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PubMed1999

Measurement of fatigue in industries.

Fatigue of workers is a complex phenomenon resulting from various factors in technically innovated modern industries, and it appears as a feeling of exhaustion, lowering of physiological functions, breakdown of autonomic nervous balance, and decrease in work efficiency. On the other hand industrial fatigue is caused by excessive workload, remarkable alteration in working posture and diurnal and nocturnal rhythms in daily life. Working modes in modern industries have changed from work with the whole body into that with the hands, arms, legs and/or eyes which are parts of the body, and from physical work to mental work. Visual display terminal (VDT) work is one of the most characteristic jobs in the various kinds of workplaces. A large number of fatigue tests have already been adopted, but it is still hard to draw a generalized conclusion as to the method of selecting the most appropriate test battery for a given work load. As apparatus for fatigue measurement of VDT work we have developed VRT (Visual Reaction Test) and the Portable Fatigue Meter. Furthermore, we have presented immune parameters of peripheral blood and splenic T cells for physical fatigue.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1992

Occupational risk factors for congenital heart disease.

To investigate possible associations between cardiovascular malformations and maternal occupational exposure to various factors during the first trimester of pregnancy, 406 cases and 756 controls were studied retrospectively. The cases were taken from all infants diagnosed with cardiovascular malformations born in Finland during 1982 and 1983. The controls were randomly selected from all normal births in the country during the same period. All mothers were interviewed approximately 3 months after delivery by a midwife, using a structured questionnaire. Maternal overall exposure to chemicals at work was more prevalent among the case group (35.8%) than the control group (26.2%, P less than 0.01). Among the specific chemical groups, maternal exposure to dyes, lacquers, or paints was significantly associated with the risk of congenital heart disease. Exposure to organic solvents during the first trimester seemed to increase to risk of ventricular septal defect (P less than 0.05). Work at video display terminals was slightly more prevalent among the case group (6.3%) than among the control group (5.0%). The mothers' education level, regular exposure to passive smoking at work, or temperature at the workplace were not risk factors for congenital heart disease in the offspring, neither was maternal exposure to microwave ovens, disinfectants, pesticides, or anesthetic gases. It is concluded that many maternal exposures at work seem not to have a teratogenic effect on the fetal heart, although the limited power of this investigation needs to be borne in mind.

Case-Control Studies↗

PubMed1996

Relations between individual differences in oculomotor resting states and visual inspection performance.

Individual differences in the oculomotor resting states (dark vergence and dark focus) have previously been linked to subjective and visual consequences of near visual work. The present experiment investigated whether these resting states are related also to performance on a near visual inspection task. Dark vergence and dark focus were measured in 38 students before and after they spent 40 min searching for a target letter among distractor letters on a video display terminal at a distance of 20 cm. Subjects with relatively near dark vergence positions performed the inspection task significantly more quickly than subjects with relatively far dark vergence positions. Also, subjects who showed a relatively large inward shift in dark vergence tended to perform quickly. Inspection performance was not related to individual differences in dark focus. These results extend existing oculomotor theory and suggest that the performance of visual inspectors is maximized when the mismatch between the task distance and their dark vergence posture is minimized.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed1990

The Video Display Terminal Eye Clinic: clinical report.

The Video Display Terminal Eye Clinic was designed to relieve the symptoms of video display terminal users by diagnosing and treating visual problems and by analyzing the patients' work station environment through an in-office simulation and making suggestions for improvements. The Clinic was open to the public and patients were therefore self-selected. The symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments were compiled retrospectively and reported for 153 patients. Vision problems were diagnosed in most patients. The most frequent diagnoses included: presbyopia, improper spectacle design for presbyopia, accomodative deficiencies, esophoria, exophoria, and hyperopia. The results suggest that proper visual care and work station arrangement can improve comfort.

Accommodation, Ocular↗

PubMed2000

[The assessment and correction of the body functional state of aviation specialists working with video display terminals].

The investigations have shown that military and aviation specialist working with video-display terminals are exposed to unfavourable effect of professional environment of anthropogenic genesis. It is accompanied with development of energo-informative stress. Manifestations of stress-effect have a cumulative character. One can notice the decrease in physiologic reserve level, homeostatic potential, worsening of the quality of operators' professional health and safety in the "man-machine" system. The proposed and appropriated methods of premorbid state diagnosis and working capacity support have confirmed its adequate efficiency both in experimental conditions and in aviation specialists against the background of their professional activity.

Aerospace Medicine↗

PubMed1996

Trends regarding myopia in video terminal operators.

A longitudinal study with a 4-year follow-up was carried out on 6101 employees of the Italian Telecommunications Company (Telecom Italia) to study the role of work at Video Display Units (VDU) for the evolution of different types of myopia (mild, intermediate and pathologic). The refractive modifications of myopic VDU operators were further studied with regard to differences in time of use of VDU (daily hours and years spent working at a VDU). No statistically significant difference was found for refractive modifications, neither with regard to the type of myopia, nor to the daily hours and years spent working at a VDU. The results have indicated that the use of VDU is not responsible for a worsening of myopia.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

The three most common occupational exposures reported by pregnant women: an update.

Many uncertainties exist in regard to counseling women with occupational exposures during pregnancy. This is due to limited knowledge of the reproductive toxicologic effects of industrial agents, lack of safety standards aimed at protecting the fetus, and limitations in assessing the extent of exposure. The approach to this subject taken by the Motherisk Program and a review of the three most common occupational exposures are presented. Epidemiologic studies and measurements of radiation do not suggest a reproductive hazard for video display terminals. Exposure to organic solvents is hard to quantitate, and information is sparse and sometimes contradictory, and therapeutic decisions are difficult to reach. To date there is no convincing evidence that working with organic solvents within safety regulations would harm a fetus, in contradistinction to detrimental fetal effects of solvent abuse. The reproductive risks of lead are well documented, fetal exposure can be assessed, and effective treatment exists, but its effects on the pregnancy have not been fully established. However, new evidence suggests that maternal levels that are much lower than the accepted adult limits may be damaging to the fetus.

Computer Terminals↗

PubMed2005

The effect of an ergonomic intervention on musculoskeletal, psychosocial and visual strain of VDT data entry work: the Norwegian part of the international study.

The Norwegian MEPS (musculoskeletal--visual--psychosocial--stress) study included 3 groups: data entry, data dialogue (female) and data dialogue (male). Before intervention, the data entry group reported significantly more symptoms and signs of musculoskeletal illness and had longer periods in front of the video display terminal (VDT) without a break. The ergonomic intervention consisted mainly of ergonomic information and training. After intervention, the data dialogue female group reported a significant reduction in shoulder pain in parallel with a reduction in trapezius load. Increasing the understanding in how to adjust the work stand and chair may have been contributing factors to reducing the pain level. There was a significant reduction in eye problems in all groups; the greatest reduction in eye symptoms was seen in the groups who had new optometric corrections.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

The effects of VDT data entry work on operators.

The before/after study of physiological and biochemical parameters was used to delineate the effects of VDT data entry work on operators. Twenty-nine healthy Chinese students were chosen and divided at random into the simple and the complicated data entry group. The subjects were instructed to work as quickly and correctly as possible according to the 'Data Entry Work Programme' for 150 min. Work performance (correct entry) was automatically recorded once every 10 min. The before/after parameters were tested respectively. The results showed that performance fluctuated over time. It decreased obviously after 50-60 min of work, followed by a rebound, and there was a terminal motivation phenomenon at the end of the test, which was associated with the auto-arousal and cerebral compensatory effort. Changes in physiological parameters revealed that operators were fatigued after data entry work. The adrenaline excretion in urine showed a tendency to increase after simple data entry work. The noradrenaline excretion showed a tendency to decrease after complicated data entry work. The differences in performance, diastolic blood pressure in a standing position and neurobehaviour between two groups indicated that much stress was experienced when performing complicated data entry work.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

A new instrument to measure cognitive distortions in video lottery terminal users: the Informational Biases Scale (IBS).

This paper reports on the development of a new scale, the Informational Biases Scale (IBS), to measure cognitive distortions such as the illusion of control, gambler's fallacy,illusory correlations, and the availability heuristic in video lottery terminal (VLT) players. Ninety-six VLT players recruited from bars in New Brunswick took part in the study. Their average (lifetime) South Oaks Gambling Screen score was in the probable pathological gambler range. The 25-item IBS was shown to have good internal consistency reliability. An exploratory principal components/factor analysis revealed the variability of the IBS to be accounted for by mainly one factor. The construct validity of the instrument was supported by the finding that IBS scores were uniquely determined by measures of gambling addiction and negative affect. The IBS should prove useful in both research and clinical settings involving VLT gamblers.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Impact of background noise on reaction time and brain DC potential changes of VDT-based spatial attention.

Background noise is often discussed in terms of mental costs. In this study the effect of background noise on brain activity as reflected by the direct coupled (DC) potential was investigated by a within design in ten participants. During two successive blocks of 7 min each, participants performed 156 trials of a visual display terminal (VDT)-based visual-spatial attention task without noise and two blocks with a mixture of the environmental noises of barking dogs, traffic noise and irrelevant speech of 60 dBA. Brain DC potentials were recorded along the midline and analysed for change by time on task. For noise conditions, reaction time was prolonged and the DC-potential shifted towards positivity, contrary to control condition, independent of block and location. Results suggest reduced cortical resources by widespread inhibitory activation through background noise. It can be concluded that even low intensity background noise is associated with energy consumption and with impaired performance in spatial attention.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Musculoskeletal disorders among visual display terminal users in a telecommunications company.

The relationship between workplace factors and work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UE disorders) was assessed in a cross-sectional study of 533 telecommunication employees utilizing video display terminals (VDTs). Cases of UE disorders were defined using symptom questionnaires and physical examinations. Data on demographics, individual factors (medical conditions and recreational activities), work organization and practices, and psychosocial aspects of work, including electronic performance monitoring (EPM), were obtained by questionnaire. Associations between workplace factors and UE disorders were assessed by multiple logistic models generated for each of the four UE areas (neck, shoulder, elbow, hand/wrists). One-hundred and eleven (22%) participants met our case definition for UE disorders. Probable tendon-related disorders were the most common (15% of participants). Probable nerve entrapment syndromes were found in 4% of participants. The hand/wrist was the area most affected, 12% of participants. The following variables had associations in the final models (p < 0.05) with at least one of the four UE disorders, although the strength of these associations were modest. Non-white race, a diagnosis of a thyroid condition (self-reported) use of bifocals at work, and seven psychosocial variables (fear of being replaced by computers, increasing work pressure, surges in workload, routine work lacking decision-making opportunities, high information processing demands, jobs which required a variety of tasks and lack of a production standard) were associated with UE disorders. This study indicates that work-related UE musculoskeletal disorders are relatively common among telecommunication workers who use VDTs, and adds to the evidence that the psychosocial work environment is related to the occurrence of these disorders.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Task variables and visual discomfort associated with the use of VDT's.

We investigated task variables that may influence the incidence of visual discomfort amongst subjects who routinely spent a proportion of their day working with visual display terminals (VDT's). A diary was kept by subjects over five consecutive working days, in which they recorded visual symptoms, the visual tasks undertaken, the amount of time spent on workbreaks, work pressure, work interest, and personal moderating factors which may have influenced the symptoms recorded. The symptoms recorded by subjects were then treated as dependent variables in multiple regression analyses with the diary findings (task-related factors) as independent variables. The incidence of some types of symptoms was significantly associated with specific categories of work tasks, personal moderating influences, work pressure, work interest, time of day, and day of week.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Visual performance at video display terminals--effects of screen color and illuminant type.

A limited set of illuminants and phosphor colors are commonly used in video display terminal (VDT) working environments. This study attempts to identify any combinations of such conditions that influence performance on a visually demanding counting task. Experiments were performed to test whether the phosphor color, ambient lighting spectrum, or temporal frequency characteristics of the display and ambient lighting could alter performance. Under conditions where potentially contaminating variables such as reflectance level and screen glare patterns were equalized, no significant differences in performance were produced by the particular sets of stimulus conditions tested. The results suggest that displays and illuminant types that are in common use allow substantially equivalent visual performance.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Adverse human reproductive outcomes and electromagnetic fields: a brief summary of the epidemiologic literature.

Power frequency fields are of concern as risk factors for adverse reproductive outcomes. This report briefly summarizes the epidemiologic evidence of potential associations between a number of adverse reproductive outcomes and parental exposures to electric and magnetic fields (EMFs). Over the last decade numerous reviews of the human literature regarding these potential associations have been published. These reviews, in general, have concluded that: (1) evidence is lacking for a strong association between a woman's use of a video display terminal (VDT) and fetal loss, (2) evidence is lacking for a strong association between a woman's use of a VDT and adverse reproductive outcomes other than fetal loss, primarily a result of too few available data, and (3) the paucity of data on other parental EMF exposures and subsequent adverse outcomes of pregnancy limits drawing a valid scientific conclusion. Since those earlier reviews appeared, the number of new investigations have been relatively small. These new studies do not substantially alter the above summary conclusions. The lack of epidemiologic data in this area, coupled with some speculations about potential biological effects associated with EMFs, raises the importance of researching this area further.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

PubMed2004

Short nap versus short rest: recuperative effects during VDT work.

The effects of a 20-min nap during 2 h of visual display terminal (VDT) work were examined. Ten young healthy adults took a 20-min nap or a 20-min rest I h after VDT work, followed by another 1 h of VDT work. A 20-min rest temporarily restored subjective sleepiness, but it deteriorated during the additional 1 h of work. In contrast, a 20-min nap maintained subjective alertness and performance level at a higher level and mental fatigue at a lower level for the additional 1 h of work. These results suggest that a short nap would be useful to both fatigue recovery and fatigue prevention during continuous VDT work. The present findings may provide a new work/rest strategy.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

An attempt at preventing asthenopia among VDT workers.

We report the results of 3 surveys of visual display terminal (VDT) users who took a minibreak during which they viewed a stereoscopic image of a repeating parallel pattern showing planets. The single image stereogram method employed is called Stretch Eye (TM), and we evaluated the effects of Stretch Eye (TM) on asthenopia. An accommodative relaxation of about 1 D was observed in participants while they were gazing at the image. The employees of 2 information technology companies were evaluated according to a visual analogue scale (VAS) for subjective symptoms of asthenopia and eyesight. The results showed that Stretch Eye (TM) was effective in easing visual fatigue due to VDT work and it improved eyesight under working conditions.

Asthenopia↗

PubMed1998

[Study on the psychological status of video display terminal operator].

Occupational psychological test designed by the Labour Hygiene Department of West China University of Medical Sciences was applied to survey the mental health of 516 video display terminal (VDT) workers and 396 control workers in Chengdu. The results showed that mental health level of VDT workers was higher than that of controls. In the somatic disorder, anxious and hostile are increased obviously. With the prolonging of operating hours per week, somatic disorders, depression and obsession are increased, especially when VDT operating time is more than 30 hours per week and operating on VDT is more than ten years. This indicates that the operating hours should not be more than 30 hours per week. It is found by multiple factors analysis of data that the main adverse effects on mental health are age and VDT operating time.

Adolescent↗