Biomedical subjects

O Pasqualini

Publications and source records attributed to O Pasqualini.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

[Occupational mortality in the population employed at 1991 Census].

BACKGROUND: Despite limitations and problems connected to occupational surveillance systems based on mortality data, mortality from specific causes continues to be a crucial indicator for evaluating the differences in health among various occupations. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the potential of a surveillance system of occupational mortality based on census and mortality data obtained from ISTAT (Italian Central Statistics Institute). METHODS: By means of record-linkage between Census data and death records from ISTAT, occupational mortality was assessed during the twelve month period following the 1991 census, limited to subjects aged 18-64 years for whom occupational information was available. The study population consisted of deceased subjects, 19,527 of whom were men and 3,547 were women. A cross-sectional model was used to evaluate odds ratios for cause-specific mortality. The risk estimates were then compared to the results obtained in a previous analysis on Census data gathered in the 1981 census. RESULTS: Among the significantly increased risks observed both in 1981 and 1991, of particular interest are the excesses of mortality from liver cirrhosis in caretakers, janitors, and cleaning staff; and the excess of breast cancer in teachers. Mortality from cirrhosis in masons, porters, and waiters, and from violent causes in transport workers and bar and restaurant workers, was instead significantly in excess only in 1991. CONCLUSIONS: The data on mortality by occupation does not permit inferences about occupational risks, though they can be useful to highlight socio-economic differences in premature death in the employed segment of the population and to draw attention to possible trends over time.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

[Risk of workplace injuries by occupation in Italy in the 1990's].

BACKGROUND: In Italy it is not possible to assess the incidence of workplace injuries by occupation due to the absence of denominator data. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate severe workplace injuries by occupation, age and gender, via discussion of the validity of the available methods and informative systems. METHODS: The database included injuries in the industrial and artisan sectors in Italy during the period 1995-1999, as classified by INAIL (National Institute for the Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Diseases). A proportional case-control study was used. Three types of severe injuries were analyzed: fatal (3,685), permanently disabling (88,254) and injuries resulting in temporary disability for more than 40 days (238,609). Controls were represented by minor injuries with temporary disability lasting between 8 and 13 days (512,643). The relative risks were calculated by occupation and stratified by age and sex. The control group was chosen in order to minimize distortions and represented a balance between empirical criteria based on the experience of safety technicians and the quality and limits of INAIL archives. RESULTS: Among men in some construction occupations (operators of construction equipment, crane operators and masons), and in truck drivers, farm workers, messengers, and miners there were elevated risks in all age groups and for all levels of injuries severity. The model was more problematic to apply to women because the control group was less representative of the work population at risk. CONCLUSIONS: The case-control study model produced results consistent with those in the international literature, even if the use of minor injuries as the control group gives partly distorted risk estimates. The results supply information for decision making and for allocating resources for prevention and safety.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2005

[Severity of workplace injuries by occupation in Italy in the 1990's].

BACKGROUND: The indicators of severity commonly used for studying workplace injuries are somewhat limited. It is possible to use RIDIT Analysis (Relative to an Identified Distribution) as an alternative method OBJECTIVES: To order occupations in Italy by severity of workplace injuries and discuss the methodological problems and the outcomes from available administrative data. METHODS: The database included injuries defined by INAIL (National Institute for Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Diseases) in Italy in the period 1995-99 in the industrial and artisan sectors (1,647,220 events). RIDIT Analysis was applied using Bross analysis of ordinal data. A distribution of injuries in Italy for the same period on a six-level scale of severity was used as a reference. The RIDIT value for each occupation was calculated and stratified by age, sex, and occupational sector. RESULTS: Among men, the occupations in which injuries were more severe than the average in Italy were construction, transport, woodworking, and mining. Above-average injury severity among women was found in transport drivers, postwomen, messengers, and workers in performing arts, the food industry, and tourism. A positive relationship between age and severity of injury was observed in all occupations in both sexes. Average severity was higher among artisans. CONCLUSIONS: The method used allows ranking of occupations according to injury severity and should be systematically introduced into existing systems of surveillance so that data can be used to foster prevention and workplace safety.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2005

[Risk of repeated injuries by economic activity in Italy in the 1990's].

BACKGROUND: Repetitive work injuries are a phenomenon that has not been sufficiently studied. Using data gathered by INAIL (National Institute for Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Diseases), it is possible to study the propensity of having a further injuries at the workplace after the first one. OBJECTIVES: To identify the risk of experiencing multiple injuries according to occupation, with discussion of how useful the available information systems are. METHODS: The data base includes workplace injuries, as classified by INAIL in Italy between 1994 and 2000 in the industrial and artisan sectors (2,162,702 subjects, ages 25-55). Selecting data on accidents occurring among 107,082 subjects who had experienced the first accident in 1996-99, in this cohort we assessed the occurrence of further accidents within two years in the same occupation, taking into account job mobility and factors eventually influencing underreporting (geographic area, age, severity of first accident and size of the enterprise). The risk for each occupation was computed stratifying by gender. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the first and successive accidents when examined by type, age group, severity of physical consequences and company size. Among men, the occupations showing higher risk were those already known to be at high risk for accidents: cleaning staff and refuse workers, foundry workers, masons, pilots, woodworkers, carpenters, transport workers, sailors, farmers, and miners. Among women the occupations most at risk were postwomen and messengers, cleaning staff and refuse workers, waitresses, cooks, bartenders, machine tool operators, woodworkers, and weavers in the textile industry. CONCLUSIONS: Among men, the risk of recurrent workplace accidents by occupation tends to reflect the frequency of the total accidents in each occupation. The results indicate that the study model employed is efficient and useful in providing risk profiles which allow identification of where to direct future studies, investigations, and preventive measures for each sex.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2005

[About job classifications].

BACKGROUND: In the various existing information systems, the work-related variables (occupation, job position, and economic sector) are not always classified in the same manner. OBJECTIVES: To develop a classification of occupations and economic sectors that could be used for the majority of analyses of data on work-related morbidity and mortality. METHODS: The classification of occupations was created with the following criteria in mind: comparability with the currently used classification systems ISTAT (the National Institute of Statistics) 1971, 1981, 1991 and INAIL (the National Institute for Insurance Against Accidents & Diseases); a limited number of items, so as to ensure acceptable statistical power; maximum variance among groups and minimum variance within groups, in terms of the three dimensions of greatest interest for defining exhausting jobs. To this end, three groups of experts were consulted, one group of experts in the analysis of occupational differences in the occurrence of accidents and two groups of experts on occupational health. RESULTS: The three different sets of aggregates produced by the three groups of experts were combined into 56 items, referred to as the "Classification of occupations for the surveillance of differences in mortality and morbidity". CONCLUSIONS: The classification can be used in future analyses of occupational risks and injuries for the comparison of different information sources and time periods.

Humans↗