M Eglite | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

[Comparative analysis of methods evaluating ergonomic risks].

The authors demonstrated appropriateness of some subjective methods evaluating strain in workers engaged into road building and determined work hardiness categories, considering peculiarities of individual methods. Calculations using empiric equations covered energy consumption during workers' dynamic activities. Empiric equations were proved to point to higher energy consumption, if compared to results of experimental methods. Objective evaluation of work hardiness involved heart rhythm monitoring through a device transforming heart rate into metabolic energy, kcal/min.

Calorimetry, Indirect↗

PubMed1997

Risk factors for long-term mental and psychosomatic distress in Latvian Chernobyl liquidators.

Epidemiologic studies on the health effects of the Chernobyl disaster have focused largely on physical health, whereas the psychological consequences have received little attention. The authors have assessed the associations of various exposure variables with mental and psychosomatic distress in a sample of 1412 Latvian liquidators drawn from the State Latvian Chernobyl Clean-up Workers Registry. The outcome was a mixed mental-psychosomatic disorder occurring during 1986 to 1995. Comparisons among subgroups of the cohort classified according to exposure type or level were based on the proportional hazards model. Length of work (> or = 28 days) in a 10-km radius from the reactor (relative risk [RR] = 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-1.70), work (> 1 time) on the damaged reactor roof (RR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.02-2.09), forest work (RR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.19-1.68), fresh fruit consumption (> or = 1 time/day) (RR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.12-2.65) are risk factors for mixed mental-psychosomatic disorder. Construction of the sarcophagus (RR = 1.82, 95% CI 0.89-3.72) is also associated with this outcome, although nonsignificantly. Distinguishing stress-related from radiation-induced effects in this data set was difficult and these findings should provide a basis for later hypothesis testing in other cohorts.

Adult↗