Risk factors for sick leave in Brazilian oil industry workers.

Objective: Studies point to a complex and multifactorial aetiology for sickness absence, but there is still insufficient evidence on how occupational and non-occupational risk factors contribute to this phenomenon. This study aimed to identify occupational and non-occupational factors related to sickness absence in oil industry workers, as well as their population attributable fractions (PAF).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 2028 oil industry workers was conducted in the state of Bahia, Brazil, between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016.

Oxacillin or cefalotin treatment of hospitalized children with cellulitis.

Cellulitis is an important cause of hospitalization in pediatrics. Because Staphylococcus aureus is the main pathogen of cellulitis, medicinal therapeutics should take the changing resistance profile of this organism into consideration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the progression and outcomes of children hospitalized for cellulitis and treated with oxacillin or cefalotin.

Musculoskeletal disorders among workers in plastic manufacturing plants.

Background: Epidemiological studies have indicated an association between musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and physical work demands. Psychosocial work demands have also been identified as possible risk factors, but findings have been inconsistent.

Objectives: To evaluate factors associated with upper back, neck and upper limb MSD among workers from 14 plastic manufacturing companies located in the city of Salvador, Brazil.

Common mental disorders among medical students at Universidade Federal de Sergipe: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Estimate the prevalence of common mental disorder and its associated factors among medical students of the Universidade Federal de Sergipe.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out, applying Self Reporting Questionnaire-20 to 473 students from the 512 medical students enrolled in 2006 and compared with compared with a structured questionnaire by the authors containing information on the socio-demographic characteristics, the teaching-learning process and the psycho-emotional experiences of the students. Freshmen were excluded after initial comparison with the students already exposed to the medical course.

Interactions between physical and psychosocial demands of work associated to low back pain.

Objective: To examine the interaction between physical and psychosocial demands of work associated to low back pain.

Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in a stratified proportional random sample of 577 plastic industry workers in the metropolitan area of the city of Salvador, Northeast Brazil in 2002. An anonymous standard questionnaire was administered in the workplace by trained interviewers.

Prevalence and risk factors for nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae among adolescents.

Data on the prevalence of pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage and its risk factors among adolescents are scarce. The aim of this study was to provide such information. A cross-sectional, population-based prospective study was conducted.

[Association between mental disorders and work-related psychosocial factors in teachers].

Objective: To investigate the association between work-related psychosocial factors and the prevalence of mental disorders among pre-school and elementary school teachers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was undertaken with 1,024 teachers from municipal public schools and from the ten largest private schools in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia State (Northeastern Brazil) in 2001. The main independent variable was based on the demand-control model, which classifies individuals according to their job pressures.

[Liver enzyme abnormalities among oil refinery workers].

Objective: Occupational exposure typical of an oil refinery may alter liver function among the workers. Thus, the objective of the study was to identify risk factors for liver enzyme abnormalities among oil refinery workers.

Methods: The workers at an oil refinery in Northeastern Brazil underwent routine annual medical examination from 1982 to 1998.

[Work and psychological distress among public school teachers in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia State, Brazil].

A cross-sectional study with all the teachers in the municipal school system in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia State, Brazil, investigated the association between work content (psychological demand and control over work) and the occurrence of minor psychiatric disorders (MPD) among teachers. The Karasek demand-control model was used to evaluate control over work. The Self-Report Questionnaire-20 was used to evaluate minor psychiatric disorders.

[Liver changes in workers at an oil refinery and in a reference population in the state of Bahia, Brazil].

Objective: To determine the prevalence of liver changes in workers at an oil refinery located in the state of Bahia, Brazil, as compared to a reference population with no occupational exposure to chemical products, and to describe the factors associated with the observed differences in prevalence.

Methods: We studied workers at the refinery and at the company's central management office located in the city of Salvador, which is the state capital. Blood samples of 692 refinery workers and 377 workers from the reference population were analyzed.

[Blood lead levels in children and environmental legacy of a lead foundry in Brazil].

Objective: To determine the blood lead levels in children living near an inactive lead foundry in the city of Santo Amaro da Purificação, state of Bahia, in September of 1998; and to identify factors associated with differences in these levels.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with children between 1 and 4 years of age living within 1 km of the lead foundry. Mothers or guardians of 47 children answered a questionnaire concerning ingestion of clay, soil, plaster and/or other materials (pica), and other relevant epidemiological aspects.

[Work in the prison system: a study of correctional officers in Greater Metropolitan Salvador, Brazil].

A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify possible associations between working conditions and health among correctional officers in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The study used a stratified proportional random sample of 311 individuals who answered a non-identifiable self-applied questionnaire. The following results were obtained by logistic regression: (a) psychologically inadequate workplace, insufficient basic work conditions, no leisure time, lack of sports practice, >/=nine years working in the prison system, excessive work hours, >/=48 hours work/week, and inadequate organizational conditions at work were associated with minor psychological disorders; (b) lack of specific training, female gender, >/=48 hours work/week, psychologically inadequate workplace, no leisure time, and lack of sports practice were associated with persistent stress, (c) age >/=45 years, >/=nine years working in the prison system, excessive work hours, lack of sports practice, inadequate basic and organizational work conditions, and minor psychological disorders were associated with health complaints.