Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Research Article

Hazards and health problems in occupations dominated by aged workers in South Korea: Jungsun Park, Soo Geun Kim, Jong-shik Park, Boyoung Han, Kab Bae Kim, Yangho Kim; Ann Occup Environ Med 2017;29:27. Published online June 26, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-017-0177-9

Background

South Korea’s population is aging more rapidly than any other country. Aging of the productive population will lead to shortage of labor and the decreasing quality of the labor force in South Korea. South Korea needs health care strategies to support the establishment of work environments that are appropriate for elderly workers who have reduced physical capacity. This paper aims to identify occupations that are dominated by aged workers and assess the exposure to hazards and work-related health problems of aged workers in these occupations.

Methods

We identified the 20 occupations in South Korea that employ the most aged workers (at least 55 years-old), among all 149 occupations that are defined as minor categories (identified by three digits) by the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations (KSCO). Exposure to hazards and work-related health problems of individuals in these occupations were evaluated by analyzing the results of the fourth Working Conditions Survey of 2014.

Results

Among the 20 occupations that employ the most aged workers, ‘Elementary Occupations’, which the KSCO classifies as major category (9), had the largest proportion of aged workers. After this, there were five occupations of skilled manual workers and six occupations of skilled non-manual workers. Aged workers in elementary and skilled manual occupations reported frequent exposure to job-specific hazards, such as noise, vibrations, high and low temperatures, solvents, and chemicals. Relative to other workers, aged workers in the occupations reported more frequent exposure to ergonomic hazards, such as tiring or painful positions, carrying or moving heavy loads, and repetitive movements, and also reported more work-related musculoskeletal disorders and general fatigue. Injury due to accident was common in machinery-handling occupations.

Conclusion

Job-specific hazards should be reduced to prevent occupation-related disorders in elementary and skilled manual occupations that are dominated by aged workers.

Citations

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Original Article

Bone and Blood Lead Levels of Middle Aged Koreans not Occupationally Exposed to Lead: Nam Soo Kim, Sung Woo Choi, Jin Ho Kim, Jung O Ham, Hae Yoon Park, Kyu Dong Ahn, Byung Kook Lee; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2007;19(4):285-292. Published online December 31, 2007; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2007.19.4.285

Abstract PDF

OBJECTIVES
In order to investigate the level and the association between bone lead and blood lead levels of non-occupationally, lead-exposed Koreans, the authors studied the lead biomarkers of 137 middle aged Koreans (86 males and 51 females) older than whose age were above 40 years.
METHODS
The tibia lead level was selected as the bone lead indicator of cortical bone, and the blood lead level was also measured. The tibia lead level was measured by K-shell XRF with 30-minute measurement of each subjects. The blood lead level was analyzed by AAS method.
RESULTS
The mean (SD) of the tibia lead level of the 137 study subjects was 3.49 (4.99) microgram/g, and tended to be higher. The mean (SD) of tibia lead level in male subjects (was 3.90 (4.88) microgram/g) and larger than in that of female subjects (2.80 (5.14) microgram/g), but without no statistical significance was observed. The mean (SD) of blood lead level of all total subjects was 3.70 (1.35)microgram/dl, and tended to be higher. The mean (SD) of blood lead level in male subjects (was 3.93 (1.25) microgram/dl) and larger than in that of female subjects (3.30 (1.42) microgram/dl), but without no statistical significance was observed. In multiple regression analysis of blood lead levels after adjusting for covariates, age was a significant independent variable. A weak association of age with tibia lead in female subjects was also observed in multiple regression analysis.
CONCLUSION
The mean (SD) of tibia and blood lead levels of middle aged Koreans whose ages were over 40 years old were 3.49 (4.99) microgram/g and 3.70 (1.35) microgram/dl, respectively. Age and sex were positive predictors of blood lead level in multiple regression analysis after controlling for the covariates. However, in multiple regression analysis whereas age was weakly association with tibia lead level only in female subjects in multiple regression analysis.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Blood lead concentration and related factors in Korea from the 2008 National Survey for Environmental Pollutants in the Human Body
Seong Wook Jeong, Chae Kwan Lee, Chun Hui Suh, Kun Hyung Kim, Byung Chul Son, Jeong Ho Kim, Jong Tae Lee, Soo Woong Lee, Yeong Beom Park, Jong Wha Lee, Seung-Do Yu, Chan Seok Moon, Dae Hwan Kim, Sang Yoon Lee
International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health.2014; 217(8): 871. CrossRef
National estimates of blood lead, cadmium, and mercury levels in the Korean general adult population
Nam-Soo Kim, Byung-Kook Lee
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.2011; 84(1): 53. CrossRef

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Original Article

Relationship between Fatigue Severity and Heart Rate Variability in Middle-Aged Male Workers: Sang Wook Song, Jin Hee Shin, Thomas Findley; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2005;17(1):26-35. Published online March 31, 2005; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2005.17.1.26

Abstract PDF

OBJECTIVES
This study investigated the relationship between the severity of fatigue and the cardiac autonomic function by analyzing the heart rate variability on middle-aged male workers.
METHODS
The severity of fatigue and heart rate variability were assessed with the control measures of age, body mass index, blood pressure, alcohol consumption, smoking history, regular exercise on 82 healthy middle-aged male workers in an annual health checkup. The severity of fatigue was evaluated by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), which was developed by Krupp. The 5-minute electrocardiographic recordings were analyzed as a function of the time and the frequency domain methods of the heart rate variability (HRV). Standard Deviation of the NN intervals (SDNN), Root-Mean-Square of Successive Differences (rMSSD), Total Power (TP), Low Frequency (LF: 0.04~0.15 Hz) power, High Frequency (HF: 0.15-0.4 Hz) power, LF/HF ratio were used as the indices of the HRV. For a comparison of autonomic nervous functions and other variables, the subjects were divided into three fatigue groups based on the FSS score as follows: low (N=31), moderate (N=33), high (N=18) fatigue groups.
RESULTS
There were no significant differences in age, blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index, alcohol consumption, or regular exercise except for the smoking history among the groups. In addition, there were no significant differences in the time domain analysis (SDNN, rMSSD) of HRV among the groups. Spectral analysis of the HRV showed that the mean amplitudes of the HF and LF component were lower in the high fatigue group, whereas there was no significant difference in the LF/HF ratio among the fatigue groups. There were no significant differences in the HRV indices between the smoking and non-smoking groups. No significant interacting effects between the severity of fatigue and smoking on the HRV were observed.
CONCLUSIONS
The association between severe fatigue and the reduced high and low frequency components of the HRV in middle-aged male workers reflects a dysregulation of the cardiac autonomous control. Although the pathophysiological mechanism of this association remains unclear, these results might explain their increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, these effects need to be confirmed through a well-designed prospective study.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Impact of Job-stress on Fatigue Among 119 Rescue Workers
Sung-Soo Choi, Gyoung Wan Kim
Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society.2016; 17(4): 433. CrossRef
The Relationship between Cyber Leisure Activity and Autonomic Function in High School Students
Mi-Eun Son, Na-Hyun Kim
Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science.2012; 14(1): 33. CrossRef

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