Occupational medicine (Philadelphia, Pa.) 

About: Occupational medicine (Philadelphia, Pa.) is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Occupational safety and health & Health care. It has an ISSN identifier of 0885-114X. Over the lifetime, 750 publications have been published receiving 11721 citations.

Risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders among computer users.

Abstract: This investigation of current epidemiologic and ergonomic research demonstrates consistent relationships between certain computer-related factors and musculoskeletal disorders.

Epidemiology of low-back pain in industry.

Abstract: Low-back pain and back injuries are of such a complex nature that any one criterion cannot be applied by itself to give a valid assessment of the risk associated with manual materials-handling jobs. There is no question that low-back pain is an extremely significant cause of disability and has a major socioeconomic impact, but many different personal and job factors are associated with the incidence and prevalence of these complaints. There is a need for ongoing systematic investigations of the multiple risk factors that may be causally related to low-back pain and may possibly be amendable to preventive interventions. Knowledge of workplace and individual risk factors is far from complete. Prospective studies are needed so that factors contributing to the development of low-back pain can be separated from factors resulting from low-back pain. It is difficult to relate low-back pain to the workplace because it occurs quite often in workers employed in sedentary occupations. However, incidence, severity, and disability are all related to the physical demands of the job. In this regard, jobs involving lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, and holding; body movements such as frequent bending, twisting, and sudden movements; and working in bent-over postures appear to have a significant potential for producing low-back pain. A combination of lifting, bending, and twisting appears to be most hazardous. It is concluded that lifting heavy loads contributes to increased frequency and severity rates for low-back pain. This is true regardless of whether the lifting is performed over a short period or throughout the day and whether it is performed a few times per day of repetitively. If, however, such lifting is performed repetitively, the medical hazard extends beyond low-back problems to other musculoskeletal strain and sprain injuries and to fatigue-related injuries, particularly for weaker workers. In this latter regard, gender, age, anthropometry, and previous history of back pain are known to modify these risks for populations of workers. The inherent variability between workers and within any worker over time precludes the use of such factors to assign risk to any particular individual.

Characteristics of the healthy worker effect.

Abstract: The healthy worker effect (HWE), which can mask mortality excesses resulting from occupational exposures, poses a methodological problem for those who study occupational cohorts. This problem is further complicated by the fact that the strength of the HWE may vary from one occupational cohort to another. Understanding the HWE is particularly important for investigators of nuclear worker cohorts, because screening associated with the security clearance process may amplify the HWE among certain subpopulations of nuclear workers. This review suggests that the HWE is modified by a number of factors, including gender, race, age at hire, occupational class, length of employment, monitored status, length of follow-up, and cause of death. In general, these factors operate similarly in nuclear and other occupational cohorts. Given that many of these factors may be highly correlated with exposure, or proxy measurements for exposure, it is important for investigators to understand how these factors relate independently with mortality. Continuing to document the HWE and its changes over time is essential to the proper interpretation of exposure effects in occupational cohorts in general, and in nuclear cohorts in particular.