Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine : AAEM
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Ann Agric Environ Med · Jan 2005
Low back pain comorbidity among male farmers and rural referents: a population-based study.
Farmers report more low back pain (LBP) than rural referents. We have previously demonstrated that the difference in reporting rate cannot be fully explained by known risk factors such as physical work exposures, psychosocial factors and lifestyle. Other etiological factors must be involved. ⋯ The associations were independent of age, educational level, smoking habits, body mass index, physical work exposures and psychosocial factors. Presence of both respiratory and digestive disorders doubled the LBP prevalence. Significant associations between LBP and digestive and respiratory disorders were revealed, indicating that LBP and these disease entities may have etiological factors in common.
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The quality of dental unit water is of great importance since patients and dental staff are regularly exposed to water from aerosols generated during work. The main purpose of this investigation was mycological evaluation of dental unit waterlines (DUWL). ⋯ Some of them, in certain circumstances, especially in people with immunological disorders, may be a cause of opportunistic infections. Thus, it is necessary that the DUWL should be submitted to a decontamination protocol and to routine microbial monitoring to guarantee an appropriate quality of water used in dental treatment.