Introduction: It has been suggested that long working hours are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although studies on health inequality caused by income inequality have been performed, income levels of workers have been considered only as an adjusting factor in the relationship between long working hours and CVD. In the present study, we investigated the modifying effects of household income level in the relationship between working hours and estimated risk of CVD.

Materials and Methods: We analysed a total of 11,602 Koreans who were randomly enrolled in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2016) with complete data. Nonparametric associations between weekly working hours and estimated risk of CVD were explored according to quartiles of equalised household income by gender, and the size of linear associations among weekly working hours and estimated CVD risk after stratifying for equalised household income by gender was considered.

Results: A 4.1% increased risk of CVD was associated with 10 hours or longer per day weekly working hours among males with the highest household income after adjusting for age, equalised household income, occupation, and shift work, but such was not associated among lower income groups. Negative associations between equalised household income and estimated CVD risk were observed only among low household income males.

Conclusion: Long working hours and household income level can have differential effects on the risk of CVD by socioeconomic status. This study shows that positive income effect may dominate the potential negative effect of long working hours with respect to the risk of CVD in the low-income group.

Aims: Agate workers in Khambhat, India and their community members are exposed to high levels of silica dust and related diseases. Use of effective prevention practices remains low, prompting the need for effective interventions which increase the uptake of and investment in prevention practices. We sought: (a) to describe knowledge, self-efficacy, and practices among a population of workers, their family members, and neighbors involved in or located close to agate processing; and (b) to explore which factors are related to use of prevention practices and willingness to invest in new dust control technologies.

Methods: A community survey was conducted to measure demographics, occupation and financial factors, knowledge, prevention practices, barriers, risk perceptions, and efficacy beliefs. Descriptive statistics were used and, among agate workers, hierarchical logistic regression explored predictors of prevention practice use and willingness to invest.

Results: Among 1120 respondents, approximately 44%, 35%, and 8% of workers, family members, and neighbors used prevention practices, respectively. Knowledge and risk perceptions were generally high, where efficacy beliefs were low. Workers who had high levels of education, worked at home, and had high efficacy beliefs were more likely to report using prevention practices and being willing to invest. Barriers to prevention practice use included financial barriers, and beliefs that prevention is ineffective and health is not at risk.

Conclusions: Interventions and future research should be designed to engage the community to improve preventive behavior, and implement affordable and effective dust control interventions in the agate industry.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine how presenteeism affects the risk of future disability pension among nursing professionals and care assistants (assistant nurses, hospital ward assistants, home-based personal care workers, and child care assistants). A specific objective was to compare health and social care employees with all other occupations.

Methods: The study was based on a representative sample of working women and men (n = 43 682) aged 16-64 years, who had been interviewed between 2001 and 2013 for the Swedish Work Environment Survey conducted every second year since 1989. Information on disability pension was obtained from the Social Insurance Agency's database (2002-2014). The studied predictors were related to disability pension using Cox's proportional hazard regression with hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) and selected confounders were controlled for. The follow-up period was 6.7 years (SD 4.2).

Results: Health and social care employees with frequent presenteeism showed a particularly elevated risk of future disability pension after adjusting for sex, sociodemographic variables, physical and psychosocial working conditions, and self-rated health symptoms. In the amalgamated occupational group of nursing professionals and care assistants, the impact on disability pension of having engaged in presenteeism four times or more during the prior year remained significant (HR = 3.72, 95% CI = 2.43-5.68).

Conclusions: The study suggests that frequent presenteeism contributes to an increased risk of disability pension among nursing professionals and care assistants as well as among all other occupations.

Objectives: The work functioning impairment scale (WFun) was developed to measure the degree of work functioning impairment in Japanese workers based on the Rasch model. Given that the number of foreign workers employed in Japan and abroad has increased in recent years, a multilingual questionnaire is becoming increasingly necessary to investigate work functioning impairment in these workers. The purpose of this study was to verify the cross-cultural validity of WFun between Japanese, Chinese, and English versions.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two stages. First, the Chinese and English versions of WFun were created. Second, an internet survey was conducted among 1000 Japanese, 400 Chinese, and 300 Americans. Estimates and standard errors of an individual's ability and item difficulty were calculated using the Rasch model. Differential item functioning (DIF) and differential test functioning (DTF) were also examined using Rasch model analyses.

Results: The effect size of DIF for one item in the English version exceeded 0.5 logit, indicating the presence of some DIF. In contrast, the effect sizes of DIF for all other items were below 0.5 logit, indicating that the influence of DIF was negligible. Furthermore, Rasch measurements according to the raw score for each version of WFun showed strong agreement among the three versions, with an intraclass correlation of 0.98 (95% confidence interval: 0.97-0.99), indicating the absence of DTF.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the English, Chinese, and Japanese versions of WFun have good comparability.

Objectives: Well-managed workplace communication may promote well-mental health status among workers, even those who may have experienced drastic changes in their workplace and living environment after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. This study aimed to compare the workplace and living environment of workers in the evacuation area to the non-evacuation area, as well as the association between workplace communication and psychological distress.

Method: This cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in two manufacturing companies in the evacuation area and a company in the non-evacuation area. Psychological distress was defined by a Kessler K6 distress scale score ≥5. Workplace communication was measured by the status of communication (“Do you feel that you can talk freely?”) and consultation (“Can you consult when having troubles?”) with superiors, managers and colleagues. Work burden, overtime, and irregular mealtimes as changes in the workplace and domestic life were determined. Differences in the workplace and living environment were compared using the chi-squared test, with the association between workplace communication and psychological distress analyzed by logistic regression.

Results: The proportion of workers with an increased work burden, overtime, and irregular meals was significantly higher among workers in the evacuation areas. There was also a significant association between low-psychological distress status and communication and consultation with superiors or managers, with no significant association with colleagues.

Conclusion: Only workplace communication with superiors or managers was associated with low-psychological distress, even after drastic changes in the workplace. Therefore, superiors or managers should initiate open communication and active consultation after a disaster.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of parameters of the thermal modification process and machining on the size distribution of dust particles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) generated during lengthwise milling.

Method: Unmodified wood and thermally modified wood at temperatures of 130, 160, 190, and 220°C were milled lengthwise at cutting depths of 0.5 and 2 mm. Particle size analysis was done using the sieving method. The content of the finest particles was measured using the laser diffraction method.

Results: The results indicate that at smaller cutting depths, more smaller particles were formed regardless of the wood modification temperature. Thermal treatment of wood does not cause significant differences in the general particle size distribution of dust. However, the content of the finest dust particles depends on the temperature of wood modification. When machined, wood thermally modified at higher temperatures results in the formation of more dust particles that may pose health risks to employees. This is particularly noticeable at a smaller cutting depth.

Conclusion: With the increase of the temperature of the modification, the share of the finest dust particles, which are a potential threat to the health of employees, increases. To reduce dust emissions during milling of thermally modified wood, the highest possible cutting depth should be used.

Objectives: This study aimed to develop and evaluate a training program for occupational health nurses (OHNs) regarding support for workers with cancer and their workplaces.

Methods: Based on our prior research, we engaged in multiple discussions on the development of training program for OHNs. For examining the effectiveness of the developed training program, we collected and analyzed the data from three repeated surveys conducted before, immediately after, and 3 months after the training on self-confidence levels of the participants regarding 23 items associated with support for workers with cancer and their workplaces.

Results: We made a 3-hour training program including a lecture and a group work. First, we gave a lecture explaining the support scheme consisting of 4 parts and the 12 hints in action phrase while using the guidebook. Second, we conducted the group work regarding the case of a female worker diagnosed with breast cancer. Of the participants who supported workers with cancer in actuality during the 3-month post-training, 86% acknowledged the utility of the training in implementing support. As for the pre-post evaluation of the training program, most items of the participants’ self-confidence significantly increased from pretraining to immediately after and 3 months post-training.

Discussion: This study demonstrated that the developed training program was effective in that the participants learned the support schemes and skills and gained self-confidence in implementing supports in real-work settings. We hope that this training program will be extensively used in the future, enabling OHNs to contribute toward balancing cancer treatment and work.

Background: Prolonged exposure to hand-arm vibration is associated with a disorder of the vascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal systems of the upper limb known as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Currently, the evidence of HAVS in tropical environments is limited.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and severity of HAVS among tyre shop workers in Kelantan, Malaysia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 200 tyre shop workers from two districts in Kelantan was performed. Part one data were collected at the field using questionnaire, and hand-arm vibration was measured. Part two involved a set of hand clinical examinations. The workers were divided into high (≥5 m s^-2) and low/moderate (<5 m s^-2) exposure group according to their 8-hr time weighted average [A(8)] of vibration exposure. The differences between the two exposure group were then compared.

Results: The prevalence of the vascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal symptoms was 12.5% (95% CI 10.16 to 14.84), 37.0% (95% CI 30.31 to 43.69), and 44.5% (95% CI 37.61 to 51.38) respectively. When divided according to their exposure statuses, there was a significant difference in the prevalence of HAVS for all three components of vascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal (22.68% vs 2.91%, 62.89% vs 12.62% and 50.52% and 38.83%) respectively. All the clinical examinations findings also significantly differed between the two groups with the high exposure group having a higher abnormal result.

Conclusion: Exposure to high A(8) of vibration exposure was associated with a higher prevalence of all three component of HAVS. There is a need for better control of vibration exposure in Malaysia.

Objectives: To determine whether restorative yoga is an effective method for relieving occupational stress among female nurses working the night shift in Japan.

Methods: From July 2017 to May 2018, 20 female nurses aged in their 20s to 30s who were working the night shift at a university hospital participated in a randomized crossover trial, consisting of a 1-hour guided group yoga session followed by 4 weeks of at-home practice and 4 weeks of usual stress relief methods. The level of stress was assessed by the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare before and after performing restorative yoga. Descriptive statistics were calculated and data were analyzed by Student's t test, one-way analysis of variance (with repeated measures), or Bonferroni's multiple comparison test.

Results: Vital signs showed no significant differences from before to after the group yoga session, and there was no change of weight after 4 weeks of at-home practice. The mean questionnaire score for "psychological and physical stress reactions" was significantly reduced after the group yoga session. In addition, the mean score was significantly lower after 4 weeks of at-home practice than before or after group yoga, or after 4 weeks of the usual stress relief methods.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that restorative yoga may be effective for alleviating occupational stress among female nurses working the night shift.