International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Volume:5 Issue: 3, Jul 2014

In most armies, clothes, equipment and weapons are designed according to the physical characteristics and anthropometric data of soldiers. To study the anthropometric characteristics of Iranian army force and their changes over recent years. 12 635 Iranian military personnel aged between 18 and 30 years with tenure of <10 years who were normally engaged in educational military activities and soldiers were enrolled in this study, which was conducted in 2010. The military personnel had a mean±SD stature of 174.1±6.3 cm and sitting height of 89.7±3.8 cm. They had a mean weight of 70.0 kg, and body mass index of 23.3 kg/m2. The stature of Iranian army has increased by 14 mm during the last 15 years. The stature was less than those of the western countries and 3–4 cm more than those of East Asian personnel. The body mass index has had an increasing trend.

There are millions of working children worldwide. Several causes are suggested for this social evil of which poverty plays a significant role in whether a child will work. To determine the morbidity profile in the working children of gem polishing units of Jaipur, India and assess some of its associated socio-economic factors. The present cross-sectional study included 586 gem polishing working children. Using interview, the demographic characteristics, occupational and clinical history of participants were recorded. The reason for taking up the job, income from the job and their desire to attend the school were also asked to assess the social causes of child labor in this region. The mean±SD age of the working children was 11.3±5.3 years. In most of the instances, parents compelled the child to take up the job. Supposed to increase the family income substantially, the child labor activity failed to do so. On the other hand, the children suffered from several occupational health problems like eyestrain, headache, gastrointestinal complaints (eg, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea), musculoskeletal symptoms (eg, back pain, pain in limbs, neck pain, and joint pains) and skin diseases (eg, scabies, dermatitis). It seems that the social factors forcing the children to work in the studied region, result in deterioration of their health and affect their growth

Agate is a hard silica stone with bands of various colors, which is used in jewelry. The agate grinding workers are exposed to silica dust. To determine the prevalence of respiratory diseases in agate grinding workers and the associated factors. In this cross-sectional study, 170 agate grinding workers from Mashhad, northeastern Iran, were examined. Medical and occupational history for respiratory illnesses was taken using respiratory questionnaire of the national program of silicosis control, lung examination, spirometry and chest radiography. Chest x-rays were interpreted according to the International Labor Office (ILO) classification system, 2000. The mean±SD of age and work duration of the participants were 31.2±10.1 and 13±8.2 years, respectively. The prevalence of silicosis among agate workers was 12.9% (95% CI: 7.9%–18.0%); 18 workers had simple and 4 had complicated silicosis. There was a significant (p<0.05) relationship between contracting silicosis and exposure duration. 20 (11.7%) workers had symptoms consistent with chronic bronchitis and 8 (4.7%) showed asthma and asthma-like symptoms. The most frequent disorder observed in spirometry was the restrictive pattern (n=43, 30%). In the agate grinders, clinical and spirometry findings did not match with radiological findings. Agate grinding workers are at increased risk for respiratory diseases, specifically for silicosis and chronic bronchitis. The disease is related to silica dust exposure, poor ventilation and inappropriate personal protection.

Incense and joss stick are generally used in the world. Most products were made in small household factories. There are many environmental and occupational hazards in these factories. To evaluate the workplace environmental and occupational hazards in small household incense and joss stick factories in Roi-Et, Thailand. Nine small household factories in rural areas of Roi-Et, Thailand, were studied. Dust concentration and small aerosol particles were counted through real time exposure monitoring. The inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for quantitative measurement of heavy metal residue in incense products. Several heavy metals were found in dissolved dye and joss sticks. Those included barium, manganese, and lead. Rolling and shaking processes produced the highest concentration of dust and aerosols. Only 3.9 % of female workers used personal protection equipment. Dust and chemicals were major threats in small household incense and joss stick factories in Thailand. Increasing awareness towards using personal protection equipment and emphasis on elimination of environmental workplace hazards should be considered to help the workers of this industry

Post-exposure prophylaxis plays an important role in prevention of bloodborne diseases after occupational exposures. To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists towards post-exposure prophylaxis. In a cross-sectional study, 140 dentists in Shiraz were selected through a systematic randomized sampling. They filled out a self-made questionnaire including 30 knowledge, 4 attitude and 10 practice questions. Mean of knowledge and percentage of various items of attitude and practice were reported. The mean±SD knowledge score of dentists was 18.5±6.2. Knowledge had a significant relationship with the level of education (p<0.001), attending infection control seminars (p<0.001), and working in public clinics (p<0.001). A total of 63 (43%) dentists believed that immediate washing of the exposed area has no effect on the prevention of hepatitis and AIDS. Of the studied dentists, 13%, 11%, and 34% believed that prophylaxis after exposure to patients'' blood had no effect on prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus infections, respectively. Only 170 (53%) exposed dentists immediately washed the exposed area and only 43 (13.4%) of them evaluated the source patient for risk factors of hepatitis and AIDS. Knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists working in Shiraz towards postexposure prophylaxis are not desirable. Interventions to raise their awareness are therefore warranted.

Occupational exposure to percutaneous injuries is a substantial source of infections with blood-borne pathogens among health-care workers. Few studies evaluated injection safety practices in Saudi Arabia. To examine the structure and process of injection safety at primary health care level in Jazan health district, to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices of primary health care physicians and nurses towards injection safety, and to determine the incidence of needle stick injuries among health care workers in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Jazan primary health care centers (PHCCs), Saudi Arabia from September 2011 to March 2012. Data were collected using an observational checklist and data collection sheet. Jazan city health district was chosen at random from the 14 health sectors in Jazan region. All the 33 (10 urban, and 23 rural) PHCCs of Jazan city were included in this study to get the predetermined sample size of health care workers. 200 health care workers (HCWs) were recruited (29% physicians, and 71% nurses). Syringes in the PHCCs were disposable (100%), individually packed (92%), and available at all volumes (98%). Methods of safe disposal of needles and sharps were also operated through contracting with professional companies in 84.8% of instances. Urban PHCCs had more posts for injection safety promotion than rural centers (p=0.02). Continuous Medical Education (CME) programs on infection control were present in only 60% of PHCCs. At least 95% of HCWs in Jazan believed that sharp objects should be kept in a puncture-proof container, kept in a closed container, or disposed by a professional company. More than 80% of HCWs washed their hands by soap and water and cleaned them by alcohol before giving injection, and also got the three doses of hepatitis B vaccine.The rate of needle stick injury in the past year was 14%, without a significant difference between nurses and physicians (p=0.8). Jazan PHCCs have reasonable facilities that prevent needle-stick injuries. We need to design and implement more educational programs on safety injection, and increase promotion of safety injection posters, especially in rural PHCCs.

Nanoparticles have become one of the leading technologies over the past two years. The extensive use of nanoparticles has raised great concern about their occupational fate and biological effects. With an increase in the production and use of nanomaterial, it is more likely to get exposed to them occupationally and environmentally. To assess the toxicity of silver nanoparticles on human mononuclear cells. In this in vitro experimental study, suspensions of blood mononuclear cells from 10 young healthy men were incubated with 10-nm silver nanoparticles in different concentrations (range: 1–500 μg/mL) for 6 and 24 hours by MTT assay. Positive and negative controls were used for comparison. After 6 hours of exposure, 10.9% to 48.4% of the cells died. After 24 hours of exposure, the rate ranged from 56.8% to 86.3%. Regardless of the exposure time, the maximum cytotoxicity was observed at the concentration of 500 μg/mL of silver nanoparticles. By increasing the exposure time to 24 hours, the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles substantially increased at all concentrations. Cell death was significantly higher when compared to the controls (p<0.01). Silver nanoparticles possess both time- and dose-dependent cytotoxicity and can thus be considered as very toxic for mononuclear cells