scholarly journals Adverse Health Manifestations in the Hands of Vibration Exposed Carpenters - A Cross Sectional Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Tekavec ◽  
Lotta Löfqvist ◽  
Anna Larsson ◽  
Karin Fisk ◽  
Jakob Riddar ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundDespite EU regulatory standards, many workers suffer injury as a result of working with hand-held vibrating tools. Our aim of this study was to investigate whether carpenters, a highly exposed group, suffer more injuries to their hands than painters, a group assumed to be less exposed to vibration. Methods193 carpenters and 72 painters, all men, answered a questionnaire and underwent a clinical examination to identify manifestations of neural and vascular origin in hands. Neurosensory affection was defined as having at least one symptom in the fingers/hands (impaired perception of touch, warmth, or cold, impaired dexterity, increased sensation of cold, numbness or tingling, or pain in the fingers/hands when cold) and at least one clinical finding (impaired perception of touch, warmth, cold, vibration, or two-point discrimination). Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). ResultsNeurosensory affection was fulfilled for 31% of the carpenters and 17% of the painters, age-adjusted OR 3.3 (CI 1.6–7.0). Among carpenters with neurosensory affection 18% reported interference with daily life activities, the most common symptoms being increased sensation of cold, numbness and pain in the fingers/hands when cold, the most common clinical findings were impaired perception of touch and vibration. Neurosensory affection was found in 12 % of young carpenters (≤ 30 years old). No difference was found in the prevalence of white fingers between carpenters and painters. ConclusionsCarpenters showed more symptoms and clinical findings of neurosensory affection than painters, probably due to vibration exposure. Also young carpenters showed signs of neurosensory affection, which indicates that workers at today´s working conditions are not protected against injury. This underlines the importance of reducing exposure to vibration, and conducting regular medical check-ups to detect early signs of neural and vascular manifestations indicating hand-arm vibration injuries. Special attention should be given to symptoms of increased sensation of cold, pain in the fingers when cold, and numbness, as these were the most common initiating ones, and should be addressed as early as possible in the preventive sentinel process. It is also important to test clinically for small- and large-fibre neuropathy, as the individual may be unaware of any pathology.

Author(s):  
Eva Tekavec ◽  
Lotta Löfqvist ◽  
Anna Larsson ◽  
Karin Fisk ◽  
Jakob Riddar ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Despite EU regulatory standards, many workers suffer injury as a result of working with hand-held vibrating tools. Our aim of this study was to confirm whether carpenters, a highly exposed group, suffer more injuries to their hands than painters, a group assumed to be less exposed to vibration. Methods 193 carpenters (participation rate 100%) and 72 painters (participation rate 67%), all men, answered a questionnaire and underwent a clinical examination to identify manifestations of neural and vascular origin in the hands. Neurosensory affection was defined as having at least one symptom in the fingers/hands (impaired perception of touch, warmth, or cold, impaired dexterity, increased sensation of cold, numbness or tingling, or pain in the fingers/hands when cold) and at least one clinical finding (impaired perception of touch, warmth, cold, vibration, or two-point discrimination). Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Neurosensory affection was fulfilled for 31% of the carpenters and 17% of the painters, age-adjusted OR 3.3 (CI 1.6–7.0). Among carpenters with neurosensory affection 18% reported interference with daily life activities, the most common symptoms being increased sensation of cold, numbness and pain in the fingers/hands when cold, the most common clinical findings were impaired perception of touch and vibration. Neurosensory affection was found in 12% of young carpenters (≤ 30 years old). No difference was found in the prevalence of white fingers between carpenters and painters. Conclusions Carpenters showed more symptoms and clinical findings of neurosensory affection than painters, probably due to vibration exposure. Also young carpenters showed signs of neurosensory affection, which indicates that under current conditions workers at these companies are not protected against injury. This underlines the importance of reducing exposure to vibration and conducting regular medical check-ups to detect early signs of neural and vascular manifestations indicating hand-arm vibration injuries. Special attention should be given to symptoms of increased sensation of cold, pain in the fingers when cold, and numbness, as these were the most common initiating ones, and should be addressed as early as possible in the preventive sentinel process. It is also important to test clinically for small- and large-fibre neuropathy, as the individual may be unaware of any pathology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tajdar ◽  
Dagmar Lühmann ◽  
Regina Fertmann ◽  
Tim Steinberg ◽  
Hendrik van den Bussche ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Low health literacy is believed to be associated with behaviours that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. But there is limited knowledge on the relation between health literacy (HL) and diabetes risk, and whether improving HL could be a potential prevention strategy. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to examine the link between HL and diabetes risk among non-diabetic adults. Methods We used data from the Hamburg Diabetes Prevention Survey, a population-based cross-sectional study in Germany. One thousand, two hundred and fifty-five non-diabetic subjects aged 18–60 years were eligible. The German Diabetes Risk Score (GDRS, ranging 0 to 123 points) was used to determine the individual risk of type 2 diabetes. The short version of the European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16, ranging 0 to 16 points) was applied to assess the individual self-reported HL. Subjects were asked to self-estimate their diabetes risk, which was then compared with the calculated GDRS. Descriptive statistics were calculated to investigate group differences in the GDRS and self-estimated diabetes risk. Linear as well as logistic regression models were performed to analyse potential influencing variables of the GDRS as well as incorrect self-estimated diabetes risk. In three nested statistical models for each outcome, these analyses were adjusted for age, gender, educational level and the presence of chronic conditions. Results According to the criteria of the GDRS, 996 (79.4%) subjects showed “low risk”, 176 (14.0%) “still low risk”, 53 (4.2%) “elevated risk”, and 30 (2.4%) “high to very high risk” to develop type 2 diabetes within the next 5 years. In the statistical models including all control variables, subjects with “inadequate HL” scored 2.38 points higher on the GDRS (95% CI 0.378 to 4.336; P = 0.020) and had a 2.04 greater chance to estimate their diabetes risk incorrectly (OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.33 to 3.14; P = 0.001) compared to those with “sufficient HL”. Conclusion The risk of type 2 diabetes is increased in people with inadequate self-reported HL. People with high diabetes risk and inadequate HL might be provided with educational programs to improve diabetes knowledge and reduce behavioural risk factors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso García-Monge ◽  
Henar Rodríguez-Navarro ◽  
Daniel Bores-García

Traditional games are considered agents of enculturation. This article explores the procedure to access the cultural meanings transmitted in a traditional game. The goal is to understand what children aged 6–11 make of the game called ‘the chained bear’ and to compare the meanings retrieved with those of different traditional versions of the game. For such a purpose, through an exploratory cross-sectional study, cartoons depicting people playing the game were exhibited and viewers (n = 359; age range: 6–11; Mean age = 8.79; SD = 1.81) were asked to interpret them as a drama play, as well as contributing a title, a plot and saying how they would name the characters. The results show that, beyond the individual images that each child created in their mind, most of them coincided in stories about harassment and defense and theft and protection. These plots match those of the ludic tradition, showing that the actions evoke different pictures to each individual, but share common cultural meanings in turn. The study shows a procedure to access the meanings that traditional games transmit and confirms that games contain pieces of culture, which makes them agents of enculturation.


Genetika ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 1009-1019
Author(s):  
Slavko Brankovic ◽  
Dejan Nikolic ◽  
Dragoslav Marinkovic ◽  
Suzana Cvjeticanin

The aim of our study was to evaluate the morphogenetic variability as a marker of smoking dependency in adult smokers versus controls and to investigate the presence and the degree of morphogenetic variability difference between male and female smokers versus same gender controls. The cross-sectional study evaluated 241 smokers and 185 nonsmoker individuals as controls. We analyzed 17 homozygous recessive characteristics (HRC). There was a significant difference in the individual variations of 17 HRCs between the controls and smokers (??2=61.400, p<0.001; for females ??2=79.440, p<0.001; for males ??2=84.972, p<0.001). The mean values of HRCs significantly differed between smokers and controls (MV?SEM(Controls) -4.79?0.13, MV?SEM(Smokers) -5.70?0.12; p<0.001). For males, presence of 6/17 (35.29% genetic homozygosity) HRCs (OR=6.12) was to the certain degree predictor for smoking dependency. Higher degree of genetic homozygosity, changed variability and male gender, might be some among potential numerous factors that could have impact on smoking development and dependence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Nirju Ranjit ◽  
Bidur Adhikari ◽  
Rajani Shrestha ◽  
Anusuya Shrestha ◽  
Rosha Bhandari ◽  
...  

Introduction: Palm creases have been studied for a long time and have been recently found to be helpful in tracking underlying medical and genetic conditions. Scientific study and typing of palm prints have been found to be lacking in the Nepalese population Methods: A cross sectional study was done on 252 subjects, 153 male and 99 females, from Kathmandu, Nepal. Subjects were selected by purposive sampling from different age groups. Demographic profile including age, sex, and handedness was collected. Palm print pattern was recorded by digital photography. Each photograph was analysed visually by single observer and pattern of palm crease was noted. Variation of each crease was also noted. Results: On the basis of relation between radial longitudinal crease and proximal transverse crease, 17.3% subjects had open type of palm crease which was significantly more in females while 76.6% subjects had closed type crease which was significantly more in males. Meeting type of palm crease was found in 5.7% of subjects. On the basis of relation between proximal and distal transverse crease, normal crease type was found in 90.1% of subjects, Simian type was found in 7.7% subjects and Sydney type was found in 1.4% of subjects. The concordance of this pattern in left and right palms was found statistically significant. Conclusions: This study presented data from 252 seemingly normal healthy subjects and found that most of them had the normal with no branching, that is normal 1 and closed crease types. Most of the individual major creases were seen to be branched type.  


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e036519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mussie Alemayehu ◽  
Araya Abrha Medhanyie ◽  
Elizabeth Reed ◽  
Afework Mulugeta

ObjectiveThe study aimed to identify the effects of the individual-level and community-level factors on the use of family planning (FP) among married women in the pastoralist community of Ethiopia.DesignA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in September 2018. Data were analysed using R software. To determine the fixed effect of individual-level and community-level factors of FP use, a two-level mixed-effects logistic regression was used. The result was described using the Adjusted OR (AOR), and the variance partition coefficient.Setting and participantsAfar, Ethiopia (2018; n=891) married women of reproductive age (15–49) years.Primary outcome measuresFP use or non-use.ResultsThe current use of FP was 18.7% (16.31%–21.43%). Women who need to walk 1 hour and more to the nearest health facility (AOR 0.14, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.3), have ANC visit of 4 and above (AOR 6.02, 95% CI 1.74 to 20.8), had their last birth at a health facility (AOR 2.71 95% CI 1.27 to 5.81), have five and more children (AOR 4.71, 95% CI 1.86 to 11.9), have high knowledge on FP (AOR 2.74, 95% CI 1.11 to 6.74) and had high intentions to use FP (AOR 10.3, 95% CI 3.85 to 27.6) were more likely to report FP use. The magnitude of the effect of for FP use was smaller than that of 9 of the 13 individual factors. Apart from this 19.4% of the total variance in the odds of using FP attributed to between community difference (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.194). Regarding the community-level characteristics, clusters of having higher electronic media possession (AOR 2.84, 95% CI 1.2 to 6.72) and higher women decision making on FP (AOR 8.35, 95% CI 2.7 to 27.1) were significantly associated with increased FP use compared with clusters with lower reports of these aspects.ConclusionFP use among the pastoralist community is influenced by both individual cluster/community-level characteristics or factors. Even though the effect of clustering in FP use was large in comparison with the unexplained between-cluster variation, it was lower than the individual-level factors.Trail registrtion numberNCT03450564


Author(s):  
Vishal Mehrotra ◽  
Gauri Mishra ◽  
Rohan Sachdev ◽  
Kriti Garg ◽  
Sekhar Mukherjee ◽  
...  

Background: In the present era, forensic odontology has expanded as one of the most remarkable and commendable branches of Forensic Sciences. Through forensic odontology, a dentist plays a very important role in crime investigation of any type. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge, percipience and practical perception of forensic odontology among the dental practitioners in and around Kanpur city.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from Jan-Mar 2019 among 207 dental practitioners in and around Kanpur city including 143 BDS and 64 MDS through a questionnaire proforma. The proforma consisted of 20 questions prepared on the topic of forensic Odontology and role of dentist in the field of forensic Odontology.Results: In this study, nearly 70% of dental practitioners were aware of the role of dentist in forensics, and around 60% of dental practitioners maintain dental records with recording of personal data and clinical findings being the most frequently used method. In the present study most of the dental practitioners were not aware of significance of chelioscopy (63%) and rugoscopy (66%) in field of forensic Odontology. Nearly 70% of dentist accepted the fact that their level of knowledge regarding forensic dentistry is inadequate and nearly 40% of them were not confident in giving any opinion regarding the same.Conclusions: This study shows that although there is an adequate awareness of role of dentist in forensic Odontology, but there is lack of good knowledge, confidence and practical approach of the dental practitioners towards forensic Odontology which may be due to lack of training, experience, exposure in field of forensics. Thus, the need of the hour lies in updating the knowledge and also developing interest of the dental practitioners regarding forensic Odontology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-41
Author(s):  
Ni Nyoman Sri Yuliani ◽  
Elsa Trinovita

Excessive fat accumulation in the body causes an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI). Increased BMI and comorbidities affect the metabolic rate. Metabolic age was influenced by the individual metabolic rate. The purpose of this study was to determine the description of metabolic age to BMI increasement. This cross-sectional study used a purposive sampling method to obtain 82 male and female subjects. Subjects were measured for BMI and metabolic age. Collected data was analyzed univariately and bivariate correlatively. The result showed a significant correlation between metabolic age and BMI (p = 0,001) with r = 0,812. The conclusion of this study is the increase in BMI, the higher the metabolic age.


Author(s):  
Ana Paula Almeida Brito ◽  
Caroline Fernandes Caldeira ◽  
Marina de Góes Salvetti

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the prevalence of pain in puerperal women, describe the characteristics of pain and its impacts on the performance of daily life activities, and evaluate satisfaction with received analgesia. Method: Cross-sectional study which included women who had given birth. These were evaluated within 72 hours postpartum in a public teaching hospital in São Paulo city. Obstetric and clinical data were evaluated, as well as presence and characteristics of pain and its impact on daily activities. Results: A total 128 women participated in this study. The prevalence of pain was 36.7% during the interview and 54.6% in the previous 24 hours. The main pain site was the abdominal region (64.7%) and pain intensity was moderate to 48.9% of women, with intermittent frequency in 58% of the cases. There was a significant association between presence of pain and type of delivery (cesarean; p=0.030). Not being able to provide care to the newborn, requiring going to a different unit, increased pain perception (p=0.038). A significant impact of pain on the capacity of walking, eating, sleeping, taking care of the baby, evacuating, breathing deeply, breastfeeding, and sitting was verified. Conclusion: Pain was frequent during the postpartum period and significantly affected the mothers’ activities, indicating a need for improving pain management in puerperium.


Author(s):  
Karine EVANGELISTA ◽  
Maria Alves Garcia Santos SILVA ◽  
David NORMANDO ◽  
José VALLADARES-NETO

ABSTRACT Objectives: This study aimed to (I) assess the morphology of the symphysis and soft tissue chin associated with sex, age and sagittal/vertical skeletal patterns, and (II) identify the individual and combined contributions of these variables to different portions of the symphysis. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 195 lateral cephalometric radiographs from untreated adults. Alveolar, basal, and soft tissue of the symphysis were measured by an X/Y cranial base coordinate system, and divided in accordance to four predictor variables: sex, age, and sagittal/vertical skeletal patterns. Parametric tests were conducted for comparison and correlation purposes, while multiple regression analysis was performed to explore combined interactions. Results: Alveolar inclination is related to sagittal and vertical patterns, and both explained 71.4% of the variations. Alveolar thickness is weakly predicted and poorly influenced by age. Symphysis height was 10% higher in males, and associated with a vertical skeletal pattern and sex, and both explained 43.6% of variations. Basal symphyseal shows an individual thickness, is larger in males, and vertically short-positioned with age. Soft tissue chin is not necessarily related to the size of the underling skeletal pattern, and enlarges with age, even in adulthood. Conclusions: The symphysis and surrounding tissues are influenced by sex, age, and sagittal and vertical patterns, acting differently on the alveolar, basal and soft tissue portions. Sagittal and vertical skeletal patterns are the strongest association on alveolar symphysis inclination, whereas sex and age acts on the vertical symphysis position and soft tissues thickness.


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