Dataset Information

Prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and occupational risk factors among professional cooks: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Previous studies have pointed out that the school lunch workers in Japan are suffering from work-related disorders including finger deformations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and the association with job-related risk factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 5,719 subjects (response rate: 81%, 982 men and 4,737 women) was undertaken during September 2003 to February 2004.

Results

Finger deformations were found among 11.7% of the men and 35.6% of the women studied, with significant differences among sex, age and sex-age groups. For both men and women the pattern of finger deformations across the hand was similar for the right and the left hand. For women, the deformations were found in about 10% of the distal interphalangeal joints of all fingers. Based on multiple logistic regression analyses, the factors female sex, age, the number of cooked lunches per cook and cooking activities were independently associated with the prevalence of finger deformations. High prevalence odds ratios were found for those frequently carrying or using tools by hands such as delivering containers, distributing meals, preparing dishes, washing equipment, cutting and stirring foods.

Conclusions

Among the school lunch workers studied, women had a higher prevalence of finger deformations on all joints of both hands. Various cooking tasks were associated with the prevalence of finger deformations. The results suggest that improvements in working conditions are important for preventing work-related disorders such as finger deformations.

SUBMITTER: Nagasu M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3126742 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and occupational risk factors among professional cooks: a cross-sectional study.

Nagasu Miwako M Sakai Kazuhiro K Kogi Kazutaka K Ito Akiyoshi A Feskens Edith J M EJ Tomita Shigeru S Temmyo Yoshiomi Y Ueno Mitsuo M Miyagi Shigeji S

BMC public health 20110526

<h4>Background</h4>Previous studies have pointed out that the school lunch workers in Japan are suffering from work-related disorders including finger deformations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and the association with job-related risk factors.<h4>Methods</h4>A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 5,719 subjects (response rate: 81%, 982 men and 4,737 women) was undertaken during September 2003 to February 2004.<h4>Results</h4> ...[more]

PMID: 21615914

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Project description:BackgroundWe aimed to examine the cross-sectional association between occupational class and self-reported low back pain (LBP) in a representative sample of the Japanese general population.MethodsWe used anonymized data from a nationwide survey (31,443 men and 35,870 women aged ≥ 20). Occupational class variables included working status, occupation, employment status, and company size (number of employees). Covariates included age, socio-economic status, lifestyle, and comorbidities. Poisson regression models stratified by gender were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratio (APR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for self-reported LBP.ResultsThe prevalence of self-reported LBP was 11.7% in men and 14.2% in women. After adjustment for covariates and mutual adjustment for all occupational class variables, among both genders, agricultural/forestry/fishery workers and non-workers had a significantly higher prevalence of self-reported LBP: APR (95% CI) of agricultural/forestry/fishery was 1.36 (1.08-1.70) in men and 1.59 (1.30-1.93) in women; that of non-workers was 1.42 (1.18-1.70) in men and 1.23 (1.08-1.40) in women. Among men, non-regular employees were more likely to have self-reported LBP than regular employees: APR (95% CI) was 1.25 (1.07-1.46) in part-timers and casual staff and 1.18 (1.03-1.35) in other types of non-regular employees. Moreover, compared to men working at companies with ≥ 100 employees, men working at companies with 30-99 employees had a significantly higher prevalence of self-reported LBP (APR 1.17; 95% CI, 1.03-1.34). Among women, professionals and technicians (1.26; 1.11-1.43) and sales workers (1.22; 1.04-1.43) had a significantly higher prevalence of self-reported LBP than clerks. Neither employment status nor company size was associated with self-reported LBP in women. After stratified analyses by age group, similar patterns were observed in participants aged 20-64, but not in those aged ≥ 65.ConclusionOur results suggest that self-reported LBP is highly prevalent among agricultural/forestry/fishery workers and the unemployed, regardless of gender, and that there are also gender differences in the association of occupational class factors with self-reported LBP. It is necessary, therefore, to take preventive measures against LBP based on gender and occupational class factors in Japan.

Project description:BackgroundThere is substantial evidence that ill-health is a major cause of impoverishment in developing countries. Major illnesses can have a serious economic impact on poor households through treatment costs and income loss. However, available methods for measuring the impact of ill-health on household welfare display several shortcomings and new methods are thus needed. To understand the potential complex impact of major illnesses on household livelihoods, a study on poverty and illness was conducted in rural Cambodia, as part of an international comparative research project. A cross-sectional survey was performed to identify households affected by major illness for further in-depth interviews.Methodology and principal findings5,975 households in three rural health districts were randomly selected through a two-stage cluster sampling and interviewed. 27% of the households reported at least one member with a serious illness in the year preceding the survey and 15% of the household members reported suffering from at least one serious illness. The most reported conditions include common tropical infectious diseases, chronic diseases (notably hypertension and heart diseases) and road traffic accidents. Such conditions were particularly concentrated among the poor, children under five, women, and the elderly. Poor women often reported complications related to pregnancy and delivery as serious illnesses.Conclusions and significanceDespite some methodological limitations, this study provides new information on the frequency of self-reported serious illnesses among the rural Cambodia's population, which serves as a basis for further in-depth investigation on 'major illnesses' and their economic consequences on poor households. This can in turn help policy makers to formulate appropriate interventions to protect the poor from the financial burden associated with ill-health. Our findings suggest that every year a considerable proportion of rural population in Cambodia, especially the poor and vulnerable, are affected by serious illnesses, both communicable and non-communicable diseases.

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Substantial research has found that women assess their health as poor relative to men, but the reasons for this are not fully understood. Military women are characterised by good health and the ability to work in an archetypically male culture. Thus, studies on the gender pattern of self-reported health in military personnel could generate hypotheses for future research on the possible associations between gender and health. However, such studies are rare and limited to a few countries. The aim of this study was to examine self-reported physical and mental health in Norwegian military women. METHODS:We compared responses on self-reported health of 1068 active duty military women in Norway to those of active duty military men (n?=?8100). Further, we compared the military women to civilian women working in the Norwegian Armed Forces (n?=?1081). Participants were stratified into three age groups: 20-29; 30-39; and 40-60?years. We used Pearson Chi-square tests, Students t-tests and regression models to assess differences between the groups. RESULTS:The military women in our study reported physical illness and injuries equal to those of military men, but more military women used pain relieving and psychotropic drugs. More military women aged 20-29 and 30-39?years reported mental health issues than military men of the same age. In the age group 30-39?years, twice as many military women assessed their health as poor compared to military men. In the age group 40-60?years, more military women than men reported musculoskeletal pain. Military women used less smokeless tobacco than military men, but there were few differences in alcohol consumption and smoking. Military women appeared to be more physically healthy than civilian women, but we found few differences in mental health between these two groups. CONCLUSION:Most military women reported physical symptoms equal to those of military men, but there were differences between the genders in mental health and drug use. More favourable health compared to civilian women was most evident in the youngest age group and did not apply to mental health.

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Dataset Information

Prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and occupational risk factors among professional cooks: a cross-sectional study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Prevalence of self-reported finger deformations and occupational risk factors among professional cooks: a cross-sectional study.

Similar Datasets

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