Recently, irregular working hours have become controversial issues in Korea. The health impact of irregular working hours on the work-related musculoskeletal pain (MSP) is scarcely researched before. We sought to investigate the association between irregular working hours and work-related MSP among South Korean workers.
This study used data from the sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey in 2020. The prevalence of work-related MSP was analyzed using the χ2 test. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between irregular working hours and work-related MSP. We conducted stratified analysis by gender, weekly working hours, and workers’ control over their working hours. We calculated the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of work-related MSP for irregular working hours combined with weekly working hours.
The OR for work-related MSP was significantly higher in the population with irregular working hours than in the population with regular working hours (OR: 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.29–1.58). Irregular and long (> 52 hours/week) working hours have the highest risk of work-related MSP in both genders (in men, OR: 3.48 [95% CI: 2.53–4.78]; in women, OR: 2.41 [95% CI: 1.46–4.00]).
Irregular working hours were associated with work-related MSP in Korea. The association was magnified with long working hours. Reform of the Korean Labor Standards Act leading to increase irregular working hours may induce adverse health outcome.
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Because income and working hours are closely related, the health impact of working hours can vary according to economic status. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between working hours and the risk of poor self-rated health according to household income level.
We used the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI and VII. The information on working hours and self-rated health was obtained from the questionnaire. After stratifying by household income level, the risk of poor self-rated health for long working hour group (≥ 52 hours a week), compared to the 35–51 working hour group as a reference, were calculated using multiple logistic regression.
Long working hours increased the risk of poor self-rated health in the group with the highest income, but not in the group with the lowest income. On the other hand, the overall weighted prevalence of poor self-rated health was higher in the low-income group.
The relationship between long working hours and the risk of poor self-rated health varied by household income level. This phenomenon, in which the health effects of long working hours appear to diminish in low-income households can be referred to as the ‘poor worker’s long working hours paradox’. Our findings suggest that the recent working hour restriction policy implemented by the Korean government should be promoted, together with a basic wage preservation to improve workers’ general health and well-being.
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The purpose of this report is to introduce the occupational cancer surveillance system, implemented in June 2018, and to share the results of our cooperative program.
The cooperative program begins when the patient is diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Newly diagnosed AML patients are admitted to the internal medicine hematology department, then attending hematology physician requests a consultation from the occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) department. The OEM doctor next visits the hospitalized patient and interviews them to take their occupational history, and preliminarily evaluates the likelihood that the condition is associated with occupation. If the patient wants to apply for compensation through the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service, the patient was informed to visits the outpatient clinic of the OEM department and requests a ‘work-relatedness evaluation report’ for use in applying for compensation.
Among the 103 patients, who received an OEM departmental work history evaluation, 18 patients were considered to have a work-related incidence and 12 patients were registered in the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance system.
The present report provides data on a sustainable model for identifying occupational disease in a general hospital setting, while also informing patients about their occupational rights.
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To investigate the risk of injury for indirect employment in Korea, we compared work environment, workplace exposure, and injury risk according to the type of employment contract between Korea and European Union (EU) countries.
We analyzed data of blue-collar workers from the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2014) and the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (2015) and compared workplace risk factors and preventive factors for occupational injuries. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the relationship between occupational injury and the type of employment contract after adjusting for age and sex.
For descriptive characteristics, a relatively older age, lower income, lower proportion of full-time work, greater proportion in small-sized companies, and fewer unionizations were noted in indirect employment in Korea than in direct employment. Workplace exposure was significantly higher in indirect employment in both Korea and Europe. Among safety-related factors, indirect employment in both Korea and Europe lacked the support of company education, coworkers, and supervisors. Indirectly employed blue-collar workers had a significantly higher risk of occupational injury than those directly employed in Korea (odds ratio [OR]: 1.876), whereas there was no significant difference between directly and indirectly employed workers in EU countries (OR: 1.038).
Indirectly employed blue-collar workers have an increased risk of occupational injury in Korea.
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Since the night time work was introduced as a ‘harmful factor’ for the worker's special health examination (WSHE) in 2014, the validation of the questionnaire used for screening gastrointestinal (GI) disorder has not been conducted. The purpose of this study is to verify the validity of the questionnaire using the data of specific health screening cluster.
We used WSHE screening data for 3 years, from 2014 to 2016, in health screening cluster. The subjects who had received upper GI endoscopy in opportunistic screening and WSHE simultaneously regardless of the results of the questionnaire were selected. We tested the validity of the questionnaire using upper GI endoscopy as a gold standard.
This study was conducted on 5,057 examinees in 2014, 8,352 examinees in 2015, and 10,587 examinees in 2016. The validity of the questionnaire for each year was as follows: sensitivity 12.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.1–13.4), specificity 88.6% (95% CI, 87.2–90.1), accuracy 41.1% (95% CI, 39.8–42.5) in 2014, sensitivity 5.9% (95% CI, 5.2–6.5), specificity 93.6% (95% CI, 92.7–94.4), accuracy 38.6% (95% CI, 37.6–39.6) in 2015, sensitivity 6.0% (95% CI, 5.4–6.5), a specificity of 9.42% (95% CI, 93.4–95.0), accuracy of 34.2% (95% CI, 33.3–35.1) in 2016. In generally, questionnaire showed sensitivity of 10%, specificity of 90%, and accuracy of 40%.
Despite the purpose of WSHEs aiming to identify target disease early, the sensitivity of the questionnaire for GI disease was too low as 10%. The reasons for this are the problem of the question itself, and the problem of ambiguous target disease. In the future, the questionnaire should be improved to meet the purpose of the WSHE, and further correction of the target disease should be made.
Compared to 10 years ago, the ambient particulate matter 10 (PM10) and carbon monoxide (CO) levels in South Korea have decreased. However, compared to many other OECD countries, these levels are still too high. Concentration of air pollutants such as PM10 is especially higher during winter than during summer. The first step to rationally solving the air pollution problem in Korea is to identify the key air pollution sources during each season. This ecological study was performed to assess the association between the number of days the accepted PM10 and CO thresholds were exceeded and the concentration of potential emission sources in winter season 2015.
An emission inventory of the PM10 and CO emissions in the 232 administrative South Korean districts in January, 2015, and February, 2015 and December, 2015, and the population density, number of car registrations, number of car accidents, industrial power usage, and presence of a fossil-fuel power plant in each district was established on the basis of official web-page data from the government. For all emission source variables except power plants, the administrative districts were grouped into quartiles. Districts were also divided according to whether a power plant was present or not. Negative binomial regression was performed to assess the associations between the PM10 and CO air pollution (defined as ≥100 g/m3 and ≥ 9 ppm, respectively) and the concentration of each emission source.
Compared to the districts with the lowest population density, the districts with the third highest population density associated most strongly with air pollution. This was also observed for industrial power usage. Car accident number and car registration numbers showed a linear relationship with air pollution. Districts with power plants were significantly more likely to have air pollution than districts that lacked a plant.
Greater car numbers, industrial activity, and population density, and the presence of fossil-fuel plants associated with air pollution in the 2015 winter in South Korea. These data highlight the contaminant sources that could be targeted by interventions that aim to reduce air pollution, decrease the incidence of exposure, and limit the impact of pollution on human health.
The online version of this article (10.1186/s40557-018-0273-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Comprehensive consideration is necessary for setting guidelines to evaluate evidence of occupational cancer in painters due to work-related exposure to carcinogens in paint (a phenomenon termed herein as “work-relatedness”). The aim of the present research is to perform a comprehensive review and to suggest criteria for the provision of compensation for occupational neoplasm among painters in Korea. In order to perform a comprehensive review, this study assessed and evaluated scientific reports of carcinogenicities from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), as well as reviewed the existing literature about occupational exposure among painters in Korea and the epidemiologic investigations of claimed cases of cancer among painters in Korea. The IARC declares that occupational exposures in commercial painting are classified as Group 1 carcinogens for lung cancer and bladder cancer among painters. The epidemiologic studies show consistent causal relationships between occupational exposure in painters and cancers such as lung cancer [meta relative risk: 1.34 (95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.23-1.41)] and bladder cancer [meta relative risk: 1.24 (95% CIs: 1.16-1.33)]. In reviewing occupational cancer risks for commercial painters, the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) confirms occupational cancer risks for lung and bladder cancer among commercial painters. According to the IIAC, however, the elevated cancer risks reported in existing literature are not doubled in either lung or bladder cancer in commercial painters relative to the risks of these cancers in the general population. Based on our review of existing Korean articles on the topic, painters are exposed to potential carcinogens including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene, hexavalent chrome, crystalized silica, asbestos, and other agents, and relative levels are estimated within commercial painting processes. However, the cancer risks of occupational exposure to Group 1 carcinogens for lung and bladder cancer in painters per se are not fully assessed in existing Korean articles. Total work duration, potential carcinogens in paint, mixed exposure to paints across various industries such as construction and shipbuilding, exposure periods, latent periods, and other factors should be considered on an individual basis in investigating the work-relatedness of certain types of cancer in commercial painters.
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This study investigated the relationship between job type and the risk for spontaneous abortion to assess the reproductive toxicity of female workers in the semiconductor industry.
A questionnaire survey was administered to current female workers of two semiconductor manufacturing plants in Korea. We included female workers who became pregnant at least 6 months after the start of their employment with the company. The pregnancy outcomes of 2,242 female workers who experienced 4,037 pregnancies were investigated. Personnel records were used to assign the subjects to one of three groups: fabrication process workers, packaging process workers, and clerical workers. To adjust for within-person correlations between pregnancies, a generalized estimating equation was used. The logistic regression analysis was limited to the first pregnancy after joining the company to satisfy the assumption of independence among pregnancies. Moreover, we stratified the analysis by time period (pregnancy in the years prior to 2008 vs. after 2009) to reflect differences in occupational exposure based on semiconductor production periods.
The risk for spontaneous abortion in female semiconductor workers was not significantly higher for fabrication and packaging process workers than for clerical workers. However, when we stratified by time period, the odds ratio for spontaneous abortion was significantly higher for packaging process workers who became pregnant prior to 2008 when compared with clerical workers (odds ratio: 2.21; 95% confidence interval: 1.01–4.81).
When examining the pregnancies of female semiconductor workers that occurred prior to 2008, packaging process workers showed a significantly higher risk for spontaneous abortions than did clerical workers. The two semiconductor production periods in our study (prior to 2008 vs. after 2009) had different automated processes, chemical exposure levels, and working environments. Thus, the conditions prior to 2008 may have increased the risk for spontaneous abortions in packaging process workers in the semiconductor industry.
The online version of this article (10.1186/s40557-017-0204-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Business owners in the Republic of Korea must take part in the workers’ general health examination. However, there have been few formal analyses of the uptake of this examination by employees. In the present study, we examined the rates of participation in medical examinations according to age group, health insurance type, and enterprise size, and then compared these results with those of the national general health screening. Furthermore, we determined the distribution of patients with abnormal results for diabetes and hypertension, and outlined the significance and history of domestic health examinations.
We started by comparing participation rates extracted from the among health examination data of the National Health Insurance Service from 2006–2013 by sex, age, insurance type, and enterprise size of workplace health insurance beneficiaries (i.e., those whose insurance is provided by their workplace). In addition, we analyzed the prevalence rates of abnormal results for hypertension and diabetes, and explored the history and significance of health examinations in the Republic of Korea.
The overall participation rate in the primary health examination in 2006 was 56%, and this increased to 72% in 2013. However, the rates of the secondary screening did not increase much. Among workplace policyholders (i.e., those whose insurance is provided by their workplace), the participation rates of workers in enterprises with less than 50 employees were lower than were those in enterprises with 50 or more employees. Notably, the rates and odds ratios of patients with abnormal results for diabetes and hypertension were relatively high, particularly among those working in smaller enterprises.
Although the workers’ general health examination has been replaced with the national general health screening, it remains necessary to ensure uniform health management services among all workers in the Republic of Korea. This can, in turn, promote occupational health and improve working conditions throughout the Republic of Korea.
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We examined the current status of specialized agencies for occupational health management (SAs) and their workforce. Furthermore, we aimed to clarify the current practice status of SA healthcare professionals and factors that influence their performance.
To examine the current SA workforce, we analyzed data from the 2014 Survey of Current Status of SA and their Workforce from the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL). Furthermore, we mailed out an original questionnaire to SA professionals to determine their current health management status and factors that affect their performance. Data from the respondents (
In 2014, the workforce performing health management in SAs comprised 232 physicians, 507 nurses, and 312 occupational hygienists, with no significant regional differences in the distribution of physicians and nurses. According to the findings of the questionnaire, the average daily number of worker consultations by physicians and nurses was 22.8, while the average time taken for health management ranged from 74.3 to 104.3 min, depending on the size of the firm. Most of the respondents (41.5%) answered that they were following-up on more than 80% of individuals with illnesses. Among health management tasks, performance scores of “consultations for general diseases” and “consultations for lifestyle habits” were relatively high, whereas health promotion activities at workplaces were relatively low. There was a significant correlation between the utilization of general and special health examination results and task performance.
Among health management tasks, follow-up management of individuals with illnesses and consultations for disease/lifestyle habits were relatively well performed, whereas health promotion activities at workplaces were not performed well. Among factors that positively influenced SA performance at workplaces, only the utilization of health examination results had significant effects. Therefore, to accomplish health management goals and perform effective health management at workplaces, there is a need to establish a comprehensive system of occupational health service outsourcing integrating health examinations and health management services. Furthermore, the current task system, which focuses on follow-up management, should be expanded to incorporate preventive and health promotion functions—the fundamental functions of occupational health services (OHS).
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Health examinations are performed so that diseases can be identified and treated earlier. Several studies have evaluated the determinants of participation in health examinations including cancer screening, but few have evaluated the relationship between the size of the enterprise and their participation in Workers’ General Health Examinations (WGHE). The aim of the present study was to estimate the association of WGHE participation with the size of the enterprise and the type of policyholder.
The eligible population from 2006 through 2013 was extracted from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) database. The population size ranged from 14–17 million. After adjustment for age and gender, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the odds ratios of participating in the WGHE (by age group) based on the type of policyholder (reference: public officers) and the size of the enterprise (reference: enterprise size ≥300 employees), respectively.
Workers employed at enterprises with <50 persons were less likely to participate in WGHEs than those employed at enterprises with ≥300 persons. After policyholders were stratified by type (non-office workers vs. public officers), a disparity in the WGHE participation rate was found between the different types of policyholders at enterprises with <50 employees (reference: those employed at enterprises with ≥300 employees); the odds ratios for subjects in their 40s and 50s were 0.2–0.3 for non-office workers vs. 0.8–2.0 for public officers.
Workplace policyholders at small enterprises comprised a vulnerable group less likely to participate in WGHEs. Efforts should be made to raise the WGHE participation rate among the vulnerable employees belonging to small enterprises, as well as among their dependents.
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Our study evaluated the effectiveness of the Workers’ General Health Examination by health examination period and compliance.
A retrospective cohort of the health examination participants in 2006 (baseline year:
The compliant group presented a lower cumulative incidence of cardio-cerebrovascular disease than the non-compliant group; this result was consistent across sex, working age (40s and 50s), and workplace policyholder. Relative risk of cardio-cerebrovascular disease by health examination period (1 and 2 years) showed statistically significant results in ischemic heart disease for male participants. Of men in their 40s, office workers (over a 2-year period) presented statistically higher relative risk of ischemic heart disease than non-office workers (over a 1-year period: 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.03). However, there were no consistent results in ischemic cerebrovascular disease and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease for men or cardio-cerebrovascular disease for women.
A 1-year period of Workers’ General Health Examinations in non-office workers had a more significant prevention effect on ischemic heart disease than a 2-year period in office workers among working age (40s–50s) men. It is, however, necessary to consider that prevention of cardio-cerebrovascular disease can be partially explained by their occupational characteristics rather than by health examination period.
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An association between silica exposure and autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis has been made.
A 56-year-old male presented with silicosis and had an occupational history of precious metal processing for 30 years and a 30 pack-year smoking history. The patient was diagnosed with pneumoconiosis and received compensation. No other complications were reported for pneumoconiosis. The patient suddenly presented with a non-specific headache for several days and microscopic hematuria was identified upon examination in the outpatient clinic. Following several weeks, the patient presented with aggravated dyspnea and hemoptysis, and his Modification of Diet in Renal Disease estimated glomerular filtration rate indicated acute kidney injury. Diagnostic analysis revealed perinuclear ANCA-associated microscopic polyangiitis (p-ANCA-associated MPA).
Exposure to silica dust was likely one of the cause of p-ANCA-associated MPA. Possible pathogenic mechanisms of autoimmune diseases in silicotics and emphasis of the necessity for early diagnosis are discussed.
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Cigarette smoking is known as the most important risk factor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, occupational exposure to other substances can result in COPD.
A 76-year-old man with occupational exposures to mixtures of silica dust, gas, and fumes for 10 years and with a 25 pack-year smoking history was diagnosed with COPD. His computed tomogram scan revealed some hyperinflation with emphysematous change in both upper lobes. In the pulmonary function tests, his post-bronchodilator forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and FEV1/FVC% were 2.20 L (67% of the predicted value), 1.12 L (52% of the predicted value), and 51%, respectively, indicating moderate COPD. This case of COPD was confirmed as a work-related disease by the Occupational Lung Disease Research Institute in Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service.
Exposure to various substances such as silica dust, gas, and fumes from furnace and boiler installation was likely the cause of COPD in this patient. Thus, occupational exposure should be considered an important risk factor of COPD.
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