This is the first multicenter survey to clarify occupational environments and health and stress status in various medical professionals (MPs). The survey questionnaire included the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI), Quality of Working Life (QWL), medical incidents, and demographic data. We collected 3,335 questionnaires from 7,698 MPs and analyzed 3,036 of them. The MPs were categorized into 6 groups: nurses (n = 1,821); physicians (706); dentists (83); pharmacists (77); MPs involved in disease diagnoses (MP-diagnosis), including clinical laboratory technicians and radiographers (261); and MPs involved in patient treatment (MP-treatment), including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and other therapists (88). Working hours were the longest for physicians, and the night shift work was the greatest for nurses. Mental health (GHQ) was the worst in nurses and was the best in physicians. ERI was worse in nurses and MP-treatment than in other occupations. QWL in maintaining personal values was the worst in physicians. Different health/stress statuses must be considered when assisting MPs and forming policy guidelines.
Sickness presenteeism is a condition in which an individual who is physically or mentally ill still comes to work. We obtained the prevalence of sickness presenteeism and contributing factors in formal sector workers in Indonesia. A cross-sectional study was done with 590 participants. Sickness presenteeism was determined by the health problems experienced in the last month before the study. Data analysis was done using the chi-square bivariate test and the logistic regression multivariate test. The majority of the participants were healthcare workers (33.9%) and from Jawa Island (64.1%). Out of 590 participants, the prevalence of sickness presenteeism was 26.1% (n=154). Multivariate analysis results showed that age (P =0.032), education level (0.026), and area of employment (Sumatera (P=0.022), and Kalimantan (0.031)) were statistically significant. This study found that the development of sickness presenteeism correlates with younger age, higher education level, and area of employment. These factors may affect work culture in the participating workplace and might result in the sickness presenteeism discovered in this study.
This study aimed to clarify the association between readiness to return to work, cognitive function, and work continuation after returning to work in workers with major depressive disorder. We assessed whether cognitive assessments in THINC-it could be used as intermediate variables to explain the association between The Psychiatric rework readiness scale (PRRS) total score and work continuation one year after returning to work in workers with major depressive disorder. Twenty-four individuals participated. The psychiatric rework readiness scale total score was significantly associated with work continuation one year after return to work (β = 0.197, 95% CI [0.002, 0.391]). PRRS total score and the five-item Perceived Deficits Questionnaire-Depression (PDQ-D5) were also significantly associated (β = 0.072, 95% CI [0.014, 0.130]). However, the indirect effects were not significant for PDQ-D5, Spotter, Symbol Check, Codebreaker, or Trails. Better readiness for return to work in workers with major depressive disorder was associated with a better assessment of the PDQ-D5. Five cognitive assessments as mediating variables did not explain the association between the evaluation of readiness for return to work and work continuation one year later.
Nursing students are exposed to health hazards during their clinical practice. This analytic cross-sectional study assessed such risks and the examined related factors in 219 nursing students. Participants were selected through cluster random sampling, and data were gathered via self-administered questionnaires that covered socio-demographic characteristics, occupational health literacy, support from teachers and healthcare personnel, clinical practice safety behaviors, and occupational health risks. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that psychosocial hazards were the most common risk (37.4%), followed by biological hazards (26.15%) and ergonomic factors (12.8%). Female gender (AOR = 4.15, 95% CI = 1.28–13.47), low clinical safety behaviors (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.03–3.14), and low occupational health literacy (AOR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.13–5.74) were significantly associated with higher risks. This study highlights the need for targeted interventions to improve safety behaviors and occupational health literacy, emphasizing enhancements in training programs, support systems, personal protective equipment (PPE) adequacy, and ergonomic practices.
We examined the effects of the phantom snacking experience and mastication behavior on human emotions using a compact electroencephalography (EEG) and a KANSEI analyzer. Forty participants were divided into young adult and middle-aged groups. All participants experienced both mastication and phantom snacking. We extracted the emotional parameters from the EEG. There were no significant differences in the levels of alertness, concentration, liking, and stress between the mastication and phantom snacking experiences of younger adults. In the middle-aged group, the interest level was significantly higher, the alertness level was significantly lower, and the stress level tended to be lower in the phantom snacking group than in the mastication group. The interest level tended to be higher, the alertness, and stress levels were significantly lower in the middle-aged phantom snacking group when compared to the younger adult phantom snacking group. Our findings reveal that phantom snacking, similar to mastication, can have a positive effect on the emotions of young adults, and the effects of phantom snacking were better than those of mastication in the middle-aged individuals. Phantom snacking may be a practical method to increase interest, improve work efficiency, and decrease psychological stress.
Work with night shifts has been reported to have a variety of negative health effects. Self-rated health is an important indicator of health, yet studies regarding the relationship of work with night shifts on self-rated health have reported inconsistent findings. The present study aimed to examine that relationship. We conducted a prospective cohort study using a self-administered online questionnaire on workers aged 20 years or older in Japan. The relationship between work with night shifts and self-rated health was examined by logistic regression analysis. Compared with participants who work without night shifts, the odds ratio of poor self-rated health was significantly higher among participants who work with night shifts (odds ratio: 1.19), after adjusting for age, sex, annual household income, industry category and self-rated health at baseline. The present study suggests that self-rated health, a commonly used simple and general indicator of health effects, can be used for workers with night shifts.
The comorbidity of mental and physical illnesses is on the rise, particularly with the co-occurrence of major depression (MD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients with DM exhibit a significantly elevated risk for MD, with the interplay of inflammatory responses, activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, oxidative stress, and abnormalities within the kynurenine pathway contributing to the pathophysiology of both diseases. Inflammatory cytokines and vascular endothelial growth factor abnormalities have emerged as critical factors common to MD and T2DM. Effective pharmacological treatments such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are available, with CBT demonstrating particularly beneficial effects on medication adherence and glycemic control. This review aims to elucidate the complex interplay between MD and T2DM, highlighting the shared mechanisms of pathophysiology and their therapeutic implications, ultimately informing clinical practice for better management of comorbid conditions.