It is well known that ergonomic risk factors and back pain are related. However, few studies have examined the relationship between simultaneous exposure to these risk factors and back pain in a Korean population. We aimed to investigate the relationship between simultaneous exposure to ergonomic risk factors and work-related lower back pain (LBP) based on the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS).
The fourth KWCS (2014) was used for this study. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to assess relationship between 5 ergonomic risk factors and work-related LBP. We also analyzed the relationship between simultaneous exposure to 2 risk factors and work-related LBP.
All 5 ergonomic risk factors (fatigue-inducing and painful posture; lifting or moving people; dragging, pushing, or moving heavy objects; standing posture; and repetitive hand or arm movements) were significantly correlated with work-related LBP in the severe exposure group (adjusted odd ratios [aOR] 5.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.46–5.83; aOR 1.98, 95% CI 1.62–2.42; aOR 2.09, 95% CI 1.82–2.40; aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.60–2.01; aOR 2.04, 95% CI 1.82–2.30, respectively). When exposed to 2 risk factors simultaneously, the relationship between exposure and work-related LBP was not greater than exposure to only 1 risk factor in our study (usually exposed to ‘fatigue-inducing or painful posture’ aOR 2.17, 95% CI 2.02–2.34; high exposure to both ‘fatigue-inducing or painful posture’ and ‘dragging, pushing, or moving heavy objects’ aOR 2.00, 95% CI 1.82–2.20).
There was a strong relationship between severe exposure to each ergonomic risk factor and work-related LBP. However, when exposed to 2 ergonomic risk factors simultaneously, the relationship between exposure and work-related LBP was not stronger than when exposed to only 1 risk factor in our study.
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This study was conducted to analyze the distribution of the psychosocial well-being index among adults living in two rural communities in Korea and to examine its correlation with lifestyle variables such as sleep duration, regular exercise, and sedentary time.
Using the cohort data of the Atherosclerosis Risk of a Rural Area Korean General Population, this study examined 3631 participants living in Wonju and Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province; their preliminary data were established from 2005 to 2007 while their follow-up data were collected 3 years later. This study investigated demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, disease history, Psychosocial Well-being Index-Short Form (PWI-SF) scores, sleep duration, regular exercise, and sedentary time during work. Using repeated measures ANOVA, this study examined how the variables and PWI-SF scores changed over the course of 3 years and identified the correlation between them based on mixed model analysis. Afterwards, using the generalized estimation equation, this study identified each variable’s risk towards the PWI-SF high-risk group and performed a stratified analysis by occupation after dividing the participants into farmers and non-farmers.
The PWI-SF high-risk group was found to be 18.9% of the participants from preliminary data and 15.5% from follow-up data. The odds ratio towards the PWI-SF high-risk group was 1.503 (95% CI 1.241–1.821) in the short sleep duration group and 1.327 (95% CI 1.136–1.550) in the non-regular exercise group. A stratified analysis by occupation showed that middle and long sedentary time in the white-collar group increased the risk toward the PWI-SF high-risk group.
Short sleep duration, no regular exercise, and long sedentary time in the white-collar group were identified as risk factors toward the PWI-SF high-risk group in the rural communities, and policy interventions are needed to address this issue.
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This study was conducted to check whether self-resilience, one of the characteristics known to affect the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms after experiencing traumatic events, could serve as a protective factor for police officers whose occupational factors are corrected.
We conducted a cross-sectional study in which 112 male police officers in Gangwon Province participated. They visited the Wonju Severance Christian Hospital Occupational Environment Center for medical check-ups from June to December 2015. Their general characteristics were identified using structured questionnaires, and they were asked to fill in the Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form (KOSS-SF). Further, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale-Korean (CD-RI-K), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised-Korean version (IES-R-K) were used to evaluate their job stress, depression, self-resilience, and PTSD symptoms. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to correct their personal, occupational, and psychological factors to analyze the relationship between self-resilience and PTSD symptoms.
Among 112 respondents who experienced a traumatic event, those with low self-resilience had significantly higher rate of PTSD symptoms than those with high self-resilience even after correcting for the covariate of general, occupational, and psychological characteristics (odds ratio [OR] 3.51; 95 % CI: 1.06–19.23).
Despite several limitations, these results suggest that a high degree of self-resilience may protect police officers from critical incident-related PTSD symptoms.
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