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- Björ, Bodil, et al.
(author)
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Acute effects on heart rate variability when exposed to hand transmitted vibration and noise.
- 2007
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In: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-0131 .- 1432-1246. ; 81:2, s. 193-199
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: This study investigates possible acute effects on heart rate variability (HRV) when people are exposed to hand transmitted vibration and noise individually and simultaneously. METHODS: Ten male and 10 female subjects were recruited by advertisement. Subjects completed a questionnaire concerning their work environment, general health, medication, hearing, and physical activity level. The test started with the subject resting for 15 min while sitting down. After resting, they were exposed to one of four exposure conditions: (1) only vibration; (2) only noise; (3) both noise and vibration; or (4) a control condition of exposure to the static load only. All four exposures lasted 15 min and the resting time between the exposures was 30 min. A continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) signal was recorded and the following HRV parameters were calculated: total spectral power (P(TOT)); the spectral power of the very low frequency component (P(VLF)); the low frequency component (P(LF)); the high frequency component (P(HF)); and the ratio LF/HF. RESULTS: Exposure to only vibration resulted in a lower P(TOT) compared to static load, whereas exposure to only noise resulted in a higher P(TOT). The mean values of P(TOT), P(VLF), P(LF), and P(HF) were lowest during exposure to vibration and simultaneous exposure to vibration and noise. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to vibration and/or noise acutely affects HRV compared to standing without these exposures. Being exposed to vibration only and being exposed to noise only seem to generate opposite effects. Compared to no exposure, P(TOT) was reduced during vibration exposure and increased during noise exposure.
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| 2. |
- Björ, Bodil, et al.
(author)
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Cold health impacts in northern Sweden
- 2016
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In: International Journal of Circumpolar Health. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1239-9736 .- 2242-3982. ; 75:33200
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 3. |
- Björ, Bodil, et al.
(author)
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Fifty-year-follow-up of mortality among a cohort of iron-ore miners in Sweden, with specific reference to myocardial infarction mortality
- 2009
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In: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - London : BMJ Publishing Group. - 1351-0711 .- 1470-7926. ; 66:4, s. 264-268
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: This study investigates both general mortality and mortality from myocardial infarction among men employed in iron-ore mines in Sweden.Methods: The mortality of employees (surface and underground workers) at the iron-ore mines in Malmberget and Kiruna, Sweden was investigated. The study cohort comprised men who had been employed for at least 1 year between 1923 and 1996. The causes of death were obtained from the national cause of death register from 1952 to 2001. Indirect standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated for four main causes. Mortality specifically from myocardial infarction was also analysed.Results: 4504 deaths in the cohort gave an SMR for total mortality of 1.05 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.09). Mortality was significantly higher for lung cancer (SMR 1.73, 95% CI 1.52 to 1.97). There was an increased risk of injuries and poisonings (SMR 1.34, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.46) and respiratory diseases (SMR 1.14, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.28). There were 1477 cases of myocardial infarction, resulting in an SMR of 1.12 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.18). SMR was higher (1.35, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.50) for men aged ≤60 years than for those >60 years of age (1.06, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.13).Conclusions: Mortality from myocardial infarction was higher than expected. There was also an increased risk of death from injuries and poisonings, lung cancer and respiratory diseases, as well as higher general mortality. Our findings support the results of previous studies that there is an association between working in the mining industry and adverse health outcomes.
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| 4. |
- Björ, Bodil, et al.
(author)
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Hälsorelaterad miljöövervakning. : Cancerframkallande ämnen i tätortsluft i Umeå 2021
- 2021
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Undersökningen kartlägger allmänbefolkningens exponering via luften för vissa cancerframkallande ämnen (bensen, 1,3-butadien, formaldehyd) och kvävedioxid. Undersökningen genomfördes i centrala Umeå under hösten 2021, och inkluderade totalt 40 slumpvis utvalda personer i åldrarna 20-60 år.Mätningarna upprepades på 20 personer. Utöver de personburna mätningarna genomfördes även stationära mätningar på två platser utomhus. Svarsfrekvensen var 61% och medelåldern var 41 år. Medianhalten för personburna mätningar av bensen och 1,3-butadien var 0,57 µg/m3respektive 0,03µg/m3 vilket är lägre än tidigare mätomgångar i Umeå. Motsvarande medianhalt för formaldehyd var 8,3µg/m3, där halterna var högre bland de som bodde i radhus eller villa jämfört med lägenhet. Medianhalten för de personburna mätningarna av kvävedioxid var 7,6 µg/m3, vilket var i samma storleksordning uppmätt i Umeå 2001, men lägre än övriga mättillfällen. Ingen signifikant skillnad i halter för något av ämnena kunde påvisas mellan män och kvinnor.De stationära mätningarna genomfördes som veckomätningar vid kommunens urbana bakgrundsstationsamt vid en gatustation. Medianhalt av bensen, 1,3-butadien, formaldehyd samt kvävedioxid vid respektive mätstation var samtliga lägre jämfört med tidigare år
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| 5. |
- Björ, Bodil M, et al.
(author)
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Mortality from myocardial infarction in relation to exposure to vibration and dust among a cohort of iron-ore miners in Sweden
- 2010
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In: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ Publishing Group. - 1351-0711 .- 1470-7926. ; 67:3, s. 154-158
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate myocardial infarction mortality in relation to exposure to hand-arm vibration (HAV) and whole-body vibration (WBW) as well as exposure to dust among men employed in two Swedish iron-ore mines. METHODS: This study comprised employed men at two iron-ore mines in Sweden who had been employed for at least one year from 1923 up to 1996. The causes of death were obtained from the national cause of death register from 1952 to 2001. Myocardial infarction mortality was obtained by linking personal identification numbers to the national cause of death register. Poisson regression was used for risk estimations on exposure-response relation, and analyses were made on the two age groups 60 years. RESULTS: Relative risks for myocardial infarction mortality in relation to exposure were significantly increased for exposure (0/>0) to WBV (RR: 1.18, 95% CI 1.06-1.31) and dust (RR: 1.15, 95% CI 1.02-1.31), and the results indicated an exposure-response relation for WBV and dust separately. For 60 years and younger, exposure to HAV (0/>0) (RR: 1.34, 95% CI 1.03-1.74) and WBV (0/>0) (RR: 1.39, 95% CI 1.13-1.72) increased the risk of MI mortality. An exposure-response was found for HAV and WBV, as the medium and high exposed categories showed significantly increased risk estimates. None of the exposures significantly increased the risk in the group above 60 years. The increased risk estimates for exposure to WBV remained when adjusting for exposure to dust. CONCLUSIONS: The results for the working-age (
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| 6. |
- Björ, Bodil, 1975-
(author)
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Myocardial infarction and cardiac regulation in relation to vibration exposure
- 2008
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis was to assess the possible risk of myocardial infarction in work entailing exposure to vibration, and to study whether there is any relation between short-term exposure to vibration and cardiac regulation. Epidemiological methods were applied to investigate a possible association between occupational exposure to vibration and myocardial infarction. Two study populations were used; one case-control study (n=475) and one cohort of iron-ore miners in Kiruna and Malmberget, Sweden (n=13621). In the former, the cases were first-time myocardial infarction patients and the controls were selected to match for sex, age and hospital catchment area. Job-exposure matrixes for vibration were established for both the case-control study and the cohort study. In order to study acute effects on cardiac regulation, an experimental study was conducted on healthy subjects (n=20) who were exposed to hand-arm vibration exclusively and in combination with exposure to noise. The effect on the autonomic balance was measured by heart rate-variability. In the case-control study, an increased risk of contracting myocardial infarction was found among occupations entailing vibration exposure. The results from the cohort show an increased risk of myocardial infarction mortality compared to a reference population. The increment was higher for those younger than 60 years. Relative risks for myocardial infarction mortality increased with increasing exposure to vibration in the group at working-age and the increased risk remained after adjusting for exposure to dust. In the experimental study, exposure to hand-arm vibration was found to acutely affect the autonomic nervous system as the total heart-rate variability decreased during exposure to hand-arm vibration. To conclude: work entailing exposure to vibration is a risk factor for myocardial infarction, increased myocardial infarction mortality attributed to exposure to vibration seems to be mainly observed at working-age, and exposure to hand-arm vibration acutely decreases heart-rate variability and thus affects heart-rate regulation.
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| 9. |
- Burström, Lage, et al.
(author)
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Daily text messages used as a method for assessing low back pain among workers
- 2016
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In: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0895-4356 .- 1878-5921. ; :70, s. 45-51
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a method for collecting data concerning low back pain (LBP) using daily text messages and to characterize the reported LBP in terms of intensity, variability, and episodes.STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a cohort study of LBP among workers used by a mining company. The participants were asked to answer the question "How much pain have you had in your lower back in the last 24 hours on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 = no pain and 10 = the worst pain imaginable" once a day for 5 weeks, with this process being repeated 6 months later.RESULTS: A total of 121 workers participated in the first period of data collection, and 108 participated in the second period. The daily response rate was 93% for both periods, and cluster analysis was shown to be a feasible statistical method for clustering LBP into subgroups of low, medium, and high pain. The daily text messages method also worked well for assessing the episodic nature of LBP.CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated a method for repeatedly measuring of LBP using daily text messages. The data permitted clustering into subgroups and could be used to define episodes of LBP.
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