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Biomedical subjects

N Kurumatani

Publications and source records attributed to N Kurumatani.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

[An epidemiological study on low back pain and occupational risk factors among clinical nurses].

Recently medical services and nursing system are being reformed due to high medical costs and shortage of clinical nurses. The shortage of clinical nurses influences not only their working conditions but also their own health problems. In European countries and the United States, low back pain (LBP) has been reported to be one of the most common and costly health problems among clinical nurses. To estimate the occupational risk factors of LBP among nurses, a questionnaire survey of LBP and occupational risk factors was carried out in 1987 on 947 clinical nurses and as well as on 300 female clerical workers of three local governments. First, to examine the prevalence and the magnitude of the problem, we analyzed several kinds of prevalence rates of LBP and its characteristics among nurses and clerical workers. Second, a case-control study was conducted to investigate the relationship between LBP and occupational risk factors. In analyzing occupational risk factors of LBP, odds ratios, age adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were computed. Finally, to estimate simultaneously the effect of multiple risk factors of LBP and to confirm univariate age adjusted odds ratio analyses, several multivariate analyses were performed. Point, period (a month), and lifetime prevalence rates of LBP and prevalence rate of severe LBP among clinical nurses were significantly higher than those of clerical workers (p less than 0.05-0.001, respectively). Demographic and occupational items, such as being an assistant nurse (as opposed to a registered nurse), and working in certain departments (internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, psychiatry, tuberculosis ward) showed significantly higher odds ratios for LBP (p less than 0.05-0.001, for all). Many items pertaining to working conditions connected with shift work, hospitalized conditions of patients, taking breaks and holidays, working postures, weight of patients and equipment lifting and moving, working environments and so on had significantly elevated age adjusted odds ratios (p less than 0.05-0.001, for all). Intensity of work loads estimated subjectively such as 'caring for patients who are in bed', 'supporting patients when transporting and bathing them', 'preparing drugs and injections, and treating', 'observing and monitoring patients' conditions', 'instructing and explaining procedure to patients and their family' and so on also had significantly elevated age adjusted odds ratios (p less than 0.05-0.001, for all). Moreover, many items on the problems connected with working life and interpersonal relationships showed significantly higher age adjusted odds ratios (p less than 0.05-0.001). In multivariate analyses, independent variables which made a significant contribution to the model were similar to the items which had significantly elevated age adjusted odds ratios.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Vibration-induced white finger and auditory susceptibility to noise exposure.

It is well known that there are wide individual variations in the susceptibility of human hearing to noise exposure. The hearing of male forest workers were examined with vibration-induced white finger (VWF) as an indicator of noise susceptibility of hearing. The results were as follows: 1. Hearing losses at 4 and 8 kHz in subjects with VWF were greater than those of unaffected men in a matched pair case-control study allowing for confounding due to differences of age and noise exposure. 2. The hearing loss at 4 kHz on the ipsilateral side of the hand with VWF was greater than the loss on the contralateral side in subjects with VWF in one hand. 3. The hearing loss at 4 kHz in subjects with VWF progressed more rapidly during a five-year follow-up period than the loss in men with no history of VWF. These results indicate that the hearing of subjects with VWF was more vulnerable to noise than the hearing of subjects without VWF. It was suggested that a pathological change causing VWF, such as enhanced vasoconstriction due to elevated sympathetic nervous tone, could also cause this additional auditory vulnerability to noise exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Hearing of forest workers with vibration-induced white finger: a five-year follow-up.

To examine the association between vibration-induced white finger (VWF) and hearing loss, 108 male forest workers who regularly used vibrating tools were followed up for five years. Case-control pairs matched for initial age and hearing level and exposure time to noise during the study period were selected from men with and without VWF. The hearing levels significantly worsened during the follow-up period at 2, 4 and 8 kHz in the affected cases but only at 8 kHz in the controls. Since threshold shift at 4 kHz, which is a typical effect of noise exposure, was significant only in the affected cases, it is suggested that the hearing of people with VWF was more vulnerable to noise. A pathological change causing VWF might also increase the susceptibility of hearing to noise damage.

Aging↗
PubMed1986

Association between vibration-induced white finger and hearing loss in forestry workers.

The present investigation was a case-referent study in which age and hours of vibrating tool operation were matched for the cases and referents in an effort to confirm the earlier reported difference in hearing loss between workers with vibration-induced white finger (VWF) and those without VWF. Thirty-seven pairs were formed from 51 men with VWF and 228 without it. The greatest hearing loss was at 4 kHz in both the case and reference groups, as is usually found in typical noise-induced hearing loss. The case group had a higher hearing threshold than the reference group at every frequency, and the difference was significant at 4 and 8 kHz and almost so at 2 kHz. As corroboration for this association, the subjects were divided into three groups by recovery rate of skin temperature 5 min after cold provocation at 10 degrees C for 10 min, a procedure which is one of the valid objective tests for VWF. The subjects with the most delayed recovery reached the highest age-corrected median hearing level at 4 kHz, and those with the promptest recovery marked the lowest. The cause of this increased damage of hearing in relation to VWF is not known. However, the association between VWF and hearing loss is interesting in view of the effects of vibration on parts of the body other than the hand and arm.

Female↗
PubMed1986

Usefulness of fingertip skin temperature for examining peripheral circulatory disturbances of vibrating tool operators.

The data on skin temperature obtained in a cold provocation test (immersing one hand in water at 10 degrees C for 10 min) were analyzed to confirm their usefulness for examining the peripheral circulatory functions of vibrating tool operators. Under room temperatures from 20 to 23 degrees C in winter, the skin temperatures after the end of provocation of the VWF (vibration-induced white finger) group were generally significantly lower than those of the age-matched non-VWF and reference groups, and the non-VWF operators with over 5,000 h of chain-saw experience showed significantly lower skin temperatures 5 and 10 min after provocation than the age-matched referents. In this study skin temperature was used as a screening test for VWF. The highest sensitivity (91.1%) was obtained at 19.0 degrees C at the fifth minute after the end of the provocation, and the highest specificity (93.3%) at 15.5 degrees C at the third minute after provocation, both the sensitivity and specificity being over 70% and the correct diagnosis rate being over 80% among the screening levels.

Cold Temperature↗
PubMed1985

An association between Raynaud's phenomenon and hearing loss in forestry workers.

Forestry workers using chain saws run the risk of both vibration disease and noise-induced hearing loss. It was reported that people with Raynaud's phenomenon of occupational origin had more severe hearing loss than those without it. A possibility of confounding due to age and duration of noise exposure from the tools remained unsolved, however. A matched pair case-control study was conducted to eliminate such confounding. Forestry workers operating chain saws, bush cleaners and/or winches were investigated. For 37 men with Raynaud's phenomenon a control was chosen from those unaffected whose age and operating hours for the tools were almost equal to those of the cases. Good matching was achieved for age and for total hours of work with the tools. The cases had higher median hearing threshold than the controls at every frequency. The difference was significant (p less than 0.05) at 4 and 8 kHz and almost significant at 2 kHz (p not equal to 0.06). According to our classification of the audiogram, the cases had more advanced types of noise-induced hearing loss than did the controls. Thus, an association between Raynaud's phenomenon and hearing impairment in forestry workers handling chain saws and/or other tools was found to persist even after the effect of age and exposure time was eliminated.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

[Occupational cervicobrachial disorder (OCD) of nursery school teachers based on subjective symptoms related to OCD].

To clarify the association of occupational cervicobrachial disorder (OCD), with labor conditions, and personal situation, a questionnaire study was conducted among nursery school teachers. The questionnaire was composed of subjective symptoms related to OCD (neck, shoulder, back and arm stiffness/pain), labor conditions, and whether or not the teacher had a child of her own under the age of two. Data of 793 subjects were analyzed. The results were as follows: The mean age and working period of 793 subjects were 27.6 (+/- 4.9) and 5.5 (+/- 3.2) years, respectively. Of them, 38.5% complained of right shoulder stiffness every day during the prior month, 26.5% neck stiffness, 18.8% arm stiffness, 9.6% back pain, 7.8% shoulder pain and 3.9% arm pain. The complaint rates on the left side were similar to those on the right side. The complaint rates of these subjective symptoms increased with the duration of the working period. The complaint rates of shoulder, neck and arm stiffness increased earlier than those of back stiffness, shoulder or arm pain. The complaint rates of these symptoms were highest among teachers in charge of children less than one-year-old and those in charge of four-year olds. Teachers in charge of three-year-old children had the lowest complaint rates. Subjects complaining of neck, shoulder and arm stiffness on every day worked under less favorable conditions than those without such complaints. When subjects having no children of their own under the age of two were matched in their ages and length of work history with those who have such children, the complaint rates of the two groups did not differ statistically for any of the subjective symptoms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗