Brage (Statens arbeidsmiljøinstitutt)
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Airborne trichloramine in indoor swimming pools in Sweden
Full text linkTrichloramine is a disinfection by-product in chlorinated swimming pools. It can evaporate into the air and irritate eyes and airways among swimmers and pool workers. This study aimed to evaluate airborne concentrations of trichloramine in different types of indoor swimming pools. Altogether, 72 swimming pools across Sweden were included; 36 exercise pools, 16 instruction pools, seven adventure pools, and 13 rehabilitation pools. In total, 167 sampling sessions were performed with the majority (N = 91) conducted in public exercise pools. Repeated sampling sessions on different days were performed within all pool categories. Airborne trichloramine was measured stationary by the poolside using active sampling on quartz filters. In total, 434 air samples were collected. The geometric mean (GM) concentration of trichloramine for the exercise pools was 0.12 mg/m3 (range GMpool: 0.02–0.29 mg/m3) and for about 30% the GMpool exceeded the Swedish public health guideline value (0.2 mg/m3). The geometric mean for instruction pools was 0.18 mg/m3 and for adventure pools 0.20 mg/m3. Trichloramine concentrations were statistically significantly lower in rehabilitation pools (GM: 0.03 mg/m3) compared with the other pool categories. A statistically significant effect of time of the day for sampling was found for the exercise and instruction pools, with higher trichloramine levels during evenings compared with mornings and afternoons. For the rehabilitation pools, trichloramine was significantly higher during the cold season compared with the warm season. Variability in trichloramine concentrations was attributed to between-pool as well as within-pool variances. The within-pool variability encourages a repeated sampling strategy to capture the variation between different days. These findings have implications for exposure assessment in epidemiological studies as well as for indoor air quality monitoring. Trichloramine can cause acute irritative effects at elevated levels, and since trichloramine concentrations may differ depending on the time of the day it is recommended that full-day stationary measurements are supplemented with short-term samplings to capture these variations.Airborne trichloramine in indoor swimming pools in SwedenpublishedVersio
Endogenous pain modulation after sleep restriction in migraine: a blinded crossover study
Full text linkBackground: Patients with migraine are vulnerable to insufficient sleep, but the impact of sleep restriction is largely unknown. In addition, the importance of sleep may be different in patients with migraine who mostly have attack onsets during sleep, so called sleep-related migraine, compared to patients with non-sleep-related migraine. In this study we investigate the effect of sleep restriction on endogenous pain modulation in patients with migraine and healthy controls. We also compared the effect of sleep restriction in sleep-related and in non-sleep-related migraine. Methods: Measurements were conducted in 39 patients with migraine between attacks and 31 controls, once after habitual sleep and once after two consecutive nights of partial sleep restriction. There were 29 and 10 patients with non-sleep-related and sleep-related migraine respectively. Test stimulus was 2-min tonic noxious heat to the left volar forearm. Temporal summation was calculated as the regression coefficient for rated pain in theEndogenous pain modulation after sleep restriction in migraine: a blinded crossover studypublishedVersio
Measurements of dust and respirable crystalline silica during indoor demolition and renovation
Full text linkIncreased focus on renovating and maintaining the existing building stock is an integral part of the circular economy, however this might pose challenges to workers health. The aim of this study was to assess the renovation workers’ exposure to inhalable dust, thoracic dust, respirable dust, and respirable crystalline silica (RCS). Personal aerosol samples were collected as full shift samples from 92 workers to a total of 407 samples. Fourteen locations around Oslo, Norway was visited for multiple days with repeated measurements of the same individual. Particulate matter from 3 aerosol fractions, respirable, thoracic, and inhalable, were analyzed gravimetrically, and the respirable fraction was analyzed for RCS by NIOSH 7500 method for X-ray diffraction (XRD) with low temperature plasma ashing sample preparation. The total measured concentrations of respirable dust (n = 192) had a geometric mean (GM) of 0.88 mg/m3, RCS concentrations (n = 182) had a GM of 0.040 mg/m3, thoracic dust (n = 131) had GM 2.4 mg/m3, and inhalable dust (n = 84) had a GM of 8.5 mg/m3. The maximum measured concentrations were 29 mg/m3, 3.2 mg/m3, 65 mg/m3, and 163 mg/m3, respectively. Workdays involving tasks such as mechanical demolition and clearing out demolished materials led to the highest exposure levels of both dust and RCS. However, other workers at the renovation sites were indirectly exposed to a considerable amount of RCS. This study revealed substantial exposure to both RCS and dust during renovation, and protective measures are warranted to reduce exposure levels in the industry.Measurements of dust and respirable crystalline silica during indoor demolition and renovationpublishedVersio
Comprehensive evaluation of the impact of workplace exposures on physician-certified sick leave in the general working population
Full text linkBackground Our objective was to quantify the prospective associations between work factors across chemical, physical, mechanical, and psychosocial domains and the onset of medically certified sick leave. Methods Eligible respondents were interviewed in 2009, 2013, or 2016 and were registered in the national sick leave register with an employee relationship lasting more than 50 working days during the year of the survey interviews and the following year (n = 15,294 observations). To focus on the onset of high-level sick leave (HLSL; >16 days a year), we excluded individuals with HLSL during the survey year (baseline). We then used mixed-effect logistic regression models to assess prospective associations between self-reported work conditions and the occurrence of doctor-certified HLSL in the following year. Results The average occurrence of HLSL was 13.1%. After adjusting for sex, age, level of education, chronic health problems, and smoking, we observed an exposure-response relationship between cumulative exposure to work factors within all domains and the occurrence of HLSL. When evaluating the impact of combined exposures, predicted odds ratios (OR) for employees exposed to 1, 2, and 3 or more work factors within all domains were 1.60 (95%CI 1.32 − 1.94), 2.56 (95%CI 1.73 − 3.74) and 4.09 (95%CI 2.28 − 7.25), compared to those not exposed. Conclusions The results support the notion that exposure to multiple work factors in various domains, including psychosocial, mechanical, chemical, and physical work conditions, is associated with an increased risk of high-level sick leave. Employers and occupational health professionals should consider the joint impact of these domains when designing interventions.Comprehensive evaluation of the impact of workplace exposures on physician-certified sick leave in the general working populationpublishedVersio
The impact of violence prevention behaviour on threats and violence among child welfare social workers
Full text linkThe aim of this study was to determine whether Violence PreventionBehaviour (VPB) at coworker-, supervisor-, and top-management levelsis related to risk of exposure to threats and violence among childwelfare social workers. The study design was a two-wave prospectivequestionnaire survey data of child welfare workers in Norway with atime-lag of six months between baseline (N = 678) and follow-up (N =424), Overall cohort response rate was 34 per cent. Mean exposure tothreats and violence was 10.08 (SD = 14.83) events at baseline and 8.75(SD = 13.61) events at follow-up. A zero-inflated negative binomialmodel showed that Top management level VPB was associated with asignificantly lower risk of exposure to threats and violence (β = −.22, p< 0.01) at baseline, and follow-up (β = −.19, p < 0.01). VPB at thecoworker level was associated with higher levels of threats and violenceat baseline (β = .19, p < 0.01), but not at follow-up. Supervisor VPB wasnot associated with levels of threats or violence. Efforts from topmanagement to prioritise safety in decisions, and clearly communicatingthese safety prioritisations to staff, will strengthen VPB and thereby bebeneficial for reducing the occurrence of threats and violence amongchild welfare social workers.The impact of violence prevention behaviour on threats and violence among child welfare social workerspublishedVersio
Impact of psychosocial work factors on risk of medically certified sick leave due to common mental disorders: a nationwide prospective cohort study of Norwegian home care workers
Full text linkBackground The Norwegian home care services experience a high level of sick leave, a large proportion of which is due to common mental disorders. A substantial number of such cases can be attributed to psychosocial factors at work, but more knowledge about occupation-specific risk factors is needed to develop targeted preventive measures to reduce sick leave levels. The aim of this study is to identify the most prominent psychosocial work factors influencing the risk of sick leave spells due to common mental disorders. Methods Employees from a random sample of 130 Norwegian home care services (N = 1.819) completed a baseline survey on 15 psychosocial work factors. Participants were subsequently followed up for 26 months using registry data on sick leave. The outcome measure was the number of medically certified sick leave spells due to common mental disorders during follow-up in the Norwegian social insurance database. Incidence risk ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using negative binomial regression with robust standard errors. Results Emotional dissonance (IRR 1.30, 95% CI 1.05–1.60) and emotional demands (IRR 1.35, 95% CI 1.14–1.58) were associated with an excess risk of sick leave, while control over work pacing (IRR 0.78, 95% CI 0.62–0.98) was associated with a reduced risk. An estimated 30% (95% CI 8.73–48.82) of sick leave cases were attributable to emotional dissonance and 27% (95% CI 4.80-46.33) were attributable to emotional demands. Control over work pacing was estimated to have prevented 20% (95% CI 1.32–37.78) of the sick leave cases. Conclusions This study found that emotional dissonance and emotional demands were robust risk factors for sick leave due to common mental disorders, and that control of work pacing constituted a robust protective factor against sick leave.publishedVersio
Oppdatering av forskningsstatus for ARBEID HJEMMEFRA, ARBEIDSMILJØ OG HELSE – en sonderende oversikt
Full text linkDenne oppdateringen følger STAMI-rapporten på hjemmekontor, helse og arbeidsmiljø publisert i 2021, og gir en oversikt over ny aktuell forskning på temaet. Funn fra 2021 indikerte at effektene av arbeid hjemmefra var sammensatte og kunne En betydelig andel av dagens arbeidstakere ønsker noe hjemmekontor, og mange arbeidsplasser tilbyr dette. Her er det viktig å merke seg at selv om fleksible arbeidsmåter, som hjemmekontor, ofte oppleves positiv for individet og gir mulighet for økt kontroll og balanse mellom arbeid og privatliv, så kan det også kan medføre økte krav til arbeid og tilgjengelighet som er krevende over tid. Dette samtidige potensiale for positive og negative konsekvenser utgjør et fleksibilitetsparadoks man bør være klar over. Videre gjør inntoget av hjemmekontor at virksomheter må balansere tilbudet om fleksibilitet for den enkelte ansatte med en opprettholdelses av gode arbeidsmiljø, med tilhørende synergier som erfaringsutveksling, konstruktive samarbeid, produktivitet og kontinuitet på arbeidsplassen. bidra til både positive og negative virkninger. Hovedkonklusjonen var at kunnskapsgrunnlaget var begrenset og det ble fordret til varsomhet for virksomheter som stod foran beslutninger for bruk av hjemmekontor. I avgjørelser om etablering eller videreføring av hjemmekontor ble det som følger av dette oppfordret til å prioritere løsninger som i høyest mulig grad var tilpasset de arbeidsoppgavene som gjennomføres. Videre, at et fornuftig vektet omfang og bevaring av muligheten for en fullt ut fungerende arbeidsplass å gå til, var viktige momenter for å skape gevinst fremover. Denne oversikten viser at det fortsatt er knyttet usikkerhet til kunnskapsgrunnlaget, og at bemerkningene gitt i 2021 er gjeldene. Oppdateringen viser likevel at det har kommet til studier fra nordiske land og at forskningen i større grad også aktualiserer tidligere etterspurte og viktige arbeidsmiljøfaktorer. Likevel er relevante studier fra vår nye normalsituasjon foreløpig mangelvare. Samtidig tydeliggjør det samlede kunnskapsgrunnlaget at arbeid hjemmefra ikke bør anses som en enkelt faktor. I så måte er hverken hjemmekontor eller tradisjonelle kontorløsninger ensartede fenomener, og vil organiseres ulikt på ulike arbeidsplasser. Trolig vil en rekke faktorer knyttet til både arbeidsplass og arbeidstaker, som for eksempel grad av frivillighet, omfang, bolig- og familiesituasjon, arbeidsoppgaver, preferanser og erfaring kunne påvirke om effektene av hjemmekontor blir gunstige eller ugunstige. Dette gjør det vanskelig å peke på klare generelle forskjeller i effekter av arbeid hjemmefra og en tradisjonell kontorsituasjon.Oppdatering av forskningsstatus for ARBEID HJEMMEFRA, ARBEIDSMILJØ OG HELSE – en sonderende oversiktpublishedVersionpublishedVersio
Is new tech a pain in the neck? The impact of introducing new technologies in home-care on neck pain: a prospective study
Full text linkBackground Home healthcare services are increasingly utilizing novel technologies to enhance quality and efficiency of caregiving, to reduce workloads and compensate for expected labor shortages in the future due to ageing populations. However, rapid, ongoing implementation of new technologies may demand considerable adaptation for employees. The objective of this study was to prospectively examine associations of newly introduced work technologies with neck pain complaints. Methods With a nationally representative prospective sample of home-care workers in Norway (N = 887), we estimated effects of 1) introducing new technologies and 2) the appraised quality of training during implementation on neck pain eight months after. Results A majority of employees reported new technologies having been introduced the previous 12 months (73.8%). This was not by itself associated with neck pain. However, perceived high quality of training was associated with less subsequent neck pain, also after adjustment for job demands and job control. The strongest effect was seen for “very good” versus “very poor” quality training (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.17,0.71, in the fully adjusted model). Cross-lagged path analyses ruled out potential reverse causation stemming from the influence of pain on needs for or appraisals of training. Conclusion The present findings suggest the introduction of new work technologies has a significant impact on home-care workers’ health, depending on the quality of training during implementation. This highlights the need to include training programs in risk assessments when implementing new technologies.Is new tech a pain in the neck? The impact of introducing new technologies in home-care on neck pain: a prospective studypublishedVersio