Occupational medicine
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Sandblasting of jeans in small Turkish workshops has recently been recognized as a cause of silicosis. ⋯ The production of sandblasted jeans in small uncontrolled workplaces may entail significant exposure to silica and the development of rapidly fatal silicosis. Urgent action is required to prevent further cases and mortality.
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The health services sector has been identified as a high-risk work sector for low back pain (LBP) and related absenteeism. ⋯ LBP prevalence rates did not differ significantly between occupational groups but occupation was found to be an independent predictor of LBP-related sick leave. Involvement in manual handling did not predict either LBP or related sick leave.
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Occupational medicine · Sep 2006
Reported incidence and precipitating factors of work-related stress and mental ill-health in the United Kingdom (1996-2001).
Work-related mental ill-health appears to be increasing. Population-based data on incidence are scarce but in the United Kingdom occupational physicians and psychiatrists report these conditions to voluntary surveillance schemes. ⋯ The steep increase in new cases of work-related mental ill-health reported by occupational physicians since 1996 may reflect a greater willingness by workers to seek help but may also signify an increasing dissonance between workers' expectations and the work environment. Greater expertise is needed to improve the workplace by adjustment of job demands, improvement of working relations, increasing workers' capacities and management of organizational change.