The effect of painting on alcoholic liver dysfunction was investigated. The subjects were male workers engaged in small-scale enterprises under contract to with heavy industries. Painting involved metal cleaning and painting, and the air concentrations of organic solvents were frequently high. The study population consisted of 1, 157 male workers over 40 yr of age. Of them, 85 were painters engaged for a mean duration of 20.9 ± 9.8 yr. There was no significant difference in GOT and GPT between painters who did not drink and non-painters who did not drink, but GOT and GPT were significantly higher in painters drinking several days a week than in non-painters. A past history of hepatitis affected GOT, GPT and γ-GTP. Painting, daily alcohol consumption, drinking frequency and body mass index affected γ-GTP. A questionnaire survey of hepatitis was also conducted in 206 male workers (age range 18-67 yr). Of them, 134 were painters (mean duration of painting, 16.8 ± 10.4 yr). This questionnaire survey showed that 13 painters (9.6% of the painters) and two non-painters (2.6% of the nonpainters) had a history of hepatitis. Of the 13 painters, five painters had a history of hepatitis C and four had a history of alcoholic hepatitis. All of these 13 painters had the habit of drinking. This study indicated that painting had little effect on the liver function in painters not drinking, but increased alcoholic liver dysfunction in painters with the drinking habit.

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The present study was undertaken to look at the effect of professional oral prophylaxis on the general health perceptions and lifestyle in workers at a worksite in Aichi-ken. Dental check-ups and three kinds of questionnaires (SAS: The Social Adjustment Scale, MOS: The Medical Outcomes Study and the nutrition) were used in this investigation for three years from 1998. By means of the stratified sampling method, the participants were 265 workers separated into a case and a control group, who work for a pharmaceutical company (201 males, 64 females, average age 35.6 ± 0.7 yr old). All participants gave their consent to the study. As in the case group, dental hygienists scaled their teeth and gave each of them appropriate advice about their oral health twice in a year. MOS, SAS, nutrition and oral health in the case and control groups were compared with the baseline, third and the final year. The results were as follows; 1) There was significant difference in energy, protein, fat, fish and meats sufficiency rates (p < 0.05) and a higher tendency towards consuming sugar, potassium (K), calsium (Ca), iron (Fe) and Fiber (p < 0.10) in the control group, but there were no significant differences in the other nutrients in the case and control groups. 2) There were significant differences in the number of decayed teeth in the case group, and in the number of filled teeth and decayed teeth in the control group. The gingival condition (CPI=0) in the case group tended to be higher healthier than the control group. 3) In the MOS questionnaire, the case group was better or not worse in health perceptions scales, pain scales and mental health scales than the control group. 4) In the SAS questionnaire, the case group was better or not worse in the work and the social scales than the control group. It was concluded that oral health, social health and consciousness of health tended to improve by dental intervention.

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We conducted a questionnaire study on low back pain (LBP) and working conditions among male taxi drivers employed in the company in Fukuoka city in order to investigate the occurrence of LBP and occupational factors related to LBP among taxi drivers. The study was undertaken through two questionnaires, the first conducted in 1999 (n=280, first cross-sectional study), the second conducted in 2001 (n=284, second cross-sectional study). The questionnaire results were used to conduct two analyses: 1) the one-year prevalence of LBP and the relationship between LBP and occupational factors in the second cross-sectional study, and 2) the incidence of LBP and the relationship between LBP and occupational factors from the first to the second cross-sectional study in the longitudinal study. The incidence cases were defined as subjects who met the following conditions: those who had never experienced LBP at the time of the first study but had experienced LBP during the previous year at the time of the 2nd study. The one-year prevalence (45.8%) of LBP among taxi drivers was comparable to rates reported for other occupational drivers in which LBP occurs frequently. This result indicates that LBP is an important health problem for taxi drivers, and an urgent occupational safety and health management issue. The two-year incidence of LBP among the taxi drivers was estimated at 25.9%. LBP was significantly related with the suitability of the driver’s seat pan, total mileage on the taxi (total mileage), the level of uncomfortable vibrations on the road, job stress and time employed as a taxi driver. Importantly, the prevalence of LBP increased with increasing total mileage, a finding which had not previously been reported. The findings of this study also suggest that ergonomic problems with the driver’s seat pan, whole-body vibration (WBV) and job stress may contribute to LBP among taxi drivers. Further study is needed to confirm how total mileage contributes to LBP. Furthermore, WBV during normal use of taxies should be measured in order to evaluate the association between WBV and LBP.

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