Mental Health and Associated Demographic and Occupational Factors among Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia

Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the health care system. Front-line health care workers (HCWs) are at a higher risk of mental health adverse outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of the symptoms of depression and anxiety and associated demographic and occupational factors among front-line HCWs in Latvia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was performed in a population of HCWs during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia. The participants were interviewed between 28 April 2020 and 2 June 2020. Answers from 864 HCWs were obtained. The participants reported their demographics, work-related information, contacts with COVID-19-positive patients and completed two standardised questionnaires that assessed the symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7) and depression (PHQ-9). The gathered data were analysed by a chi-squared test and binary logistic regression. The data analysis was performed using SPSS v25. Results: A total of 209 (24.8%) participants had depression symptoms and 145 (17.2%) had anxiety symptoms. Health care workers older than 50 had a lower risk of both depression (OR 0.422 (95% CI, 0.262–0.680)) and anxiety (OR 0.468 (95% CI, 0.270–0.813)). General practitioners had more frequent symptoms of depression and anxiety than participants who worked at hospitals (32.8% (n = 63) versus 19.4% (n = 73) and 27.1% (n = 52) versus 10.3% (n = 39), respectively (p = 0.037; p < 0.000)). Working more than 48 h during the week was associated with a higher risk of depression (OR 2.222 (95% CI, 1.315–3.753)) and anxiety (OR 2.416 (95% CI, 1.272–4.586)). Conclusions: The vulnerability of the health care system before the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant mental health adverse outcomes of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia. A further cohort study is needed to evaluate the dynamics of mental health and other predisposing factors of HCWs.

Predictors of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a multi-ethnic cohort of United Kingdom healthcare workers: a prospective nationwide cohort study (UK-REACH)

Introduction Healthcare workers (HCWs), particularly those from ethnic minority groups, have been shown to be at disproportionately higher risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) compared to the general population. However, there is insufficient evidence on how demographic and occupational factors influence infection risk among ethnic minority HCWs. Methods We analysed data from the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 Outcomes in Healthcare workers (UK-REACH) cohort study. We used logistic regression to examine associations of demographic, household and occupational predictor variables with SARS-CoV-2 infection (defined by PCR, serology or suspected COVID-19) in a diverse group of HCWs. Results 2,496 of the 10,772 HCWs (23.2%) who worked during the first UK national lockdown in March 2020 reported previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. In an adjusted model, demographic and household factors associated with increased odds of infection included younger age, living with other key workers and higher religiosity. Important occupational risk factors associated with increased odds of infection included attending to a higher number of COVID-19 positive patients (aOR 2.49, 95%CI 2.03—3.05 for ≥21 patients per week vs none), working in a nursing or midwifery role (1.35, 1.15—1.58, compared to doctors), reporting a lack of access to personal protective equipment (1.27, 1.15 — 1.41) and working in an ambulance (1.95, 1.52—2.50) or hospital inpatient setting (1.54, 1.37 — 1.74). Those who worked in Intensive Care Units were less likely to have been infected (0.76, 0.63—0.90) than those who did not. Black HCWs were more likely to have been infected than their White colleagues, an effect which attenuated after adjustment for other known predictors. Conclusions We identified key sociodemographic and occupational risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst UK HCWs, and have determined factors that might contribute to a disproportionate odds of infection in HCWs from Black ethnic groups. These findings demonstrate the importance of social and occupational factors in driving ethnic disparities in COVID-19 outcomes, and should inform policies, including targeted vaccination strategies and risk assessments aimed at protecting HCWs in future waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial registration: ISRCTN 11811602

Education, Occupation, and the Cognitive Performance Distribution of South Korean Older Adults

Earlier research suggests that educational attainment up to early adulthood are crucial for the development of cognitive reserve, while intellectually stimulating activities later in the life course are of limited impact. We sought to explore the effects of educational attainment and occupational factors (occupation type and currently having work) across the distribution of cognitive performance for adults aged 45-65 years in South Korea. We analysed scores from the Korean Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) provided in the 2006 wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. We used quantile regressions to both investigate relationships across the distribution and to reduce bias for measures of the central tendency as the MMSE is known for its ceiling effects. The quantile function at the lowest conditional decile of MMSE scores suggested that education level was the dominant significant factor for adult performance on the MMSE (lowest MMSE decile, primary education: β = 6.11 points, p &lt; 0.001; secondary education β = 9.56 points, p &lt; 0.001). All occupational factors were non-significant. Further factors with a significant association with the MMSE were hearing loss, the log-transformed household income, and age squared. With the conditional median function, occupational factors became significant in the middle of the distribution but remained much less important than education levels. In summary, educational levels were more important to explain variation in cognitive functioning than occupational factors, echoing studies with Western samples. We discuss the findings with regard to the historically gender unequal educational and occupational opportunities in Korea.

Risk factors of deforming osteoarthritis in the family doctor practice

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common bone and joint pathology, affecting, according to the American College of Rheumatology ACR (2019), about 302 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of disability in the elderly.Objective. To investigate the role of additional risk factors in patients with OA in the practice of family physicians for secondary prevention.Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of 50 outpatient records and electronic medical records (EMC) of patients with OA for 2019-2020 was performed: 30 women, 20 men; aged 35-75 years. Concomitant risk factors were studied by epidemiological analysis: obesity / overweight, burdensome family history, traumatic factor, occupational exposure.Results. The respiratory and circulatory systems diseases dominate in the structure of the primary morbidity of the Northern Bukovina inhabitants in 2020. The incidence of bone and joint is 4.04% in the general structure, which does not differ significantly from the European average. The structure of the primary morbidity of the bone and joint sphere is dominated by arthrosis and deforming OA (DOA). The injuries and occupational factors dominated in structure of DOA risk factors at the age under 50, but after 50 years – obesity and burdened heredity prevailed, with a significant impact of the occupational factor. Absence of injuries in the anamnesis and occupational factors reduce the risk of DOA 8 and 3.5 times, respectively (p<0.05). Age over 60 years increases the relative risk of DOA 2.5 times as much (p=0.013), especially in women to almost 4 times.Conclusions. Additional risk factors should be considered in patients with DOA for secondary prevention.

Occupational factors and miscarriages in the US fire service: a cross-sectional analysis of women firefighters

Background Evidence from previous studies suggests that women firefighters have greater risk of some adverse reproductive outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether women firefighters had greater risk of miscarriage compared to non-firefighters and whether there were occupational factors associated with risk of miscarriage among firefighters. Methods We studied pregnancies in the United States fire service using data from the Health and Wellness of Women Firefighters Study (n = 3181). We compared the prevalence of miscarriage among firefighters to published rates among non-firefighters using age-standardized prevalence ratios. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between occupational factors (employment (career/volunteer), wildland firefighter status (wildland or wildland-urban-interface/structural), shift schedule, fire/rescue calls at pregnancy start) and risk of miscarriage, adjusted for age at pregnancy, education, gravidity, BMI, and smoking. We evaluated if associations varied by age at pregnancy or employment. Results Among 1074 firefighters and 1864 total pregnancies, 404 pregnancies resulted in miscarriages (22%). Among most recent pregnancies, 138 resulted in miscarriage (13%). Compared to a study of US nurses, firefighters had 2.33 times greater age-standardized prevalence of miscarriage (95% CI 1.96–2.75). Overall, we observed that volunteer firefighters had an increased risk of miscarriage which varied by wildland status (interaction p-value< 0.01). Among structural firefighters, volunteer firefighters had 1.42 times the risk of miscarriage (95% CI 1.11–1.80) compared to career firefighters. Among wildland/wildland-urban-interface firefighters, volunteer firefighters had 2.53 times the risk of miscarriage (95% CI 1.35–4.78) compared to career firefighters. Conclusions Age-standardized miscarriage prevalence among firefighters may be greater than non-firefighters and there may be variation in risk of miscarriage by fire service role. Further research is needed to clarify these associations to inform policy and decision-making.

Investigating the Relationship between the Prevalence of Occupational Accidents with Individual and Occupational Factors in the Workplace Case Study: Industries of Qom Province

Introduction: Investigations of accidents in industry have shown that various factors affect the occurrence of accidents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of occupational accidents with individual and occupational factors in the industrial work environment of Qom province. Methods: This descriptive study was performed based on the incidents registered in the Labor Inspection Office of Qom Province in 2017. All cases were selected and 1048 cases were reviewed according to the accurate registration of incidents. Necessary parameters were extracted from accident reporting forms and their frequency and frequency percentage were analyzed by SPSS 18 software. Results: The highest number of accidents was in the age range of 20-30 years with less than 5 years of work experience. The lowest number of accidents was related to bachelor's degree and higher. In addition, a high number of victims (41.5%) were involved in construction activities. In the study of the working population, the highest number of accidents was related to workshops with a staff number of 10-24. In investigating the causes of accidents, 33.2% of accidents were identified as lack of safety training and 24.2% as lack of safe work procedures. In the group of equipment causes, the highest share of accidents was due to the lack of proper equipment and in relation to human causes, the main reason for the accident was the non-stopping of the device during repair. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that demographic and occupational factors, such as age, work experience, and type of industry were very important in the occurrence of industrial accidents. In addition, it was found that managerial, equipment and human causes each have an effective role in the occurrence of accidents, which can be significantly reduced using more supervision by managers and recruiting safety and health officials, and finally observing safety principles in all areas of work.

Factors Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Risk among Healthcare Workers of an Italian University Hospital

We report the results of a study on the cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in about 6000 workers of the University Hospital of Modena, Northern Italy, in the period March 2020–January 2021, and the relations with some individual and occupational factors. Overall, in healthcare workers (HCW) the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 during the period was 13.8%. Results confirm the role of overweight and obesity as significant risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, also proved to be significantly associated with the infection rate. Considering occupational factors, the COVID-19 risk was about threefold (OR: 2.7; 95% CI 1.7–4.5) greater in nurses and nurse aides than in non-HCW, and about double (OR: 1.9; 95% CI 1.2–3.2) in physicians. Interestingly, an association was also observed between infection risk and nightshifts at work (OR: 1.8; 95% CI 1.4–2.3), significantly related to the total number of shifts in the whole eleven-month period. Even if the vaccination campaign has now greatly modified the scenario of SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCW, the results of this study can be useful for further development of health and policy strategies to mitigate the occupational risk related to the new variants of coronavirus, and therefore the evolution of the pandemic.