Dataset Information

Occupational Heat Stress: Multi-Country Observations and Interventions.

ABSTRACT: Occupational heat exposure can provoke health problems that increase the risk of certain diseases and affect workers' ability to maintain healthy and productive lives. This study investigates the effects of occupational heat stress on workers' physiological strain and labor productivity, as well as examining multiple interventions to mitigate the problem. We monitored 518 full work-shifts obtained from 238 experienced and acclimatized individuals who work in key industrial sectors located in Cyprus, Greece, Qatar, and Spain. Continuous core body temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, and labor productivity were collected from the beginning to the end of all work-shifts. In workplaces where self-pacing is not feasible or very limited, we found that occupational heat stress is associated with the heat strain experienced by workers. Strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, and ventilated clothing were able to mitigate the physiological heat strain experienced by workers. Increasing mechanization enhanced labor productivity without increasing workers' physiological strain. Empowering laborers to self-pace is the basis of heat mitigation, while tailored strategies focusing on hydration, work-rest cycles, ventilated garments, and mechanization can further reduce the physiological heat strain experienced by workers under certain conditions.

SUBMITTER: Ioannou LG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8296111 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Occupational Heat Stress: Multi-Country Observations and Interventions.

Ioannou Leonidas G LG Mantzios Konstantinos K Tsoutsoubi Lydia L Nintou Eleni E Vliora Maria M Gkiata Paraskevi P Dallas Constantinos N CN Gkikas Giorgos G Agaliotis Gerasimos G Sfakianakis Kostas K Kapnia Areti K AK Testa Davide J DJ Amorim Tânia T Dinas Petros C PC Mayor Tiago S TS Gao Chuansi C Nybo Lars L Flouris Andreas D AD

International journal of environmental research and public health 20210610 12

<h4>Background</h4>Occupational heat exposure can provoke health problems that increase the risk of certain diseases and affect workers' ability to maintain healthy and productive lives. This study investigates the effects of occupational heat stress on workers' physiological strain and labor productivity, as well as examining multiple interventions to mitigate the problem.<h4>Methods</h4>We monitored 518 full work-shifts obtained from 238 experienced and acclimatized individuals who work in key ...[more]

PMID: 34200783

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Project description:BackgroundIdentifying how greenspace impacts the temperature-mortality relationship in urban environments is crucial, especially given climate change and rapid urbanization. However, the effect modification of greenspace on heat-related mortality has been typically focused on a localized area or single country. This study examined the heat-mortality relationship among different greenspace levels in a global setting.MethodsWe collected daily ambient temperature and mortality data for 452 locations in 24 countries and used Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) as the greenspace measurement. We used distributed lag non-linear model to estimate the heat-mortality relationship in each city and the estimates were pooled adjusting for city-specific average temperature, city-specific temperature range, city-specific population density, and gross domestic product (GDP). The effect modification of greenspace was evaluated by comparing the heat-related mortality risk for different greenspace groups (low, medium, and high), which were divided into terciles among 452 locations.FindingsCities with high greenspace value had the lowest heat-mortality relative risk of 1·19 (95% CI: 1·13, 1·25), while the heat-related relative risk was 1·46 (95% CI: 1·31, 1·62) for cities with low greenspace when comparing the 99th temperature and the minimum mortality temperature. A 20% increase of greenspace is associated with a 9·02% (95% CI: 8·88, 9·16) decrease in the heat-related attributable fraction, and if this association is causal (which is not within the scope of this study to assess), such a reduction could save approximately 933 excess deaths per year in 24 countries.InterpretationOur findings can inform communities on the potential health benefits of greenspaces in the urban environment and mitigation measures regarding the impacts of climate change.FundingThis publication was developed under Assistance Agreement No. RD83587101 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Yale University. It has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Agency. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication. Research reported in this publication was also supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01MD012769. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Also, this work has been supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2021R1A6A3A03038675), Medical Research Council-UK (MR/V034162/1 and MR/R013349/1), Natural Environment Research Council UK (Grant ID: NE/R009384/1), Academy of Finland (Grant ID: 310372), European Union's Horizon 2020 Project Exhaustion (Grant ID: 820655 and 874990), Czech Science Foundation (22-24920S), Emory University's NIEHS-funded HERCULES Center (Grant ID: P30ES019776), and Grant CEX2018-000794-S funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 The funders had no role in the design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript writing, or decision to publication.

Project description:BackgroundHealth concerns unique to women are growing with the large number of women venturing into different trades that expose them to hot working environments and inadequate sanitation facilities, common in many Indian workplaces.ObjectiveThe study was carried out to investigate the health implications of exposures to hot work environments and inadequate sanitation facilities at their workplaces for women workers.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted with 312 women workers in three occupational sectors in 2014-2015. Quantitative data on heat exposures and physiological heat strain indicators such as core body temperature (CBT), sweat rate (SwR), and urine specific gravity (USG) were collected. A structured questionnaire captured workers perceptions about health impacts of heat stress and inadequate sanitary facilities at the workplace.ResultsWorkplace heat exposures exceeded the threshold limit value for safe manual work for 71% women (Avg. wet bulb globe temperature=30°C±2.3°C) during the study period. Eighty-seven percent of the 200 women who had inadequate/no toilets at their workplaces reported experiencing genitourinary problems periodically. Above normal CBT, SwR, and USG in about 10% women workers indicated heat strain and moderate dehydration that corroborated well with their perceptions. Observed significant associations between high-heat exposures and SwR (t=-2.3879, p=0.0192), inadequate toilet facilities and self-reported adverse heat-related health symptoms (χ (2)=4.03, p=0.0444), and prevalence of genitourinary issues (χ (2)=42.92, p=0.0005×10(-7)) reemphasize that heat is a risk and lack of sanitation facilities is a major health concern for women workers.ConclusionsThe preliminary evidence suggests that health of women workers is at risk due to occupational heat exposures and inadequate sanitation facilities at many Indian workplaces. Intervention through strong labor policies with gender sensitivity is the need of the hour to empower women, avert further health risks, and also enhance productivity for the few million women workers who contribute largely to the country's economy.

Project description:Work-related stress in police officers has been recognized as a risk factor for mental and physical illness, compromising work performance and public safety. While genetic, individual and environmental factors may contribute to stress, basic pathophysiological mechanisms are still not completely understood. Previous studies have shown the potential of microRNAs (miRNAs) as biomarkers and/or mediator for stress responses. In this study, we aimed at identifying possible dysregulation of salivary miRNAs associated with work-related stress in police officers. The study was conducted in a cohort composed of police officers in service at the mobile unit of Genoa in 2009, whose response to occupational stress has been continuously monitored since 2009 using the Demand-Control and the Effort-Reward Imbalance models. 113 male police officers in service in 2022 were recruited and divided in three groups according to their response to stress (low, intermediate and high stress response). miRNAs were extracted from saliva samples and analyzed by small RNA sequencing followed by an integrated bioinformatics/biostatistics analysis. The high stress response group was characterized by 18 differentially expressed miRNAs compared with the low stress response group, with four miRNAs (miR-10400-5p, miR-1290, miR-6074-5p, and miR-9902) at higher levels and fourteen miRNAs (miR-203a-3p, miR-7-5p, miR-143-3p, miR-181a-5p, miR-142-5p, miR-223-5p, let-7f-5p, let-7g-5p, miR-26b-5p, miR-27a-3p, miR-30e-5p, miR-26a-5p, miR-142-3p, and miR-21-5p) at lower levels. We also discovered sets of miRNAs that exhibited dynamic expression changes in response to intermediate and low stress. Functional enrichment analysis identified processes related to apoptosis, cellular response to stress, negative regulation of gene expression, responses to abiotic stimuli, positive regulation of catabolism as commonly regulated by the modulated miRNAs. Work-related stress response was associated with specific salivary miRNA expression patterns, with a general decrease of miRNA levels in the highly distressed police officers. These results suggest salivary miRNA profiling as a non-invasive and useful biomarker of stress and further characterize the link between chronic psychosocial stress and cellular and behavioral response mechanisms.

Dataset Information

Occupational Heat Stress: Multi-Country Observations and Interventions.

Publications

Occupational Heat Stress: Multi-Country Observations and Interventions.

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