nazanin izadi

Health care workers (HCWs) are at the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Long COVID is defined as “the persistence of some symptoms of COVID-19, more than 4 weeks after the initial infection.” The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of long COVID status among HCWs in the largest hospital complex of Iran.  

In this cross-sectional study, all patients with COVID-19 who had taken sick leave were included in the study (n = 445).  Data regarding sick leave characteristics were collected from the records of the nursing management department of the hospital. Study variables included demographic and occupational information, variables related to mental health assessment, organ systems involved in COVID-19, and duration of symptoms. Frequencies, percentage distributions, means, standard deviation, and range (minimum, maximum) were used as descriptive analysis methods. Associations between symptoms’ persistency and clinical characteristics were assessed by  logistic and linear regressions.  

Age, N95 mask use, and respiratory protection significantly contributed to the persistence of COVID-19 symptoms (P < 0.05). The prevalence of long COVID among HCWs was 9.44% among 445 participants. The loss of taste persisted longer than the other symptoms before returning to normal.  Among the postrecovery complications asked, anxiety was the most common persistent mental symptom (58.5%), followed by gloomy mood (46.3%) and low interest (46.2%), respectively.  

HCWs with COVID-19 symptoms had prolonged symptoms of COVID-19 that can affect their work performance, thus, we recommend evaluating COVID-19 symptoms in HCWs with infection history.

Several factors play a role in Needlestick Injury (NSI). We aimed to determine the association of NSI with psychomotor performance in health care workers.

In this cross sectional study, demographic, occupational characteristics, and needlestick history were completed for 357 health personnel of a university hospital of Tehran in 2019 through a checklist. Psychomotor performance was measured using a pursuit aiming test.

Most of the NSI occurred in nurses. The mean age of the workers with a positive history of NSI was significantly lower compared to their peers with a negative history, and similarly, they had lower work experience. After adjustment for the confounding variables, the correct pursuit aiming test had a borderline association with the occurrence of the NSI.

Psychomotor performance had a borderline association with the history of NSI.

Hospital-related infections have been widely reported during the Covid -19 outbreak that exposes healthcare professionals to at greater risk of infection. This cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the frequency of absenteeism in hospital staff during the first and second months of the Covid-19 epidemic, from 26 February until 19 April 2020. Occupational data and sickness absenteeism characteristics were collected from the records of the nursing management department. 304 (17.8%) had sick leave due to coronavirus or corona like symptoms. nurses and then nursing aid workers constituted the categories with more frequency of sick leave. The more median days of sick leave were observed among supervisors and midwives.  About 80% of participants had typical symptoms of Coronavirus. In conclusion, the median days of sick leave due to coronavirus were not as high as we thought. This could be due to human resource shortage and insufficient knowledge regarding return to work guidelines in the early phase of this epidemic.

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is one of the most common occupational disorders. Different characteristics of environmental or occupational exposure as well as individual differences trigger NIHL. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of blood groups, Rhesus (Rh) antigen, and serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose level as risk factors of NIHL. A total number of 1900 drivers who attended the occupational medicine clinic of Baharloo Hospital for the annual health-test of drivers were entered to the study. Pure tone audiometry test was performed for all subjects, blood group, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose levels were measured. Coles, Lutman, and Buffin’s (2000) algorithm were used to identify notched audiograms. A total number of 752 out of 1900 drivers (39.6%) were identified with notched audiograms. No significant difference was observed in serum glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride between the two groups according to the presence of high-frequency notches. The distribution of blood groups in the study group was as follows: O (36.7%), A (34.1%), B (22.7%), AB (6.5%). There was no significant relationship between blood groups and hearing thresholds or between Rh antigens and high-frequency notch. The results of this study was proved the relationship between age and hearing loss, but did not demonstrate any association between blood groups, Rh antigen, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose levels, and NIHL.

 Hepatitis B infection is a common blood-borne viral infection and a major public health problem, especially for health care workers. It is important to protect this group against this type of infection and vaccination is one of the most effective measures. Health care workers have some risk conditions such as shift work and stress in their occupational setting.

 This study was conducted to recognize if occupational factors can affect the immune response to the hepatitis B vaccine.

 We enrolled 508 staff from three large teaching hospitals of Iran who received three standard doses of 20 µg of recombinant HB vaccine. Subjects who had anti-HBs titers < 10 mIU were injected with the second series of hepatitis B vaccine.

 In this study, 451 (88.77%) subjects responded to the first series of HB vaccine. Moreover, 44 out of 57 participants, who had anti-HBs titers < 10 mIU after the first series of vaccination, responded to the second series of vaccination. This indicates that the rate of response to recombinant hepatitis B vaccine is nearly 97.44%. Some occupational factors were found to be associated with the low response to HB vaccine including job category, shift work, and working unit.

 To provide appropriate protection against hepatitis B infection for health care workers, in addition to vaccination, it may be helpful to provide appropriate shift work schedules to minimize sleep deprivation in them and consider a booster dose of the vaccine for health care workers who are physicians or work in critical units.

Gestational hypertension or pregnancy-induced hypertension is the emergence of hypertension in a pregnant women after 20 weeks of gestation. This study aimed to evaluate the job-related factors associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 560 pregnant women who referred to the Nursing Clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital in 2017; of all studied cases, 210 pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension were selected as cases and 350 women without pregnancy-induced hypertension were selected as controls. The data on demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, and ergonomic dangers were collected by the researchers. Finally, the relationship between job variables and the probability of developing hypertension in pregnant women was measured. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that the variables of body mass index, fertility, shift work, and service works had a significant relationship with pregnancy-induced hypertension. Women with service work were 2.32 times more likely to develop hypertension than women with other types of jobs (P=0.013). The people who had a shift work were 2.28 times more likely to develop pregnancy-induced hypertension than those who did not have shift work. Based on the results of this study, there was no relationship between ergonomic risks and pregnancy-induced hypertension. It seems that due to the higher frequency of pregnancy-induced hypertension in highly demanding jobs, it is necessary to pay more attention to the assessment of related risk factors, such as psychological variables.

 Lead is one of the metals, which has an important role in the industry.

 We designed a study to assess the serum lead level in battery manufacturing workers and its association with neurobehavioral performance.

 In this cross-sectional, 154 individuals who worked in a battery factory participated. Venous blood samples were collected for measuring blood lead levels by atomic absorption method. Three selected tests of neuropsychological performance approved by World Health Organization were conducted, including simple reaction time (SRT), Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT), and Santa Ana manual dexterity test.

 The present study demonstrates a positive correlation between blood lead levels and work experience. The higher blood lead levels and longer work experience were associated with lower scores on the Benton Visual Test. Simple reaction time showed a significant relationship with the work experience.

 The results of this study suggest that occupational exposure to lead can induce a neurobehavioral dysfunction in battery manufacturing workers. Thus neurobehavioral assessment in health surveillance of exposed workers can be effective in the early detection of cognitive impairment.
 

The aim of this study was to evaluate respiratory problems via pulmonary function testing in ce-ment transport workers at Incheh Borun border in northeast of Iran in 2016. The study was conducted on 358 male workers. All subjects were evaluated for respiratory symptoms via pulmonary function testing and completion of the American Thoracic Society questionnaire. Mean age of workers was 34.8±12.87 yr (age range 16-79 yr). Mean duration of employment was 6.1±4.36 yr. Most workers (75.4%) were illiterate or had elementary education. In addition, 56 (15.6%) subjects were smokers. Only three individuals (0.3%) had obstructive pattern. There was a significant relationship be-tween age of workers and frequency of respiratory problems (P<0.05). It is necessary to educate the workers about the health and safety regulations and use of personal protective equipment in workplace. In addition, periodic evaluation of respiratory function could help protect workers from developing occupational diseases.

Although much is known about the distribution of occupational accidents in the world, less is known about occupational injuries in developing countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the trend of occupational accidents during 10 years (2007-2016) and to find factors affecting the accident outcome. Study design: A cross-sectional study. This study was done based on the data gathered by the Iranian Social Security Organization (ISSO), including demographic data (age, sex, marital status) and occupational accident characteristics (accident sector, cause, type, body part, location, time, month, and incident outcome). A decreasing pattern of occupational accidents was found from 2.95 per 1000 workers in 2007 to 1.46 per 1000 workers in 2016. The mean age of injured workers was 32.97 years. The most common cause and type of accidents were incaution and lack of attention and collision, and trapping, respectively. Limbs were the most affected body parts, and less than 1% of occupational accidents resulted in death. The highest incident was seen in the industrial sector during all years. More severe accident outcomes were seen at older ages and in the male gender, married subjects, winter season, agriculture sector, and outside of work place. These results provide a basis for further investigations regarding data collection and accident causes. Modification of some associated factors and implementation of safety prevention programs would be useful in reducing occupational accidents in Iran.

Respirable dust exposure is associated with increased respiratory impairment. As there are various airborne contaminants in the foundry industry, our aim was to thoroughly examine the acute effects of ambient respiratory dust on the respiratory system. A cross-shift study was conducted in a cast iron foundry in Iran. A total of 200 participants, including 110 workers from production department and 90 office workers were enrolled in this study. Workers were evaluated with regard to respiratory symptoms using the American Thoracic Society (ATS) questionnaire and examination of their lung function by spirometry. The mean exposure of all studied substances was higher than occupational exposure limits. The most common respiratory symptom in exposed workers was cough (24.5%). A statistically significant post shift reduction in FEV1 and FEF25-75 was seen in exposed group. After adjusting for age, working history, smoking and Body Mass Index (BMI), there was a significant decrease based on exposure in FEV1 and FVC. Dust exposure was a significant predictor of lung function. Implementing the health promotion program, periodic medical surveillance and efficient use of respiratory protection equipment could help to protect foundry workers from respiratory impairment.

Background and Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder which can reduce the duration and quality of sleep and consequently affect quality of life. Understanding the prevalence of this syndrome in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and its associated factors could be of great benefit in enhancing their quality of life.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in 300 MS patients attending an MS clinic. They were selected using random sampling. After clinical examination, demographic information and disease characteristics were recorded and RLS rating scale was used for each patient.
The prevalence of RLS was 43.3% in MS patients. Some factors were found to be responsible including older age, longer MS duration, pattern of disease and the level of disability caused by MS.
RLS evaluations should be done regularly in MS patients especially in those with sleep disorders. This could cause timely diagnosis and treatment, thereby leading to a better quality of life in these patients.

Sleep problems in industries can influence workers’ health. Shift work and its associated sleep problems are quite common among workers in different industries. The aim of this study was to assess sleep quality, insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in workers of an automobile factory. This cross-sectional study was conducted during annual periodic examination of workers from a production unit of an automobile factory. A total of 522 workers filled in questionnaires including demographic characteristics, workplace accidents, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and STOP-BANG [snoring, tiredness, observed stop of breathing in sleep, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), age, neck circumference, gender]. T-test and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The participants had mean and standard deviation (SD) age of 37.24 ± 5.73 years. Of 522 participants, 65.3%, 14.4%, and 3.3% had PSQI ≥ 5, ESS ≥ 13, and STOP-BANG ≥ 4, respectively. Higher scores of PSQI and ISI were associated with significant increase of workplace accidents (P = 0.010 and P = 0.004, respectively). Moreover, participants with rotational shift work significantly had more ISI than the ones with fixed shift work. Poor sleep quality and insomnia were prevalent among studied workers with shift work. Sleep problems also had significant association with workplace accidents. This finding warrants more attention towards shift schedules of the workers and further investigation and management of identified sleep problems.

Absence from work for health reasons is known as “sickness absenteeism”. Frequent sick leave is a major concern to any organization, especially hospitals.
This study analyzed the extent and causes of sickness absenteeism in a teaching hospital and evaluated its corelation with demographic and occupational factors.
In a cross-sectional study, data was extracted from computerized records regarding sickness absenteeism of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the Occupational Health Department of a teaching hospital in Tehran. Studied variables included demographic characteristics, occupational factors, and causes of sickness absenteeism. The sickness absence rate (SAR) and absence frequency rate (AFR) in the study period were calculated. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests were used for the comparison of categorical and quantitative variables, respectively.
In the current study, SAR and AFR were 0.011 and 0.68, respectively. Job type was the only factor that had a significant correlation with sickness absenteeism. The major disease-causing sicknesses were flu (21%) and musculoskeletal disorders (18.9%).
A significant relationship was found between the nursing group and sickness absence episodes. Flu, musculoskeletal disorders, and infectious diseases were the most frequent causes of sickness absence. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that factors such as availability of the flu vaccine and providing principles of personal protection and infection control can reduce sickness absence due to infectious disease.

Health-care workers (HCWs) are considered as high-risk groups of acquiring hepatitis B infection due to their occupational exposure. Hepatitis B vaccination is the best protective method..
The current study aimed to evaluate the coverage and long-term immunity in HCWs and the impact of the occupational health department to improve the performance of a vaccination program..
This retrospective descriptive study was conducted in two academic hospitals of Tehran, Iran, in the occupational health department from October 2012 to September 2013..
Of 665 subjects, 620 (93%) received complete series of hepatitis B vaccine; anti-HBs level was adequate in 94.4% of vaccinated HCWs. The rate of non-responders after revaccination was below 1%. Nurses were significantly more likely to have protective anti-HBs levels than other groups (odds ratio = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.05 - 4.19).There was no significant association between demographic characteristics and immunity responses. The time between vaccination and the time of anti-HBs level ranged from 0 to 23 years. It was found that anti-HBs did not decline over the time..
The hepatitis B vaccination coverage was more than many studies in other countries. It seems that the vaccination program of the current study had sufficient efficacy for medical surveillance of HCWs in the academic hospitals under study. The essential point for success at a vaccination program was good performance of occupational health department..

Workers exposed to organic solvents are at risk of developing chronic central nervous system disorders. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the neurobehavioral effects of occupational exposure to organic solvents among pharmaceutical laboratory workers.
The study groups consisted of 78 laboratory workers as the exposed group and 98 office workers as unexposed controls. The subjects were studied with the World Health Organization neurobehavioral core test battery (WHO-NCTB) by running Simple Reaction Time (SRT), Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT) and Purdue Pegboard tests.
The SRT and BVRT test scores were poorer among the laboratory workers. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups for the Purdue Pegboard Test.
The results of this study suggest that occupational exposure to organic solvents could induce a neurobehavioral deficiency in pharmaceutical laboratory workers. Therefore, objective neurobehavioral tests should be used for assessing the relation between exposure and effect and also as a guide for establishing standards in the control of workplace exposure.

The prevalence and incidence of needlesticks and sharps injuries (NSSIs) have not been well documented in Iran. In most previous studies, the data were obtained through anonymous, self-reporting questionnaires, which are subjected to bias. The focus of this study was to investigate the frequency and causes of NSSIs among health care workers (HCWs) in collaboration with an occupational health office and to compare these data with related previous studies.Patients and In this cross-sectional study, all HCWs exposed to NSSIs in Baharlou Hospital, Tehran, Iran, were included. Among 309 studied cases, 83 HCWs who were directly exposed to NSSIs were enrolled in this study. The case incidence of NSSIs was 26.86% (83.309). Of all the occupational groups, the nurses had the highest rate of NSSI incidence (63.9%, n = 53.83). Moreover, the incidence rate of NSSIs in the HCWs on rotational shift work (90.4%) was higher than that among their counterparts on fixed shift work (9.6%), with the latter chiefly employed on night shift (90.4%, n = 75). NSSIs (83.1%), followed by splash (16.9%), were the most common method of exposure. This study confirmed a relatively high incidence of NSSIs among HCWs. Inadequate occupational health and safety measures such as lack of training on occupational health hazards and safety issues, absence of written protocols for reporting NSSIs, and lack of safety instructions were associated with NSSIs. Effective training programs and raising the awareness of HCWs to reduce unsafe behaviors and implementing organizational strategies to prevent exposure are essential.

Galvanization is the process of coating steel or cast iron pieces with a thin layer of zinc allowing protection against corrosion. One of the important hazards in this industry is exposure to zinc compounds specially zinc oxide fumes and dusts. In this study we evaluated chronic effects of zinc oxide on the respiratory tract of galvanizers. 188 workers were selected from a galvanization plant, 71 galvanizers as exposed group and 117 workers from other departments of plants as control group. Information was collected using American Thoracic Society (ATS) standard questionnaire, physical examination and demographic data sheet. Pulmonary function tests were measured for all subjects. Exposure assessment was done with NIOSH 7030 method. The Personal Breathing Zone (PBZ) air sampling results for zinc ranged from 6.61 to 8.25 mg/m³ above the permissible levels (Time weighted average; TWA:2 mg/m³). Results showed that the prevalence of the respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea, throat and nose irritation in the exposed group was significantly more than the control group. Decreasing in average percent in all spirometric parameters were seen in the galvanizers who exposed to zinc oxide fumes and dusts. The prevalence of obstructive respiratory disease was significantly higher in the exposed group. Results suggest that high workplace zinc levels are associated with an increase in respiratory morbidity in galvanizers.

Health care workers are exposed to a variety of risk factors that put them among high risk groups. The existence of different health hazards in the health care industry and the costs of illnesses and the disability of this group for the society، has led to an increase in the importance of their health surveillance. This descriptive study was done in the Baharloo Hospital to improve the occupational health of health care workers. The study included all the staff from April 2012 to March 2012 who were referred to the occupational health clinic. After hazard identification، an occupational health examination was conducted in accordance with state guidelines. In this study 653 staff out of 792 health care workers were covered during 2012. According to the final medical assessment only 6. 6% of staff had medical limitations for their employment. Most hazards were ergonomic (99. 4%) and biological hazards (87. 8%)، respectively. The prevalence of needle stick injuries was 18. 8%. Based on our results، less than 10% of the employees received medical restriction to perform their jobs. Due to the high prevalence of ergonomic hazards، workers are susceptible to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Also for the prevention of biological hazards and needle stick injuries، the use of appropriate personal protective protocols، training and vaccination is necessary. Finally، it can be concluded that implementing this system in hospitals، provides a safe working environment to protect workers.

Noise from traffic is a major source of environmental pollution in different countries.. This study aimed to investigate the effect of noise on professional drivers’ health and hearing loss in Tehran, Iran.. This cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study was performed on 1901 professional drivers referred to one of the authorized occupational health clinics in Tehran, Iran, in 2011. Basic demographic data including height, weight and age were recorded. Moreover, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, triglycerides and audiometry tests were performed.. The results of BMI showed that the 44.7% of professional drivers were overweight, 16.7 % moderately obese and 4.2% were severely obese. Cholesterol of drivers, 27.3% was border line high risk and 13.3% high-risk. Triglycerides of drivers, 19.5% were border line high risk and 25.8% high-risk. The mean age of the drivers, cholesterol, triglycerides and BMI were 41.56 ± 10.57, 193.12 ± 42.63, 176.21 ± 118.21 and 26.89 ± 4.29, respectively. The rates of hearing loss in high audiometric frequencies were more than at low audiometric frequencies. Hearing loss in older drivers was more and this was due to the long exposure to noise pollution.. Due to the long exposure to the loud noise during the day, hearing loss in drivers is significant. The left ear displays greater loss than the right ear. Therefore, strategies to prevent hearing loss in drivers could include education, lifestyle changes and compliance issues related to hearing health, use of personal protective equipment, conducting periodic examinations and early treatment.

Job satisfaction is a critical factor in attracting and retaining nurses. Although many studies have dealt with nurses’ job satisfaction, rapid transformation of the community and health systems can alter the factors influencing this issue, hence calling for continuous monitoring of job satisfaction as perceived by nurses. Built on this necessity, the present study was conducted to identify factors contributing to job satisfaction of the nurses in an Iranian health system context. A cross-sectional survey among 530 nurses was conducted in Shariati teaching hospital in Tehran. Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to measure job satisfaction. T-test was used to compare job satisfaction between nurse groups of different age and work experience. Chi-square test was used to compare nurse groups of different sex, level of education and job status. Correlation of job satisfaction in nurses with their age, gender, work experience, job status, and level of education was examined using logistic regression analysis. A total of 424 nurses completed the questionnaires (response rate = 80%). Of the total respondents, 47.9% expressed satisfaction with their job. The highest satisfaction score was related to moral values (87.9%) followed by social services (76.1%). The lowest satisfaction score was obtained by compensations (91.8%) followed by professional advancement (84.1%). No significant difference in job satisfaction was found between demographic groups. In addition, no correlation was identified between job satisfaction in nurses and their age, gender, work experience, job status, and level of education. Our study also descriptively showed that nurses were mostly satisfied with intrinsic factors of their jobs when compared with the corresponding extrinsic factors. From a descriptive point of view, improving payments and offering opportunities for advancement are the prioritized factors in improving job satisfaction among the nurses. Lack of relationship between job satisfaction and conventional demographic and professional variables would indicate the changing nature of factors affecting job satisfaction among nurses, calling for further theoretical and empirical studies.

Exposure to blood borne pathogens is considered as a common occupational hazard among health care workers all around the world. The aim of the current study was to investigate the factors associated with needle stick and sharp injuries among health care workers of an academic hospital. The current cross-sectional study of health care workers a teaching hospital designed based on a census sampling technique from 20 March to 20 April 2012. All personnel were required to fill out the forms they received from the investigators and fill them out on the occasion of any case of needle stick injury. All the obtained information was analyzed using SPSS software version 16. The results of our study demonstrated that the frequency of needle-stick injury was 18.8% (97 persons) the mean age of the affected individuals was 30.49±7.04 years. Significant relationship was observed between the risk of needle stick injury and age, gender, work experience less than 2 year and education. The majority of needle-stick injuries happened at the ICU and CCU. Personal protection devices (face masks, gloves, etc) were used by 67% of the affected individuals. Low frequency of needle stick injuries in our study can be attributed to the following factors: 1-the periodic preventive educational program for staff, especially the new freshmen nurses. 2-the existence of a comprehensive program followed by occupational health department and hospital infection control unit.