This study aimed to analyze environmental tobacco smoking exposure in female nonsmokers by public transportation mode using representative data of Koreans.
Data from the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2012–2014) were analyzed. Urine cotinine was analyzed by public transport behavior, secondhand smoke exposure, socioeconomic factors, and health-related factors. Participants were 1322 adult females; those with the top 75% urine cotinine concentrations were assigned to the high exposure group. A logistic regression analysis was performed considering appropriate weights and stratification according to the sample design of the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey.
The geometric mean of urine cotinine concentrations differed according to public transportation modes: subway (1.66 μg/g creatinine) bus (1.77 μg/g creatinine), and taxi (1.94 μg/g creatinine). The odds ratio [OR] was calculated for the high exposure group. The OR of the taxi (2.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–5.69) was statistically significantly higher than the subway value (reference), and marginally significant after adjusted with life style, sociodemographic factors and involuntary smoking frequency (2.42, 95% confidence interval, 0.97–6.04).
The odds ratio of passengers who mainly used taxis was marginally significantly higher than those of passengers who used subways and buses after adjusted with life style and sociodemographic factors. Implementation of supplementary measures and further studies on exposure to environmental tobacco smoking in taxis are warranted.
Citations
This study was aimed at finding out the exposure level of bisphenol A (BPA), a well-known endocrine disruptor, in relation to dietary factors using a data representing the Korean general population.
This study was performed on 5402 adults aged 19 years and older based on the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS 2012–2014). The data analyzed urinary BPA concentration in relation to socio-demographic variables, health behavior-related variables, and dietary factor-related variables. Odds ratio (OR) was calculated through a logistic regression analysis after dividing the participants into high BPA exposure group and low BPA exposure group based on the top 75 percentile concentration. The logistic regression analysis was carried out considering the appropriate sample weight, stratification, and clustering of the second KoNEHS sample design.
The group drinking bottled water at home and the group using zip-top bags/plastic bags showed significantly higher urinary BPA concentration in female. OR tends to increase as the intake frequency of frozen food increased and OR of frozen food consumption of more than once a week was 1.48 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–2.24) for male and the group drinking bottled water showed significantly higher OR of 1.45 (95% CI 1.06–2.17) after adjusting the related factors for female.
BPA levels were high in female using bottled water and in male consuming frozen food, and therefore bottled water and frozen food need to be avoided to reduce BPA levels.
Citations
This study is aimed at finding out the relationship between long working hours, one of major job stress elements, and hearing impairment in unexposed workers to occupational and environmental noise.
This study was performed on 1628 regular, full-time wage workers between the age of 25-64 who indicated in the survey of having no experience of exposure to noise, normal otoscopic findings, and not suffering from diabetes based on the data from the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2010–2012). The average working hours per week was categorized into 40 h and lower group, more than 40 to 48 h group, more than 48 to 60 h group, and more than 60 h group. The groups were defined as suffering from low or high frequencies hearing impairment if the average hearing threshold for 0.5, 1, 2 kHz or 3, 4, 6 kHz in both ears exceeds 25 dB based on the pure tone audiometry. The association between average weekly working hours and hearing impairment was analyzed using logistic regression after gender stratification.
The prevalences of low and high frequencies hearing impairment in male workers were 4.3 and 28.6 %, respectively, which were much higher than female’s prevalence of 2.7 and 11.1 %. For male workers, no significant association was found between average weekly working hours and low and high frequencies hearing impairment. For female workers, odds ratios (OR) of low and high frequencies hearing impairment were 4.22 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.09–16.27) and 4.49 (95 % CI 1.73–11.67), respectively, after controlling for several related factors, such as, age, Body Mass Index (BMI), socio-economic status, health-related behavioral, and occupational characteristics variables, in the final model in the group working more than 60 h compared to the group working 40 h and lower. In addition, a dose-response relationship was observed that ORs of low and high frequencies hearing impairment were increased according to increasing average weekly working hours.
The association between long working hours and hearing impairment in both low and high frequencies was significant in Korean female workers with a dose-response relationship. Therefore, the law to change the culture of long working hours should be enacted in order to protect the workers’ health and improve the quality of life in Korean workers.
Citations
Previous studies on the association between shift or night work and weight change have been focused on finding the risk of weight gain caused by shift or night work. In this study, we aimed to reveal the risk of weight gain and weight loss associated with night work by using a nationwide representative data.
This study was performed on 1605 full-time wage workers between the age of 20 and 69 based on the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2010–2012). The association between night work and involuntary weight change in the previous year was divided into the categories of weight gain and weight loss and studied with modifications in socio-demographic variables, health behavior-related variables, and occupational characteristic variables.
The participants working in night work accounted for 10.6 % of total study participants (male; 11.9 %, female 7.4 %). Workers who worked more than 48 hours per week on average accounted for 41.6 % of the total study participants (male; 46.3 %, female 29.1 %).
Odds ratio (OR) of weight loss associated with night work in male workers was 0.34 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.16–0.76) after controlling for several related factors. OR of weight loss associated with night work in female workers with long working hours was 1.95 (95 % CI 0.47–80.86) and that of weight gain was 2.83 (95 % CI 0.12–69.83) after adjusting associated factors.
In this cross-sectional study with national representative sample, night work may lower the risk of weight loss in male workers and induce weight change (weight loss or weight gain) in female workers with long working hours. Therefore, future studies with cohort study design for night workers are needed to reveal the mechanisms and health effects of weight change associated with night work and establish proper management solutions with health and labor policies for Korean night workers.
Citations