Respiratory function in power plant workers exposed to nitrogen dioxide.

BACKGROUND: Power plant workers are potentially exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and may therefore be at higher risk of pulmonary diseases than the general population. AIMS: To assess the association of NO2 exposure with spirometric abnormalities in power plant workers. METHODS: Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory ratio (FER = FEV1/FVC) were correlated with demographic characteristics, smoking history and environmental exposure to NO2 in power plant workers exposed to environmental NO2 at work and in a control group of administrative employees. Twenty-four hour environmental NO2 concentrations were measured at each workplace. RESULTS: The concentrations of environmental NO2 ranged from 1.21 to 7.82 mg m(-3) with a mean value of 3.91 + 1.51 mg m(-3). The results showed that FEV1 and FVC were significantly lower in 347 power plant workers than in the 349 controls (P < 0.001). The FER was significantly correlated with age, environmental NO2 concentration, smoking and height. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational exposure to NO2 emissions in power plants is significantly associated with lung function abnormalities as assessed by spirometry. Spirometric measurements in power plant workers exposed to NO2 emissions may be an effective means of detecting early signs of impaired respiratory health in this group of workers.

Environmental car exhaust pollution damages human sperm chromatin and DNA.

OBJECTIVE: The adverse role of traffic pollutants on male fertility is well known. Aim of this study was to evaluate their effects on sperm chromatin/DNA integrity. METHODS: To accomplish this, 36 men working at motorway tollgates and 32 unexposed healthy men (controls) were enrolled. All of them were interviewed about their lifestyle. Hormone, semen samples, and environmental and biological markers of pollution were evaluated. Sperm chromatin and DNA integrity were evaluated by flow cytometry following propidium iodide staining and TUNEL assay, respectively. RESULTS: LH, FSH, and testosterone serum levels were within the normal range in tollgate workers. Sperm concentration, total sperm count, total and progressive motility, and normal forms were significantly lower in these men compared with controls. Motorway tollgate workers had a significantly higher percentage of spermatozoa with damaged chromatin and DNA fragmentation, a late sign of apoptosis, compared with controls. A significant direct correlation was found between spermatozoa with damaged chromatin or fragmented DNA and the length of occupational exposure, suggesting a time-dependent relationship. CONCLUSION: This study showed that car exhaust exposure has a genotoxic effect on human spermatozoa. This may be of relevant importance not only for the reproductive performance of the men exposed, but also for the offspring health.

[Respiratory function evaluation in welders taking into account tecnological evolution of individual protection dispositive and risk specific information]. / Valutazione dei parametri di funzionalità respiratoria nelle attività di saldatura alla luce della evoluzione tecnologica dei DPI e di programmi di informazione e formazione mirati.

Aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of specific information program on DPI use on the functional respiratory parameters in a group of 15 welders compared with 18 welders not included in the program and 18 workers of industrial sector. Spirometryc parameters were recorded and compared and the results pointed out a significant increase of FEV1 and FVC in the study group compared with welder out of the study while no difference were observed between study group and workers of industrial sector. Results shown that the correct use of DPI could reduce the effects of welding fumes on respiratory tract making these effects equal to the exposure to industrial dusts.

[What are the causes and the reason why of diseases prevalence and incidence in occupational sample of women]. / Prevalenza ed incidenza di malattie nelle donne che lavorano: quali e perché.

UNLABELLED: Aim of this study has been the evaluation of health status change among women and men engaged in different occupational activities. METHODS: In a sample of 1,145 women and 3,110, collected in a time span of 10 years, were calculated prevalence and incidence of diseases related to occupational and non occupational variables: physical work load and job timing, civil status and family engagement. Differences between sexes were calculated by X-square and mean difference test. RESULTS: In women subset, cardiovascular and vertebral degenerative disease, skin, wrist and elbow (carpal canal and epicondylitis) pathologies were much more represented than in men's ones. Psychiatric and psychosomatic symptoms and diseases were much more represented in the women sample and furthermore at younger age. In women, heavier work load has been the most responsible factor of degenerative diseases, while shift work of psychiatric and psychosomatic diseases. In the same gender, the stable living together and family charge increased the incidence of chronic degenerative diseases, suggesting an empowering effect coming from the occupation. In conclusion, from data analysis it is possible to speculate that working women's health profile is sensible to various determinants with synergic effect; consequently the clinical emergence of diseases is shown up earlier.

Effects of working posture and exposure to traffic pollutants on sperm quality.

An increasing difficulty of couples in achieving pregnancy related to male infertility has been reported. Several factors have been implicated as possible causes of this decrease, including the exposure to the endocrine disruptors and the environmental toxicants, the changes in lifestyle and the exposure to heat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of working posture when associated to nitrogen oxides exposure. Three hundred and seven male workers, employed in a motorway company, were enrolled into the study, underwent a complete physical examination and laboratory evaluations, endocrine screening and sperm analysis. Taking into account the exposure to fuel combustion gases and the working posture, sitting or free, the study population was divided in 4 groups. In the subjects occupationally exposed to NO2, a significant lower sperm total motility was observed than in not exposed workers. In the workers with obliged sitting working posture, lower sperm motility was also observed than in the workers with free working posture. Differences in sperm quality were strong when chemical and postural risk factors were associated. The findings of this study confirmed detrimental effects of nitrogen dioxide as a marker of traffic pollutants, showing alterations of sperm quality even if the environmental concentration of gas is very low according to the limits established by the Italian legislation. They suggest, also, the possible interaction between chemical exposure and obliged sitting position.

[Smoking habit among workers in Campania region]. / L'abitudine al fumo nei lavoratori Campani.

Smoking is still now the main avoidable cause of disease, disability and mortality in industrialized countries. This habit is still very common in workplaces, where anti-smoke efforts seem to be less incisive than among general populations. The study analyzed the diffusion of smoke habit in 8111 male workers in Campania region, employed in different work activities (white collars, blue collars, drivers, cleaning civil servants, porters), so as to evaluate work related features, affecting its assumption and maintenance. Among all workers, smokers prevalence (42.7%) was higher than national male population. Percentages of smokers were highest among drivers (60.7%) and civil servants (52.5%), slightly lower among industry workers (47.3%) and lower among white collars (36.4%). The highest prevalence were found in 41-50 years age group (46.8%), but only among white collars aging was associated with higher smokers prevalence. Lower education degrees and two working variables, shifts and handwork, have been related with significantly smoking habit assumption. Results emphasized that health promotional programs are necessary to reduce smoke habit among workers, particularly among professionally and culturally unqualified subgroups.

[Chronic-degenerative diseases in health care activities: data from health surveillance of Federico II University General Hospital in Naples]. / Patologie cronico-degenerative nelle attività assistenziali: i dati nell'Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Federico II di Napoli.

Recent average life increase, as well as new habits and lifestyles assumption, has determined a change in population health profiles, as a result of progressive increase in chronic-degenerative diseases prevalence. Among these latter; musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent ones. Health care workers also suffered from this change in health profiles. This study, performed thanks to the extension of Health Surveillance to all health care workers, aimed at evaluating chronic-degenerative diseases risk among three main welfare activities (medical, nursing and auxiliary). In conclusion, data showed that nurses, mainly the shift workers, are exposed to a higher risk of chronic-degenerative diseases. All other health care workers have not significant work risk factors, because of a greater burden of aging and lifestyles effects.

[Subjective perception of maladjustment risk factors]. / La percezione soggettiva dei fattori disadattanti al lavoro.

Maladjustment at work results from organizational and relational features of the work, the so-called fourth type factors; they include working hours, ways and contents of working activities, and horizontal and vertical business relations. The study reports the percentage of sensed disturbing factors in workers with maladjustment and disaffection at work. Data have been taken from 1382 white collars, 1117 males and 265 females, observed from January 2006 to June 2007 for Health Surveillance. Maladjustment prevalence was higher in females than in males. As individual variables, ageing and family care increased the prevalence of maladjustment among females, whilst a higher prevalence of maladjustment were found in youngest and unmarried males. A very different perception of work harmfulness were found between sexes. As risk factors, female have denounced more wear and tear and authoritarian management; male denounced physical strain.

[Risk evaluation of contact with pesticides in Naples municipality gardeners]. / Programma di valutazione del rischio da contatto con antiparassitari nei giardinieri del comune di Napoli.

Pesticide use still now is a remarkable risk for all cultivation operators, including farmers and flower-growing workers. Recently, pesticides use on ornamental plant has been demonstrated to be able to determine a risk extension to general population. Aim of the project was to elaborate and to apply a method for pesticides risk evaluation in ornamental plant cultivations, as to define workers exposure and its possible diffusion to not occupationally exposed populations. Main features of method will be sampling and analysis approach. The first will estimate air dispersion of pesticides in garden centre, skin and garment smarminess in nurserymen and leaf adhered amounts, in concomitance with treatment and periodically to estimate natural decay. The latter will characterize pesticides by means of different methods (liquid and gaseous chromatography, spectrophotometry and spectrometry). Final aim will also be to identify the most reliable analytic method, as concerns accuracy, sensitivity and specificity.

[Electromagnetic interference of electronic devices in workers with AICD]. / Interferenze elettromagnetiche dei dispositivi elettronici in lavoratori portatori di AICD.

The Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators and the Pacemakers are devices that produce electric signals and consequently they are touchy to the electromagnetic interferences. This touchiness may cause a temporary or permanent device's malfunction both for short, but of high intensity, and prolonged exposures. Considered the wide diffusion in the job's environments of the technologies based on the electromagnetic waves, the aim of the study is identify the presence of electronic equipment's electromagnetic interferences in AICD bearing workers. The last aim is give to the AICD bearing workers more detailed information about the prevention of inappropriate AICD shocks.

[Burden of COPD on health profiles in different work activities]. / La broncopatia cronico-ostruttiva nella popolazione generale e in popolazioni lavorative.

According to WHO, COPD will be the 5th cause of disability and the 3rd cause of mortality by 2020. Even cigarette smoking represents the main cause of COPD recent studies demonstrated positive association with occupational exposure. In Europe costs of COPD were estimated at about 38,8 billion Euros in 2000; its burden is also expected to increase. Aim of the study is to evaluate the burden of COPD on health profiles in a sample of workers of Campania region. Prevalences were calculated in a sample of 908 male workers, employed in industrial (479) and tertiary (429) sectors. Results were compared with population data of ISTAT database. Higher prevalence of COPD was found in industrial workers (23.4%) than general population (3.5%) and tertiary workers (2.1%). Analysing smoking habits, higher prevalence of smokers in the industrial sector (75.9%) than tertiary (66.4%) was found, but this difference cannot explain the big difference of COPD prevalence between the two groups and suggest a positive interaction between smoking and occupational exposure. In conclusion, the results analysis underlines the burden of COPD on workers' health status, particularly in some work activities. Specific health promotion programs are necessary in these activities.

[Not allergic dermatitis as occupational diseases: a suggestion for an evaluation method]. / La definizione della professionalità delle dermatiti non allergiche: proposta di un metodo di valutazione.

Aim of the study was to propose a method to define the relationship of not allergic contact dermatitis with chemical risk factors in workplace. This method evaluates the skin response to simultaneous chemical and mechanical stimulation, made with a soft bristle brush. The method has been used on 9 cases of not allergic skin diseases, observed from 2000 to 2006 in Occupational Medicine Division of "Federico II" University of Naples. The greatest part of pathologies had the polymorphous pattern of skin inflammation, characterized by subintrant erythema, suspected of occupational origin. In 6 cases a stronger reaction to both chemical and mechanical stimulation was highlighted, confirming a possible occupational etiology. In 1 case the occupational origin was excluded, while in 2 cases the skin response was uncertain. The method does not define all cases of occupational skin pathologies, but it seems to be very useful to diagnostic and insurance needs.

[Burnout: rising interest phenomenon in stressful workplace]. / Burnout: fenomeno di crescente interesse in ambienti di lavoro stressante.

Many stressful situations, particularly strong and long time lasting, can induce the burnout syndrome. The definition "burnout" refers to emotional and exhausting conditions related to working environment. Since 70'ties, many studies, have focused on this topic, have assessed that this condition is much more frequent in some particular professional categories: teachers, physicians, nurses, social workers, policemen, judges (the so-called helping professions). The main syndrome characteristics are: physical and emotional fatigue, depersonalization, frustration for unsuccessful professional realization and reduced personal accomplishment in competence and productivity with decreasing critical sense towards working field. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) has been the most popular instrument for measuring burnout in medical research. The coherence of many studies results on helping professions in different countries, leads to the conclusion that basically burnout is a psycho-social phenomenon of international relevance. These studies have also identified personal, relational and environmental risk factors susceptible to prevention.

[A new model of health surveillance: lessons learned from epidemiology]. / Un nuovo modello di sorveglianza sanitaria: lezioni dall'epidemiologia.

Occupational medicine in the last few years is trying to tune its objectives to the changing needs of the working world. The continuous reduction of incidence of work related diseases progressively substituted with chronic degenerative ones, suggests a different strategy to prevent occupational diseases and to protect workers health. Health surveillance should not be limited only to draw up the work qualification but should be the starting point to plan intervention useful both to workers and to the general population. Corner stone of this endeavour is the epidemiological research focused on the improvement of quality of life.

[Frequency of ischemic cardiopathy in different types of work activities]. / Frequenza della cardiopatia ischemica in differenti tipi di attività lavorativa.

The Authors refer the Health Surveillance outcomes on 3185 workers of Campania region from 1996 to 2001: CHD frequencies and relationship between the individual (age, BMI, smoking, serum cholesterol) and the occupational risks factors (work strain and shift). All risk factors increase the frequencies of CHD, but the work strain and the shift determinate an upper increase of the relative risk. The Authors suggest far reaching programs of Health Surveillance, useful to define and to control the specific work risks and to improve the worksite health promotion.