road traffic noise were assessed by polygraphic sleep parameters and self-rated sleep scores. Seven male students aged 19 to 21 were tested each for a total of 17 nights by being exposed all night to recordings of road traffic noise with peak levels of Lmax=71.2 dB(A), Leq=49.6 dB(A) and LAE=94.1 dB(A) in an experiment room. Sleepiness, sleep maintenance, worry and integrated sleep feeling, which are subjective assessments, became worse and reaction time after sleep increased due to exposure to the noise. A significant increase in %Stage 1 and a decrease in %REM were observed, suggesting the road traffic noise had an effect on sleep. Habituation to road traffic noise during sleep was observed clearly in subjective sleep scores, but the polygraphic parameters showed little habituation to the noise with considerable individual variation.
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  • Nobuo ISHIHARA
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 27-30
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Effects of Mercury Vapour Exposure at Low Concentrations on Urinary Activity of N-Acetyl-Beta-D-Glucosaminidase: Nobuo ISHIHARA. Research Centre for Occupational Disease, Tohoku Rosai Hospital—Effects of exposure to mercury vapour less than 0.02 mg Hg/m3 on urinary N-Acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity were studied in seven Japanese workers from 1991 to 1997. According to the record of periodical medical examinations they have been engaged in mercury work since 1987 at the latest. Mercury concentrations in urine, plasma, erythrocytes, and hair and the urinary protein concentration did not change significantly during the course of the study. Urinary NAG activity, however, increased significantly in 1996 notwithstanding the absence of the significant correlations between NAG activity and mercury concentrations in urine and plasma, and the increased NAG level was maintained up to 1997. All of the present subjects were less than 57 years old in 1997. The effect of aging on urinary NAG activity was therefore excluded, and the increase in urinary NAG activity should be due to the occupational mercury vapour exposure. As in the case of mercury concentrations in blood, urinary NAG activity also should be one of the useful indicators of renal effects of mercury so long as data for before work and/ or just after the start of mercury work are available.
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  • Yoonho CHOI, Dongchun SHIN, Seongeun PARK, Yong Chung, Myungsoo KIM
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 31-37
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Biological Monitoring of Benzene in Residents living near Petrochemical Industrial Areas: Yoonho CHOI, et al. Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Yonsei University, Korea—Residents who live near petrochemical industrial areas risk exposure to a variety of petrochemicals, including benzene and benzene-containing liquids. It is a serious concern because benzene is a human carcinogen naturally present in petroleum and gasoline. The aim of this study was to assess the exposure to benzene, measured by personal/indoor/outdoor air sampling, and to estimate the relationship between the air samples and biological monitoring data. Through biological monitoring, we investigated s-phenylmercapturic acid (s-PMA), minor urinary metabolites of benzene, and benzene in blood. The external benzene exposure of 115 subjects was measured with passive dosimeters and urinary s-PMA and blood-benzene were determined by GC/MS. The mean concentration of benzene in the breathing zone of residents was 6.3 μg/m3, slightly higher than indoor or outdoor concentrations. Personal, indoor and outdoor concentrations of benzene were significantly correlated to each other. s-PMA was affected by personal exposure (p<0.05) and was differed according to age (p<0.01) and residence time (p<0.05). Blood benzene was not affected by external benzene during these periods.
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  • Nenad KRALJ, Martina MICHAELIS, Friedrich HOFMANN
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 38-43
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Prevalence of Skin Damage in Health Care Workers: Nenad KRALJ, et al. Department of Occupational Physiology, Occupational Medicine and Infection Prevention, University of Wuppertal, Faculty of Occupational Security—Occupational skin disease (OSD) is the most common occupational hazard in industrial countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate skin damage prevalence in health care workers (HCWs) obtained in two surveys (1988 and 1995). Employees of Freiburg University Hospital (Germany, 1, 900 beds, 7, 000 staff members; study S1: 1988, n=3899; study S2: 1995, n=4013) answered our self-administered questionnaire during the regular yearly medical examination. 409 persons were included in both study populations. Skin problems were found in 507 (13%) persons in S1 and 485 (12.1%) in S2, respectively. The skin damage prevalence in employees examined in both studies was 15.6% (S1) and 14.9% (S2), respectively. The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers did not differ significantly between persons with and without OSD.
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  • Minako IYADOMI, Masayoshi ICHIBA, Jiusong ZHANG, Masafumi ENOKI, Katsu ...
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 44-46
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • Michihiro KAMIJIMA, Eiji SHIBATA, Hisashi TANAKA, Gaku ICHIHARA, Yasuh ...
    2000 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 47-49
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: April 07, 2006
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (233K)
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