Women at physical work stations – limitations resulting from gender and age

2019 ◽  
Vol 573 (6) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Łastowiecka

Contemporary studies indicate the lack of a positive impact of high physical effort in professional work on health, especially in connection with the deficit of recreational physical activity during leisure time. Women, due to physiological conditions, are not able to perform all activities at work equally with men. This applies in particular to work related to physical effort, transport of weights and forced body position. In the case of older women, apart from the physiological differences dictated by gender, functional changes occurring in the ageing human body, which also significantly reduce the ability to perform physical work, are added. The problem of employers disregarding hard physical labour leads to adverse effects for both them and their companies. Excessive work load and, associated with it, fatigue of employees result in inferior quality and work efficiency and the increase in sick leave due to ailments and illnesses. Therefore, it seems obvious to adapt the work station and working conditions to the needs of older women that perform physical work.

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 793-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Sirén ◽  
Eira Viikari-Juntura ◽  
Jari Arokoski ◽  
Svetlana Solovieva

ObjectiveTo assess the longitudinal associations of physical and psychosocial exposures with disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion.MethodsIn a nationwide register-based study, we followed 1 135 654 wage earners aged 30–59 years for the occurrence of disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion. The occupational exposures were assessed with job exposure matrices. We used a competing risk regression model to estimate HRs and their 95% CIs and to test for the association between the exposures and the outcome. We also calculated the attributable fraction of disability retirement due to occupational exposures.ResultsA total of 2472 persons had full disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion during the follow-up. Physically heavy work showed the strongest association with the outcome in both genders, in men with an HR of 2.90 (95% CI 2.37 to 3.55) and in women with an HR of 3.21 (95% CI 2.80 to 3.90). Of the specific physical exposures, working with hands above shoulder level was statistically significantly associated with disability retirement in men. When all physical exposures were taken into consideration, 46% and 41% of disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion were attributed to physical work load factors in men and women, respectively. In addition, 49% (men) and 35% (women) of disability retirement were attributed to psychosocial work-related factors.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that a considerable proportion of disability retirement due to a shoulder lesion could be prevented by reducing physical and psychosocial exposures at work to a low level.


Nativa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Luciano José Minette ◽  
Stanley Schettino ◽  
Amaury Paulo Souza ◽  
Denise Ransolin Soranso ◽  
Verilma Amparo Barbosa

Este estudo realizou uma avaliação ergonômica dos trabalhadores da colheita de madeira danificada pelo vento, no Estado de Minas Gerais, de forma a determinar os riscos ergonômicos a que os trabalhadores estavam expostos durante o desenvolvimento dessas atividades. Foi avaliado, para cada uma das atividades desenvolvidas, a carga de trabalho físico por meio da frequência cardíaca e o risco de LER/DORT, através da avaliação simplificada do fator biomecânico no risco para distúrbios músculo esquelético de membros superiores relacionados ao trabalho. Os resultados evidenciaram que o ambiente de trabalho estudado proporcionava diferentes riscos ergonômicos aos trabalhadores. Na avaliação da carga de trabalho físico, todas as atividades avaliadas encontraram-se acima dos limites de carga cardiovascular recomendados, o que expõe os trabalhadores ao risco de desenvolvimento de doenças ocupacionais, sendo necessária a reorganização do trabalho. A análise dos riscos de surgimento de LER/DORT indicou, da mesma forma, a necessidade de reorganização do trabalho, pois a execução das atividades oferecia risco alto a altíssimo de lesões ao trabalhador, principalmente devido à alta frequência de movimentos repetitivos associados ao esforço estático e ao manuseio de cargas pesadas, fatores presentes na rotina da colheita de madeira danificada por ventos.Palavra-chave: manejo florestal, risco ergonômico, saúde do trabalhador. WIND-DAMAGED WOOD HARVESTING: PHYSICAL WORK LOAD AND RSI/WRMD RISK TO THE WORKERS ABSTRACT:This study carried out an ergonomic evaluation of the workers of the harvest of wood damaged by the wind, in the State of Minas Gerais, in order to determine the ergonomic risks to which workers were exposed during the development of these activities. The physical workload by means of heart rate and the risk of RSI/WRMD by means of the simplified evaluation of the biomechanical factor in the risk for work-related upper limb musculoskeletal disorders were evaluated for each of the activities developed. The results showed that the work environment provided different ergonomic risks to workers. In the evaluation of the physical workload, all the activities evaluated were above the recommended limits of cardiovascular load, which exposes the workers to the risk of developing occupational diseases, being necessary the reorganization of the work. The analysis of the risks of the emergence of RSI/WRMD also indicated the need to reorganize the work, since the execution of the activities offered a high risk of injury to the worker, mainly due to the high frequency of repetitive movements associated with the static effort And to the handling of heavy loads, factors present in the routine of harvesting of wood damaged by winds.Keywords: forest management, ergonomic risk, worker’s health. DOI:


REVISTA FIMCA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Pâmela Gomes Artioli ◽  
Natiely Souza Lima ◽  
Camila Silva

Introdução: Com o passar dos anos, além de doenças laborais físicas, surge um novo cenário de doenças emocionais que vem afetando gradativamente profissionais da área da docência a pesquisa em questão visou identificar os transtornos mentais que mais provocam afastamento de docentes em instituições de ensino superior, (com ênfase no transtorno bipolar), onde contribuiu para se aprofundar a análise de fatores relacionados a esse tipo de transtorno. Objetivos: os objetivos deste estudo, são de realizar análise crática e reflexiva quanto ao número elevado de professores de ensino superior com o Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar, e a relação dos fatores associados a este impedimento dos profissionais, destacar também questões relativas à saúde mental, e identificar quais são as consequências que implicam na rotina de trabalho desses professores e o aumento de docentes com diagno?stico de Transtorno Bipolar. Materiais e Métodos: Quanto à fundamentação teórica, trata-se de um referencial bibliográfico ao passo que utiliza de literaturas científicas disponibilizadas por meio eletrônico. Utilizando-se como técnica de análise de dados a análise de conteúdo interpretativa. Os critérios de inclusão que foram usados são: publicações em português, entre os anos de 2000 a 2018 disponíveis na íntegra. Conclusão: Por fim chegou-se ao entendimento de que além da sobrecarga os docentes remanescentes, o adoecimento crescente dos profissionais da educação compromete a qualidade de vida desses profissionais. Introduction: Over the years, in addition to physical work-related illnesses, a new scenario of emotional diseases emerges that has gradually affected professionals in the teaching area. The research in question aimed at identifying the mental disorders that cause the most withdrawal of teachers in higher education institutions, (with emphasis on bipolar disorder), where it contributed to deepen the analysis of factors related to this type of disorder. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to perform a critical and reflexive analysis regarding the high number of teachers of higher education with Bipolar Affective Disorder, and the relation of the factors associated with this impediment of the professionals, also highlight issues related to mental health, and identify what are the consequences that imply in the work routine of these teachers and the increase of teachers diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Materials and Methods: Regarding the theoretical basis, it is a bibliographical reference while using scientific literatures made available electronically. The analysis of interpretive content was used as data analysis technique. The inclusion criteria that were used are: publications in Portuguese, between the years 2000 to 2018 available in full. Conclusion: Finally, it was understood that in addition to overloading the remaining teachers, the growing sickness of education professionals compromises the quality of life of these professionals.


2021 ◽  
pp. oemed-2020-107072
Author(s):  
Tanja Vrijkotte ◽  
Teus Brand ◽  
Gouke Bonsel

ObjectivesTo explore the association between working conditions during first trimester and total preterm birth (PTB), and subtypes: spontaneous PTB and iatrogenic PTB, additionally to explore the role of hypertension.MethodsPregnant women from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study, filled out a questionnaire between January 2003 and March 2004, two weeks after first prenatal screening (singleton liveborn, n=7561). Working conditions were working hours/week, standing/walking hours/week, physical work load and job strain.ResultsProlonged standing/walking during first trimester was associated with an increased risk for total PTB (OR=1.5; 95% CI 1.0–2.3, after adjustments). Other working conditions were not related to total PTB. The separation into spontaneous and iatrogenic PTB revealed that standing/walking was associated with iatrogenic PTB only (OR=2.09; 95% CI 1.00–4.97). The highest risk was found for the combination of a long workweek with high physical work load (OR=3.42; 95% CI 1.04–8.21). Hypertension did not mediate these associations; however, stratified analysis revealed that high physical work load was only related to iatrogenic PTB when pregnancy-induced hypertension was present (OR=6.44; 95% CI 1.21–29.76).ConclusionThis study provides evidence that high physically demanding work is associated with an increased risk for iatrogenic PTB and not with spontaneous PTB. Pregnancy-induced hypertension may play a role: when present, high physical work load leads to a more severe outcome.


2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482199366
Author(s):  
Rahman Shiri ◽  
Aapo Hiilamo ◽  
Tea Lallukka

Objective: This narrative review summarizes the available indicators for working life expectancy and years of working life lost (YWLL) and their determinants. Methods: We searched PubMed and Embase databases from their inception until August 2020 and screened all studies proposing an indicator for working life expectancy or YWLL. We also reviewed studies focusing on sociodemographic, lifestyle and work-related determinants of working life expectancy and YWLL. The results were synthesized narratively. Results: We identified 13 different indicators for the length of working life or YWLL. The most frequently used indicators were ‘working life expectancy’, ‘healthy working life expectancy’, and YWLL. Working life expectancy and healthy working life expectancy are longer for men than women. Working life expectancy at the age of 50 has been increasing since the mid-90s, and the increase has been larger for women, reducing the sex difference. Working life is shorter for people with a low level of education, in lower occupational classes, for people exposed to high physical work demands, those living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas, people with overweight or obesity, smokers, people who are inactive during leisure time and in people with a chronic health problem. Conclusions: Despite increasing interest in understanding the determinants of YWLL, only a few studies have simultaneously considered multiple exit routes from the labour market. We propose a new measure for total YWLL considering all relevant exit routes from employment. This comprehensive measure can be used to assess the effect of given policy changes on prolonging working life.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yemin Yuan ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Peipei Fu ◽  
Zhengyue Jing ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Evidence concerning the association between body mass index (BMI) and cognitive function among older people is inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate gender and age as moderators in association between BMI and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among rural older adults. Methods Data were derived from the 2019 Health Service for Rural Elderly Families Survey in Shandong, China. In total, 3242 people aged 60 years and above were included in the analysis. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression was used to examine the moderating roles of gender and age, then further to explore the relationship between BMI and MCI. Results There were 601 (18.5%) participants with MCI. Compared with normal BMI group, low BMI group had a higher risk of MCI among older people [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26–3.44], women (aOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.35–3.12), or the older elderly aged ≥75 years old (aOR = 3.20, 95% CI: 1.34–7.45). This effect remained statistically significant among older women (aOR = 3.38, 95% CI: 1.69–6.73). Among older men, elevated BMI group had a higher risk of MCI (aOR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.17–4.61) than normal BMI group. Conclusions Gender and age moderated the association between BMI and MCI among Chinese rural older adults. Older women with low BMI were more likely to have MCI, but older men with elevated BMI were more likely to have MCI. These findings suggest rural community managers strengthen the health management by grouping the weight of older people to prevent the risk of dementia.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702199448
Author(s):  
Elina Meliou ◽  
Oliver Mallett

This article analyses the experiences of self-employed older women. Developing an intersectional reflexivity approach, our analysis shows how older women negotiate their concerns in relation to gendered ageing and realize self-employment. Our study reveals three practices: ‘Expressing the self’, ‘Exploring learning’ and ‘Embracing solidarity’. We contribute to the neglected intersection of gender and age in studies of work, and to an appreciation of the transformational potential of self-employment for older women.


Author(s):  
Anoushka Kapoor ◽  
Moein Enayati ◽  
Alisha Chaudhry ◽  
Nasibeh Zanjirani Farahani ◽  
Shivaram P. Arunachalam ◽  
...  

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