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| 2. |
- Andersson, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Estimating trends in quartz exposure in Swedish iron foundries : predicting past and present exposures
- 2012
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Ingår i: Annals of Occupational Hygiene. - Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press. - 0003-4878 .- 1475-3162. ; 56:3, s. 362-372
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Swedish foundries have a long tradition of legally required surveys in the work place that, from the late 1960s onwards, included measurements of quartz. The availability of exposure data spanning almost 40 years presents a unique opportunity to study trends over that time and to evaluate the validity of exposure models based on data from shorter time spans. The aims of this study were (i) to investigate long term trends in quartz exposure over time, (ii) using routinely collected quartz exposure measurements to develop a mathematical model that could predict both historical and current exposure patterns, and (iii) to validate this exposure model with up-to-date measurements from a targeted survey of the industry.Methods: Eleven foundries, representative of the Swedish iron foundry industry, were divided into three groups based on the size of the companies, i.e. the number of employees. A database containing 2333 quartz exposure measurements for 11 different job descriptionswas used to create three models that covered time periods which reflected different work conditions and production processes: a historical model (1968– 1989), a development model (1990–2004), and a validation model (2005–2006). A linear mixed model for repeated measurements was used to investigate trends over time. In all mixed models, time period, company size, and job title were included as fixed (categorical) determinants of exposure. The within- and between-worker variances were considered to be random effects. A linear regression analysis was erformed to investigate agreement between the models. The average exposure was estimated for each combination of job title and company size.Results: A large reduction in exposure (51%) was seen between 1968 and 1974 and between 1975 and 1979 (28%). In later periods, quartz exposure was reduced by 8% per 5 years at best. In the first period, employees at smaller companies experienced ~50%higher exposure levels than those at large companies, but these differences became much smaller in later years. The furnace and ladle repair job were associated with the highest exposure, with 3.9–8.0 times the average exposure compared to the lowest exposed group. Without adjusting for this autonomous trend over time, predicting early historical exposures using our development model resulted in a statistically significant regression coefficient of 2.42 (R2 5 0.81), indicating an underestimation of historical exposure levels. Similar patterns were seen for other historical time periods. Comparing our development model with our validation model resulted in a statistically significant regression coefficient of 0.31, indicating an overestimation of current exposure levels.Conclusion: To investigate long-term trends in quartz exposure over time, overall linear trends can be determined by using mixed model analysis. To create individual exposure measures to predict historical exposures, it is necessary to consider factors such as the time period, type of job, type of company, and company size. The mixed model analysis showed systematic changes in concentration levels, implying that extrapolation of exposure estimates outside the range of years covered by measurements may result in underestimation or overestimation of exposure.
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- Burdorf, Alex, et al.
(författare)
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The importance of preventing work-related disability
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - : Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health. - 0355-3140 .- 1795-990X. ; 40:4, s. 331-333
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 4. |
- Järvholm, Bengt, et al.
(författare)
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Heavy work and disability pension : a long term follow-up of Swedish construction workers
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - : Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health. - 0355-3140 .- 1795-990X. ; 40:4, s. 335-342
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence of disability pensions over time among workers with physically demanding jobs.METHODS: The occurrence of disability pension was prospectively studied between 1980-2008 among 325 549 Swedish construction workers. The risks for disability pension and years lost of working life were compared among 22 occupational groups, adjusting for age, body mass index, height, and smoking habits.RESULTS: The risk varied considerably among blue-collar workers. For example, rock workers had double the risk of disability pension [relative risk (RR) 2.16, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.96-2.39] compared to electricians. Most working years lost due to disability pensions (about 75%) were found among men >50 years, mainly due to musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases. The years of working life lost due to disability pension varied from 0.7 (salaried employees) to 3.2 years (rock workers) among occupational groups.CONCLUSION: Work environment is an important predictor for disability pension among construction workers with those in physically heavy jobs having the highest burden of disability. If the purpose is to increase labor force participation for workers with heavy jobs, strategies to reduce physical demands at work among elderly workers are important.
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- van der Beek, Allard, et al.
(författare)
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Efficient assessment of exposure to manual lifting using company data
- 2013
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Ingår i: Applied Ergonomics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-6870 .- 1872-9126. ; 44:3, s. 360-365
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective of this study, based on an extensive dataset on manual materials handling during scaffolding, was to explore whether routinely collected company data can be used to estimate exposure to manual lifting.The number of manual lifts of scaffold parts while constructing/dismantling scaffolds was well predicted by the number of scaffolders in the team and the type of worksite, in combination with company data of either the number of scaffold parts or the scaffold volume. The proportion of explained variance in the number of lifts ranged from 77% to 92%, depending on the variables in the model. Data on scaffold parts and scaffold volume can easily be obtained from the company’s administration, since this is its usual paperwork supporting logistics and customer invoicing, respectively.We conclude that company data can be a promising source of information for ergonomic practitioners and researchers, to support assessment of manual lifting in scaffolding.
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