Occupational and environmental medicine
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Psychosocial work characteristics have been prospectively associated with depressive symptoms. However, methodological limitations have raised questions regarding causality. It is also unclear to what extent depressive symptoms affect the experience of the psychosocial work environment. We examined contemporaneous (measured simultaneously) and lagged bidirectional relationships between psychosocial work characteristics and depressive symptoms, simultaneously controlling for time-stable individual characteristics. ⋯ After controlling for all time-invariant confounding, our results suggest that psychosocial work characteristics predominantly affect depressive symptoms immediately or with only a short time lag. Furthermore, we found no evidence of reverse causation. This indicates short-term causal associations, although the temporal precedence of psychosocial work characteristics remains uncertain.
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This study examined the associations between changes in common mental disorders (CMD) and subsequent diagnosis-specific sickness absence (SA) among midlife and ageing municipal employees. ⋯ Changing and repeated CMD increased the risk of SA due to mental, musculoskeletal and other diagnoses. CMD should be tackled to prevent SA and promote work-ability among ageing employees.
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To estimate the population attributable fraction (PAF) and number of incident and fatal lung cancers in Canada from occupational exposure to diesel engine exhaust (DEE). ⋯ This is the first study to quantify the burden of lung cancer attributable to occupational DEE exposure in Canada. Our results underscore a large potential for prevention, and a large public health impact from occupational exposure to low levels of DEE.
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Exposure to farm environments during childhood and adult life seems to reduce the risk of atopic sensitisation. Most studies have been conducted among farmers, but people living in rural areas may have similar protective effects for atopy. This study aims to investigate the association between residential proximity to livestock farms and atopy among non-farming adults living in a rural area in the Netherlands. ⋯ Living in close proximity to livestock farms seems to protect against atopy. This study provides evidence that protective effects of early-life and adult farm exposures may extend beyond farming populations.