Irritant asthma and work: cases from the UK SWORD reporting scheme from 1999 to 2018
Conclusions While the incidence of irritant asthma may have fallen, cases are persistently attributed to well-described causes. A persistence of cases attributed to cleaning agents was seen. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - October 5, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Fishwick, D., Carder, M., Iskandar, I., Fishwick, B. C., van Tongeren, M. Tags: Open access Workplace Source Type: research

Occupational differences in the prevalence and severity of long-COVID: analysis of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey
Conclusions The risk and prevalence of long-COVID differs across industries and occupations. Generally, it appears that likelihood of developing long-COVID symptoms follows likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 infection, except for professional occupations. These findings highlight sectors and occupations where further research is needed to understand the occupational factors resulting in long-COVID. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - October 5, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Kromydas, T., Demou, E., Edge, R., Gittins, M., Katikireddi, S. V., Pearce, N., van Tongeren, M., Wilkinson, J., Rhodes, S. Tags: Open access, COVID-19 Workplace Source Type: research

Return-to-work interventions for sick-listed employees with burnout: a systematic review
Burnout is a work-related mental health problem that often causes long-term sickness absence. Return-to-work (RTW) interventions for burned-out sick-listed employees aim to prevent long-term work disability. This systematic review addresses two questions: (1) Which interventions for burned-out sick-listed employees have been studied?; (2) What is the effect of these interventions on RTW? We performed a systematic literature review and searched PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2022. We searched for articles of interventions for burne...
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Lambreghts, C., Vandenbroeck, S., Goorts, K., Godderis, L. Tags: Open access Systematic review Source Type: research

Is there a bidirectional relationship between workplace bullying and the risk of sickness absence? Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies
Exposure to workplace bullying increases the risk of sickness absence. However, the extent and direction of this relationship for different follow-up lengths are not well established. To provide evidence regarding the direction and extent of the relationship between workplace bullying and different durations of sickness absence. We searched nine databases from their inception to 29 November 2022. Multiple independent observers screened the literature, extracted the data and used the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies of Exposure to assess the methodological quality. The overall effect sizes of odds ratio, relative risk...
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Liao, X., Wang, Y., Zeng, Q., Wang, J., Yang, X., Yan, W., Wang, G., Zeng, Y. Tags: Systematic review Source Type: research

Towards more inclusive practices for gender-diverse people in occupational health research
In this issue of OEM, Siegrist et al report on new findings on stress and cardiovascular risk from the CONSTANCES study,1 which is a prospective cohort of 48 383 individuals recruited through the French Social Security system. Reading this paper brought some thoughts on inclusion and how trans and gender-diverse individuals were dealt with in a study of that size. Indeed, this study reports data only on women and men, but no data were reported for gender non-conforming individuals. Reliable data are lacking on the exact number of non-binary individuals in the general population in France. A 2016 meta-analysis calculated a ...
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Durand-Moreau, Q. V. Tags: Commentary Source Type: research

Commentary: methodological approaches to understanding mechanisms and 'what if questions in occupational health research
In occupational health research investigators can often be interested in better understanding the factors that explain the relationship between an exposure and an outcome. Two recent examples of such papers published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine are from Shields and colleagues exploring the extent to which differences in employment between people living with and without a disability in Australia explain differences in mental health outcomes,1 and Siegrist and colleagues examining how psychosocial exposures at work interact with socioeconomic position to increase risk of non-fatal cardiovascular disease events...
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Smith, P. M. Tags: Commentary Source Type: research

Identifying occupational risk factors for cancer in women: a need for further action
The limited representation of women in occupational cancer research studies has been recognised for decades.1 Unfortunately, this remains true today for many cancer sites and workplace exposures despite the fact that in 2021 women made up 40% of the global workforce, with percentages in some countries much higher.2 The proportion of women varies by industry sector. For example, in the USA in 2020 women represented 75% of the healthcare sector and 30% of the manufacturing sector.3 As a result, women may differ from men in both the prevalence and magnitude of workplace exposures. For example, a 2011–2012 survey of work...
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Friesen, M. C., Beane Freeman, L. E. Tags: Press releases Commentary Source Type: research

Lifelong differences in cancer incidence and mortality between subgroups of similar socioeconomic status in the Royal Norwegian Navy
Conclusion Through most of the observation time, vessel crews had an overall cancer SIR that was higher than that of land-based personnel. Much of this excess involved cancers with a generally poor prognosis, linked to lifestyle and work environment. The contrasts in cancer incidence and mortality between the two subgroups of Navy servicemen persisted through more than six decades. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Strand, L. A., Rudvin, I., Martinsen, J. I., Fadum, E. A., Grimsrud, T. K. Tags: Workplace Source Type: research

Social inequalities, stressful work and non-fatal cardiovascular disease: follow-up findings from the CONSTANCES Study
Conclusions Disadvantaged SEP and stressful work contribute to higher CVD risk in this cohort. Despite moderately increased effect sizes for disadvantaged SEP groups, no evidence was found to support an effect modification hypothesis. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Siegrist, J., Goldberg, M., Zins, M., Wahrendorf, M. Tags: Workplace Source Type: research

Does employment status mediate the association between disability status and mental health among young adults? Evidence from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey
Conclusions Results suggest disability has an effect on the mental health of young adults; a proportion of this effect appears to operate through employment. The mental health of young adults with disabilities could potentially be improved with interventions to improve employment outcomes among this group, and by supporting individuals with disabilities into suitable employment. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Shields, M., Spittal, M. J., Aitken, Z., Dimov, S., Kavanagh, A., King, T. L. Tags: Workplace Source Type: research

Occupational environment and ovarian cancer risk
Conclusions Certain occupations, industries and specific occupational exposures may be associated with ovarian cancer risk. Further research is needed to provide a more solid grounding for any inferences in this regard. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Leung, L., Lavoue, J., Siemiatycki, J., Guenel, P., Koushik, A. Tags: Press releases Workplace Source Type: research

Advancing global public health with occupational epidemiology
The 2023 International Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH) meeting in Mumbai, India focused on the theme: ‘Occupational Health Epidemiology: Need for Concerted Action’. I had the honor of being invited to deliver the Lifetime Achievement Oration. I prepared for this daunting task by considering why occupational epidemiology is important for global public health and what the field’s distinctive contributions are. Here, I summarise my responses to these questions, drawing particularly from the COVID-19 pandemic. My remarks were addressed to occupational epidemiologists, but I believe they are relev...
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - August 22, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Kriebel, D. Tags: Editor's choice Editorial Source Type: research

Workplace mental health screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Workplaces are an important location for population mental health interventions. Screening to detect employees at risk of or experiencing mental ill health is increasingly common. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the efficacy of workplace mental health screening programmes on employee mental health, work outcomes, user satisfaction, positive mental health, quality of life, help-seeking and adverse effects. PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Global Index Medicus, Global Health and SciELO were searched (database inception–10 November 2022) and results screened by two independent reviewers. Controlled t...
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - July 31, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Strudwick, J., Gayed, A., Deady, M., Haffar, S., Mobbs, S., Malik, A., Akhtar, A., Braund, T., Bryant, R. A., Harvey, S. B. Tags: Open access Systematic review Source Type: research

Mental health service use among Canadian veterans within the first 5 years following service: methodological considerations for comparisons with the general population
Conclusions This methods-focused study demonstrates the implications of several study design decisions that should be considered when conducting comparative veteran and civilian health research. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - July 31, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: St.Cyr, K., Kurdyak, P., Smith, P. M., Mahar, A. L. Tags: Open access Methodology Source Type: research

Individual responses to the implementation of mandatory fitness testing within a fire department
Conclusions During the first year of fitness assessment implementation, the fire department generally improved. The findings suggest that fire departments which enforce mandatory fitness assessments must establish policies for dealing with inadequate performance and offer resources to aid individual firefighters. (Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine - July 31, 2023 Category: Occupational Health Authors: Martin, J., Toczko, M., Lockie, R. G. Tags: Practice Source Type: research