The relationship between smoking status or second-hand smoking and occupational injuries has been the subject of considerable study, but few have studied the relationship between nicotine dependence and occupational injuries. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between nicotine dependence and occupational injury among employees at a range of Korean companies.

Initially, the personal and occupational characteristics and nicotine dependences of workers were measured, and 12 months later a survey was used to determine whether subjects had experienced any occupational injury. This study was conducted in several workplaces on 6,893 male workers in manufacturing and service industries that received health screening at Inha University Hospital in Incheon.

The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of occupational injury in the low, moderate, and high nicotine dependence groups were 1.38 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04–1.84), 1.52 (95% CI: 1.10–2.10), and 1.71 (95% CI: 0.92–3.19), respectively. For smokers only, adjusted ORs tended to increase linearly (p for trend < 0.05). When only smokers were included, analysis of continuous FTND (Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence) scores showed that adjusted OR increased by 1.10 (95% CI: 1.03–1.19) per FTND point. After stratifying the data by working type and working hours per week, the non-shift work group maintained this relationship (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.04–1.24) and OR was higher in the group that works more than 60 hours per week with FTND score as a continuous variable (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.07–1.44).

The study shows nicotine dependency might affect occupational injury. From a short-term perspective, addressing worker's nicotine dependence by giving an adequate break time or smoking area might reduce work-related injuries.

Most of the studies that have examined the association between the sub-factors of occupational stress and depressive symptoms have used cross-sectional data. However, our study has longitudinally measured the occupational stress and depressive symptoms of Korean workers of a semiconductor manufacturing company across six years to intending to investigate the associations between the sub-factors of occupational stress and depressive symptoms using longitudinal data.

Data collected from the workers of a semiconductor manufacturing company. Out of 1,013 recruited workers, 405 (40.0%) completed the survey questionnaires at 3 and 6-year follow-ups. Occupational stress was measured using a shorter version of the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS), whereas depressive symptoms were assessed using the Korean version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depressive Symptoms Scale (CES-D). The data of male and female participants independently analyzed. Longitudinal associations were analyzed using panel data analysis with fixed effects.

In panel data analysis with fixed effects, job insecurity (B = 0.048, p-value = 0.004) was associated with depressive symptoms among male workers. In female workers, inadequate social support (B = 0.080, p-value < 0.001), job insecurity (B = 0.039, p-value = 0.004), lack of reward (B = 0.059, p-value = 0.004) and discomfort in occupational climate (B = 0.074, p-value < 0.001) were associated with depressive symptoms among female workers.

Temporal changes in the sub-factors of occupational stress were associated with changes in depressive symptoms within the same period. There was a gender difference in occupational stress sub-factors related to depressive symptoms.

The global labor market is moving towards increasing job instability. Relatively few studies have examined the relationship between precarious employment and subjective well-being using quantitative scales. We evaluated the association between wage workers' employment status and their subjective well-being through the Cantril ladder scale using Korean Welfare Panel Survey data (KOWEPS).

This study used KOWEPS data. A total of 4,423 wage workers were divided into permanently employed workers, temporarily employed workers and daily employed workers. The relationship between precarious employment and subjective well-being was analyzed by multiple linear regression adjusted for potential confounding factors.

The more unstable the employment status, the lower the subjective well-being, which can be expressed by the Cantril ladder scale. The mean score of both temporarily employed and daily employed workers were statistically significantly lower (B = −0.454, p < 0.001; B = −0.994, p < 0.001, respectively) than permanently employed workers. This appeared to be the same when occupational and sociodemographic factors were adjusted (B = −0.153, p = 0.002 for temporarily employed, B = −0.610, p < 0.001 for daily employed).

The more unstable the employment status, the lower the subjective well-being score according to the Cantril ladder scale.

The risk factors for renal cancer include smoking, obesity, hypertension, and exposure to trichloroethylene. Recent studies have shown that low sunlight exposure increases the risk of developing a range of cancers, including renal cancer. Given that most of the daytime is spent at work, a lack of occupational sunlight exposure can be a risk factor for renal cancer. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between occupational sunlight exposure and the incidence of renal cancer.

This was a university hospital-based case-control study on renal cancer. Of the 706 newly diagnosed patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), 633 cases were selected; 73 who had no occupational history were excluded. In addition, 633 controls were selected from the general population after 1:1 matching with respect to sex, age (within 5 years), and residential area (constituency-level). Information on sunlight exposure by the occupational group was referred to data from France. To estimate the association between occupational sunlight exposure and the RCC risk, the odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression analysis.

Sunlight exposure was divided into quartiles and the risk of RCC was analyzed. The adjusted OR of RCC (OR: 0.664, 95% confidence interval: 0.449–0.983) was significantly lower for the Q4 group than Q1 group but the Q2 and Q3 groups did not show significant results. The risk of RCC tended to decrease with increasing exposure to sunlight (p for trend < 0.028).

Higher occupational sunlight exposure reduces the risk of RCC.

Although one in two firefighters in South Korea have experienced work-related injuries, there are few studies which show the overview description on work-related injuries and its analysis regarding such causes. Therefore, we aimed to show the overview of compensated work-related injuries in order to serve fundamental data for establishing prevention policies on work-related injuries for Korean firefighters.

We requested the all claimed work-related injury data of Korean firefighters from 2010 to 2015 to the Korean National Fire Agency (NFA). The data from NFA including 2457 claimed cases was analyzed and we confirmed, 2154 approved work-related injuries for the kinds of job activities, cause of accident and type of injuries. Among 2154 approved cases, we analyzed more variables for the sex, age, and job duration of 1344 compensated cases through served text file on summary of accident.

The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) recognized 2154 (87.7%) approved work-related injuries among 2457 claimed cases. The incidence of work-related injuries per 1000 firefighters was 9.8 persons. By region, the incidence of work-related injuries per 1000 firefighters ranged from a maximum of 14.5 to a minimum of 4.0. The most common job activity caused the accident was fire suppression (18.0%), followed by Emergency medical services (EMS) (17.5%) and training (10.7%). The most common cause of these accident was movement imbalance (30.3%), followed by falls (18.9%) and traffic accident (13.4%). In these work-related injuries, sprains and bruises were the most common type of injury (27.2%), and the most commonly injured body site was the upper and lower back (25.3%). Data from identified 1344 firefighters showed that 1264 (94.0%) were male and 80 (6.0%) were female. Age group was the highest in the 40s with 623 cases (46.4%), and job duration was the highest with 650 cases in 5–10 years (48.4%).

In this study, we could obtain the preliminary data necessary to establish preventive measures, including the cause of accident and region with high accident rates. However, the number of applications for compensated injuries was very small compared to the frequency of injuries found in previous studies. The lack of appropriate treatment suggested that many firefighter injuries can become chronic. In this study, we suggest that it is necessary to introduce an injury monitoring system and improve the accessibility of compensated injuries.

CR318031. Registered 20 June 2018.

This study aimed to enhance understanding of the epidemiologic characteristics of asbestos-related diseases, and to provide information that could inform policy-making aimed at prevention and compensation for occupational asbestos exposure, through analyzing asbestos-related occupational disease claims to Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service from 2011 to 2015.

We analyzed 113 workers who filed medical care claims or survivor benefits for asbestos exposure and occupational-related disease from 2011 to 2015. Among these claims, we selected approved workers’ compensation claims relating to malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer, and analyzed the general characteristics, exposure characteristics, pathological characteristics, and occupation and industry distribution.

Malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer occurred predominantly in males at 89.7 and 94%, respectively. The mean age at the time of diagnosis for malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer was 59.5 and 59.7 years, respectively, while the latency period for malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer was 34.1 and 33.1 years, respectively. The companies involving exposed workers were most commonly situated within the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region. Histology results for lung cancer indicated adenocarcinoma as the most common form, accounting for approximately one half of all claims, followed by squamous cell carcinoma, and small cell lung cancer. The most common occupation type was construction in respect of malignant mesothelioma, and shipbuilding in respect of lung cancer.

Considering the long latency period of asbestos and that the peak period of asbestos use in Korea was throughout the mid-1990s, damage due to asbestos-related diseases is expected to show a continued long-term increase. Few studies providing an epidemiologic analysis of asbestos-related diseases are available; therefore, this study may provide baseline data to assist in predicting and preparing for future harm due to asbestos exposure.

DUIH 2018–02–004-001. Registered 28 Februrary 2018.

There are few published studies on the relationship between occupational lumbar load and facet joint degeneration (FJD). This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the effect of physical lumbar load on FJD by comparing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of firefighters (FFs) and hospital office workers (HOWs).

We randomly sampled 341 male FFs and 80 male HOWs by age stratification. A questionnaire and clinical examination, including MRI of the lumbar spine (T12-S1), were conducted. FJD was diagnosed and graded by using the classification of Pathria et al., and reclassified into two groups as follows: no FJD (grade 0) and FJD (grades 1, 2, and 3). The prevalence of FJD was analyzed according to occupational group.

The prevalence of FJD ranged from 31% (L1–L2) to 75% (L4–L5) in the FFs, and from 18% (L1–L2) to 69% (L4–L5) in the HOWs. After adjustment for age, body mass index, and frequency of physical exercise, the adjusted odds ratios (OR) for FJD in the FFs were significantly higher than those in the HOWs at all lumbar spinal levels, except for L3–L4 (L1–L2: OR, 2.644; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.317–5.310; L2–L3: OR, 2.285; 95% CI, 1.304–4.006; L4–L5: OR, 1.918; 95% CI, 1.037–3.544; L5–S1: OR, 1.811; 95% CI, 1.031–3.181).

This study shows that FFs exhibit a greater likelihood of having FJD than HOWs after controlling for other risk factors of FJD. This suggests that the physical occupational demands of FFs affect their risk of developing FJD.