| 1. |
- Dantoft, Thomas M., et al.
(author)
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Gene expression profiling in persons with multiple chemical sensitivity before and after a controlled n-butanol exposure session
- 2017
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 7:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To investigate the pathophysiological pathways leading to symptoms elicitation in multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) by comparing gene expression in MCS participants and healthy controls before and after a chemical exposure optimised to cause symptoms among MCS participants.The first hypothesis was that unexposed and symptom-free MCS participants have similar gene expression patterns to controls and a second hypothesis that MCS participants can be separated from controls based on differential gene expression upon a controlled n-butanol exposure.DESIGN: Participants were exposed to 3.7 ppm n-butanol while seated in a windowed exposure chamber for 60 min. A total of 26 genes involved in biochemical pathways found in the literature have been proposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of MCS and other functional somatic syndromes were selected. Expression levels were compared between MCS and controls before, within 15 min after being exposed to and 4 hours after the exposure.SETTINGS: Participants suffering from MCS and healthy controls were recruited through advertisement at public places and in a local newspaper.PARTICIPANTS: 36 participants who considered themselves sensitive were prescreened for eligibility. 18 sensitive persons fulfilling the criteria for MCS were enrolled together with 18 healthy controls.OUTCOME MEASURES: 17 genes showed sufficient transcriptional level for analysis. Group comparisons were conducted for each gene at the 3 times points and for the computed area under the curve (AUC) expression levels.RESULTS: MCS participants and controls displayed similar gene expression levels both at baseline and after the exposure and the computed AUC values were likewise comparable between the 2 groups. The intragroup variation in expression levels among MCS participants was noticeably greater than the controls.CONCLUSIONS: MCS participants and controls have similar gene expression levels at baseline and it was not possible to separate MCS participants from controls based on gene expression measured after the exposure.
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| 2. |
- Richter, Hans O., et al.
(author)
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Long-term adaptation to neck/shoulder pain and perceptual performance in a hand laterality motor imagery test
- 2010
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In: Perception. - : Sage Publications. - 0301-0066 .- 1468-4233. ; 39:1, s. 119-130
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effect of neck/shoulder pain on the performance in a hand laterality motor imagery test was studied. Responses to the Cooper and Shepard (1975, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 104 48–56) hand laterality test were explored in twenty-four individuals with chronic non-specific neck pain and twenty-one subjects with chronic neck pain of traumatic origin (whiplash-associated disorder). Twenty-two controls were also included in the study. Digitalised right- or left-hand stimuli were presented at five different stimulus angles (0°, 45° laterally, 90° laterally, 135° laterally, and 180°). The experimental task was to decide the laterality as fast and accurately as possible. The performance, both reaction time (RT) and accuracy, of the two experimental groups was contrasted with that of the control group. The main results revealed that the subjects afflicted with whiplash injury on the average exhibited a faster response pattern than symptom-free healthy controls. Despite their musculoskeletal deficits and experience of pain these volunteers also exhibited a preserved speed–accuracy tradeoff. Longer duration of time with symptoms of neck pain was, moreover, associated with progressively faster RTs. These results point to perceptual learning and may reflect different stages of adaptation to neck pain.
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| 3. |
- Neumann, W. Patrick, et al.
(author)
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Innovation and employee injury risk in automotive disassembly operations
- 2018
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In: International Journal of Production Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0020-7543 .- 1366-588X. ; 56:9, s. 3188-3203
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Engineering innovations in car disassembly systems are studied for affects on system operators’ risk of repetitive strain injury (RSI). Objective instrumented measures of injury risk factors with synchronized video-based task analyses were used to examine changes in operators’ RSI risk during two cases of engineering innovation: 1) a shift in industrial model from traditional extracting saleable parts to line-based full material recovery, and 2) the prospective effects of a simulated “Lean” inspired process improvement in the line system.Both cases of innovation showed significantly increased movement speeds and reduced muscular recovery opportunities, implying increased RSI risk. This case study reveals a mechanism by which innovation may increase RSI risks for operators. Managers responsible for engineering innovation should ensure their teams have the tools and mandate necessary to control injury hazards as part of the development and design process. These cases suggest how failure to manage RSI hazards in the innovation process may allow increases of injury risks that can compromise operational performance. This “innovation pitfall” has implications for operator health and organizational sustainability. Alternative pathways are discussed.
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| 4. |
- Hedblom, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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Reduction of physiological stress by urban green space in a multisensory virtual experiment
- 2019
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although stress is an increasing global health problem in cities, urban green spaces can provide health benefits. There is, however, a lack of understanding of the link between physiological mechanisms and qualities of urban green spaces. Here, we compare the effects of visual stimuli (360 degree virtual photos of an urban environment, forest, and park) to the effects of congruent olfactory stimuli (nature and city odours) and auditory stimuli (bird songs and noise) on physiological stress recovery. Participants (N = 154) were pseudo-randomised into participating in one of the three environments and subsequently exposed to stress (operationalised by skin conductance levels). The park and forest, but not the urban area, provided significant stress reduction. High pleasantness ratings of the environment were linked to low physiological stress responses for olfactory and to some extent for auditory, but not for visual stimuli. This result indicates that olfactory stimuli may be better at facilitating stress reduction than visual stimuli. Currently, urban planners prioritise visual stimuli when planning open green spaces, but urban planners should also consider multisensory qualities.
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| 5. |
- Andersson, Linus, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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Effects of Task Demands on Olfactory, Auditory, and Visual Event-Related Potentials Suggest Similar Top-Down Modulation Across Senses
- 2018
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In: Chemical Senses. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0379-864X .- 1464-3553. ; 43:2, s. 129-134
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A widely held view is that top-down modulation of sensory information relies on an amodal control network that acts through the thalamus to regulate incoming signals. Olfaction lacks a direct thalamic projection, which suggests that it may differ from other modalities in this regard. We investigated the late positive complex (LPC) amplitudes of event-related potentials (ERP) from 28 participants, elicited by intensity-matched olfactory, auditory and visual stimuli, during a condition of focused attention, a neutral condition, and a condition in which stimuli were to be actively ignored. Amplitudes were largest during the attend condition, lowest during the ignore condition, with the neutral condition in between. A Bayesian analysis resulted in strong evidence for similar effects of task across sensory modalities. We conclude that olfaction, despite its unique neural projections, does not differ from audition and vision in terms of task-dependent neural modulation of the LPC.
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| 6. |
- Aslan, Pinar, Fil. Dr. 1986-, et al.
(author)
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The Work Environment of Immigrant Employees in Sweden—a Systematic Review
- 2022
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In: Journal of International Migration and Integration. - : Springer. - 1488-3473 .- 1874-6365. ; 23:4, s. 2235-2268
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this systematic review was to summarize and synthesize research results focusing on the work environment of employees with an immigrant background in Sweden. We focus on the main conditions identified in the working environment of immigrant employees and how these conditions may affect their health and well-being. The concept of “minority stress” and the attachment theory are used to understand and interpret the findings. We systematically searched for literature published between the years of 1990 and 2020 in four databases, Web of Science, PubMed, SocIndex, and Academic Search Elite. We started the selection process by reading title and abstracts, then proceeded to read a selection of full-text studies and eliminated those that did not fulfil the inclusion criteria. We did a quality assessment on the full-text studies based on the MMAT-tool, and then performed a narrative synthesis of the results. The results show that immigrants experience several stressors in their work environment, including physical, psychological, and social risks. These risks are, among other things, associated with the nature of the jobs that immigrants are overrepresented in, with minority-related stressors such as discrimination, harassment, and threats on the basis of ethnic background, and with the lack of social support from managers and colleagues. Results also highlight beneficial factors in the immigrants’ working environment and show the importance of a supportive, inclusive, and empowering management. Our main conclusion is that Swedish workplaces need to introduce more active measures to raise awareness of and combat workplace discrimination, work harder to promote inclusion at the workplace, and eliminate physical, psychological, and social health hazards specific to immigrant employees. The leadership and management have an important role to play here, as does the employees’ trade unions and its special functions.
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| 7. |
- Aboagye, Emmanuel, et al.
(author)
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What is Number of Days in Number of Times? : Associations Between, and Responsiveness of, Two Sickness Presenteeism Measures
- 2020
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In: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : Wolters Kluwer. - 1076-2752 .- 1536-5948. ; 62:5, s. e180-e185
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To examine the associations between sickness presenteeism (SP) reported as number of days with SP reported as number of times and to evaluate their responsiveness.Methods: The study population (n = 454) consisted of employed individuals, at risk of long-term sickness absence. Correlation analyses were performed to examine associations between the two SP measures and external constructs such as work performance, general health, and registered sick leave. Both SP constructs were measured several times to examine responsiveness.Results: The SP measures are moderately correlated. They moderately correlated with work performance and health status measures. SP reported as number of times seems to be more sensitive than number of days in detecting changes after rehabilitation.Conclusions: Numerical or categorical constructs are valid sources of data on SP. However, categorized SP seems to be more responsive.
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| 8. |
- Gustafsson, Klas, et al.
(author)
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Presenteeism, Psychosocial Working Conditions and Work Ability among Care Workers : A Cross-Sectional Swedish Population-Based Study
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 17:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Presenteeism, attending work while ill, has been examined in different contexts in the last few decades. The aim was to examine whether poor psychosocial working conditions and perceived work ability are associated with increased odds ratios for presenteeism, focusing on nursing professionals and care assistants. A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted. The selected individuals were extracted from representative samples of employees, aged 16-64, who participated in the Swedish Work Environment Surveys between 2001 and 2013 (n = 45,098). Three dimensions of psychosocial working conditions were measured: job demands, job control, and job support. Presenteeism and perceived work ability was measured. Using multiple logistic regression analyses, odds ratios for presenteeism with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. While nurses (n = 1716) showed the same presenteeism level as all the other occupation groups (n = 37,125), it was more common among care assistants (n = 6257). The odds ratio for presenteeism among those with high job demands (OR = 2.37, 95% CI 2.21-2.53), were higher among women than among men. For nursing professionals and care assistants, the odds ratios for presenteeism were highest among those with the lowest work ability level. The problems of presenteeism and low work ability among many health and care workers may be lessened by a reduction in psychosocial demands.
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| 9. |
- Berthelsen, Hanne, et al.
(author)
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Validation of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire Version III and Establishment of Benchmarks for Psychosocial Risk Management in Sweden
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 17:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study presents the Swedish standard version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, COPSOQ III, and investigates its reliability and validity at individual and workplace levels with the aim of establishing benchmarks for the psychosocial work environment. Cross-sectional data from (1) a random sample of employees in Sweden aged 25-65 years (N = 2847) and (2) a convenience sample of non-managerial employees at 51 workplaces (N = 1818) were analysed. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated as well as the effects of sex, work sector and blue/white-collar work. Population benchmarks and mean scores for major occupational groups were computed based on weighted data. ICC(1) and ICC(2) estimates were computed to evaluate aggregation to the workplace level and Pearson inter-correlations to evaluate construct validity at individual and aggregated levels. The reliability and scale characteristics were satisfactory, with few exceptions, at both individual and workplace levels. The strength and direction of correlations supported the construct validity of the dimensions and the amount of variance explained by workplace justified aggregation to the workplace level. The present study thus supports the use of COPSOQ III for measurement at the workplace level and presents benchmarks for risk management as well as for research purposes.
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| 10. |
- Hedblom, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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Sounds of Nature in the City: No Evidence of Bird Song Improving Stress Recovery
- 2019
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1660-4601 .- 1661-7827. ; 16:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Noise from city traffic is one of the most significant environmental stressors. Natural soundscapes, such as bird songs, have been suggested to potentially mitigate or mask noise. All previous studies on masking noise use self-evaluation data rather than physiological data. In this study, while respondents (n = 117) watched a 360 degrees virtual reality (VR) photograph of a park, they were exposed to different soundscapes and mild electrical shocks. The soundscapesbird song, bird song and traffic noise, and traffic noisewere played during a 10 min recovery period while their skin conductance levels were assessed as a measure of arousal/stress. No significant difference in stress recovery was found between the soundscapes although a tendency for less stress in bird song and more stress in traffic noise was noted. All three soundscapes, however, significantly reduced stress. This result could be attributed to the stress-reducing effect of the visual VR environment, to the noise levels being higher than 47 dBA (a level known to make masking ineffective), or to the respondents finding bird songs stressful. Reduction of stress in cities using masking with natural sounds requires further studies with not only larger samples but also sufficient methods to detect potential sex differences.
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