Occupational and environmental medicine
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Heatwaves can have significant health consequences resulting in increased mortality and morbidity. However, their impact on people living in tropical/subtropical regions remains largely unknown. This study assessed the impact of heatwaves on mortality and emergency hospital admissions (EHAs) from non-external causes (NEC) in Brisbane, a subtropical city in Australia. ⋯ Significant increases in NEC mortality and EHAs were observed during heatwaves in Brisbane where people are well accustomed to hot summer weather. The most vulnerable were the elderly and people with cardiovascular, renal or diabetic disease.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effectiveness of two active interventions compared to self-care advice in employees with non-acute low back symptoms: a randomised, controlled trial with a 4-year follow-up in the occupational health setting.
Evaluate the effectiveness of two active interventions, aimed at secondary prevention of low back pain (LBP), in occupational health. ⋯ Among employees with relatively mild LBP, both interventions reduced pain, but the effects on SA and PI were minor. Exercise improved HRQoL. The effect sizes were rather small.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Counselling low-back-pain patients in secondary healthcare: a randomised trial addressing experienced workplace barriers and physical activity.
To assess if counselling by an occupational physician (OP) addressing experienced workplace barriers and physical activity integrated as a part of low-back pain (LBP) outpatient treatment influences pain, function and sick leave. ⋯ Two short counselling sessions by an OP combining advice on meeting workplace barriers and enhancing physical activity had a substantial effect on important prognostic factors for LBP patients with moderate to severe symptoms diagnosed in outpatient rheumatological clinics.
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To examine the association between ergonomic physical and psychosocial exposures and the risk of prevalent and incident low back pain (LBP) in a longitudinal cohort of automobile manufacturing workers. ⋯ Psychosocial workplace interventions for LBP should prioritise jobs in which there are high physical ergonomic exposures. Future studies of LBP should examine the interactions between physical ergonomic risk factors.
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To assess whether the recent increases in the prevalence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) in the USA reflect increased measured exposures over recent decades, and to identify other potential causative factors. ⋯ The observed CWP prevalence substantially exceeded predicted levels in central Appalachia. However, the increased prevalence was not explained by the measured levels of dust exposures. Likely contributing factors include mine size and low seam mining, which may be associated with higher exposure to silica. Further study is needed to characterise the responsible factors for the elevated CWP rates in central Appalachia.