Health status of petrochemical workers: a narrative review.

SUMMARY: Professional exposure to benzene has been extensively investigated by occupational medicine, leading to strict regulation of exposure threshold values. However, the petrochemical industry utilizes many chemical substances, whose exposure, without effective control and mitigation actions, could influence the health status over time. The aim of this narrative review is to describe health status of petrochemical workers related to occupational exposures, inquiring literature from 1980 to present. We used the PubMed and Web of Science search engines. As regards non-neoplastic diseases, despite heterogeneous prevalence estimates, we could say that standardized mortality rate (SMR) for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes does not increase overall, compared to reference populations; a possible explanation may be the "healthy worker effect". Attention should be paid to color disperception and respiratory symptoms, due to toxic or irritating substances exposure. Studies concerning neoplastic pathology have mainly investigated mortality outcomes, finding no increase in cancer, except for melanoma or other skin cancers and leukemia. As regards the former, however, it is not excluded that other risk factors may contribute (e.g. UV rays in offshore workers), while for leukemia, only the most recent studies have analyzed various subtypes of hematopoietic tumors, highlighting a possible risk for the development of myelodysplastic syndrome. The risk of pleural mesothelioma was also increased, likely due to asbestos exposures, while the risk of death from prostate cancer remains controversial.

Clinical Characteristics and Potential Risk Factors Associated with the SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Survey on a Health Care Workers (HCWs) Population in Northern Italy.

During the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 400 million cases all over the world have been identified. Health care workers were among the first to deal with this virus and consequently a high incidence of infection was reported in this population. The aim of the survey was to investigate health care workers' (HCWs) clinical characteristics and potential risk factors associated with the SARS-CoV-2 infection in a referral hospital in Northern Italy after the first and second waves of the pandemic. We administered a questionnaire during the flu vaccination campaign that took place at the end of 2020; among 1386 vaccinated HCWs, data was collected and analyzed for 1065 subjects. 182 HCWs (17%) declared that they had tested positive on at least a molecular or a serological test since the beginning of the pandemic. Comparing the infected vs. not infected HCWs, median age, BMI, smoking habit, presence of hypertension or other comorbidities were not significantly different, while having worked in a COVID ward was associated with the infection (ORadj = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.07-2.20). Respondents declared that more than 70% of contacts occurred in the hospital with patients or colleagues, while about 15% in domestic environments. Among the infected, the most reported symptoms were fever (62.1%), asthenia (60.3%), anosmia/ageusia (53.5%), arthralgia/myalgia (48.3%), headache or other neurological symptoms (46.6%), cough (43.1%) and flu-like syndrome (41.4%). The percentage of subjects who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 seems to be higher in HCWs than in the general population; hence, in hospitals, protective measures and preventive strategies to avoid the spreading of the contagion remain crucial.