The impact of allergic rhinitis on the management of asthma in a working population.

Background: Currently, little data is available about the management of asthma in the working population. The aim of this study was to describe asthma control and severity among workers according to current or previous allergic rhinitis comorbidity.

Methods: A network of occupational physicians participated in this pilot study on a voluntary basis.

EV@LUTIL: An open access database on occupational exposures to asbestos and man-made mineral fibres.

Objectives: The aim of Evalutil is to document occupational exposure to asbestos and man-made mineral fibers.

Methods: These databases provide grouped descriptive and metrological data from observed situations of occupational exposure, collected through the analysis of scientific articles and technical reports by industrial hygienists.

Results: Over 5,000 measurements were collected.

Surveillance programme for uncompensated work-related diseases in France.

Background: The surveillance programme for uncompensated work-related diseases (UWRDs) in France relies on a network of occupational physicians (OPs) who volunteer to report all UWRDs diagnosed during a biannual 2-week observation period.

Aims: To describe this programme and the usefulness of its results.

Methods: During the observation period, OPs record job title and employment sector for each worker.

Association of Parkinson's Disease and Its Subtypes with Agricultural Pesticide Exposures in Men: A Case-Control Study in France.

Background: Pesticides have been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), but there are few data on important exposure characteristics such as dose-effect relations. It is unknown whether associations depend on clinical PD subtypes.

Objectives: We examined quantitative aspects of occupational pesticide exposure associated with PD and investigated whether associations were similar across PD subtypes.

French firefighter mortality: analysis over a 30-year period.

Objective: To explore mortality of French professional male firefighters.

Methods: Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated for 10,829 professional male firefighters employed in 1979 and compared with the French male population between 1979-2008. Firefighters were identified from 89 French administrative departments (93% of population).

Psychotropic drug use in a cohort of workers 4 years after an industrial disaster in France.

Two years after the 2001 Toulouse industrial disaster, a longitudinal study was set up to evaluate the impact of the disaster. The current substudy examines the medium-term impact (5 years) the incident had on the mental health of 3,004 participants. As part of the monitoring, data relating to the psychotropic drug use of 2,494 participants were collected from administrative databases 4 years after the disaster.

[Difficulties of a longitudinal epidemiological follow-up study in French occupational medicine].

Introduction: This study was designed to describe the difficulties of epidemiological follow-up of employees by occupational health services.

Methods: This study was based on two transverse studies conducted by the Pays de la Loire musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) surveillance network. Eighty-three occupational health physicians included 3,710 employees between 2002 and 2005 and had to review them between 2007 and 2009.

Organizational downsizing and depressive symptoms in the European recession: the experience of workers in France, Hungary, Sweden and the United kingdom.

Background: Organizational downsizing has become highly common during the global recession of the late 2000s with severe repercussions on employment. We examine whether the severity of the downsizing process is associated with a greater likelihood of depressive symptoms among displaced workers, internally redeployed workers and lay-off survivors.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving telephone interviews was carried out in France, Hungary, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Incidence and risk factors for thoracic spine pain in the working population: the French Pays de la Loire study.

Objective: To examine the incidence and risk factors for incident thoracic spine pain (TSP) in workers representative of a French region's working population.

Methods: In this prospective study, 3,710 workers were assessed in 2002-2005, and 2,332 (62.9%) of them were reassessed in 2007-2010.

[The French mesothelioma network from 1998 to 2013].

Mesothelioma is a rare disease less than 0.3% of cancers in France, very aggressive and resistant to the majority of conventional therapies. Asbestos exposure is nearly the only recognized cause of mesothelioma in men observed in 80% of case.

Occupational and non-occupational attributable risk of asbestos exposure for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Objectives: To estimate the proportion of pleural mesothelioma cases that can be attributed to asbestos exposure in France including non-occupational exposure.

Methods: A population-based case-control study including 437 incident cases and 874 controls was conducted from 1998 to 2002. Occupational and non-occupational asbestos exposure was assessed retrospectively by two expert hygienists.

An extensive epidemiological investigation of a kidney cancer cluster in a chemical plant: what have we learned?

Objectives: In 2003, a cluster of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cases was reported among men working at a French chemical plant using a proprietary process to produce vitamin A. The 10 index cases yielded a standardised incidence ratio of 13.1 for 1994-2002.

Characterization of a French series of female cases of mesothelioma.

Background: More than 80% of mesothelioma cases in men are attributable to occupational asbestos exposure compared to only 40% in women. The objective of the study was to characterize a series of female pleural mesotheliomas according to known and suspected risk factors.

Methods: From the exhaustive recording of 318 female mesothelioma cases in the French National Mesothelioma Surveillance Program between 1998 and 2009, multiple correspondence analysis and hybrid clustering were performed to characterize these cases according to expert assessed occupational and non-occupational exposure to asbestos and man-made vitreous fibers, X-ray exposure, and history of cancer and non-malignant respiratory diseases.

Pleural mesothelioma and occupational coexposure to asbestos, mineral wool, and silica.

Rationale: Occupational coexposure to asbestos and other fibers or particles could modify the carcinogenicity of asbestos with regard to pleural mesothelioma.

Objectives: To estimate associations between pleural mesothelioma and occupational mineral wool and silica exposure and to study the impact of occupational coexposure on the risk of pleural mesothelioma.

Methods: A total of 1,199 male cases and 2,379 control subjects were included in a French pooled case-control study.

Employment and occupational outcomes of workers with musculoskeletal pain in a French region.

Objectives: To study the employment and occupational outcomes of workers who were diagnosed with upper limb musculoskeletal disorders (UL-MSDs) or had complained of upper limb musculoskeletal pain a few years before compared with workers who had no upper limb pain.

Methods: In 2002-2005, an epidemiological surveillance system was set up. Occupational physicians examined 3710 randomly selected workers.

Surveillance Programme of Work-related Diseases (WRD) in France.

The surveillance programme of work-related diseases (WRD) is based on a network of occupational physicians who notify all WRD diagnosed during a two-week observation period. The aims are mainly to estimate the prevalence of non-compensated WRD in the working population according to socio economic factors; to determine new indicators of occupational health; to update the lists of compensable occupational diseases; to understand and assess under-compensation and under-notification. The participation rate for occupational physicians is around 33% in 2008.

Compensation of pleural mesothelioma in France: data from the French National Mesothelioma Surveillance Programme.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the rates of compensation awarded to patients presenting with pleural mesothelioma and factors linked to such compensation in France.

Methods: The study population consisted of 2,407 patients presenting with pleural mesothelioma, recorded by the National Mesothelioma Surveillance Programme between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2009. Analysis of claims for recognition as "occupational disease" (OD) and claims for compensation by the Compensation Fund for Asbestos Victims (FIVA) were analyzed.

Prevalence of knee bursitis in the workforce.

Background: Knee bursitis (KB) is a common disorder in specific occupations requiring frequent and/or sustained kneeling postures.

Aims: To assess the prevalence of KB in the general working population.

Methods: Between 2002 and 2005, a total of 3710 workers of a French region were randomly included in the study.

Long-term effects of biomechanical exposure on severe shoulder pain in the Gazel cohort.

Objective: We aimed to assess whether the risk factors for severe shoulder pain, especially exposure to arm elevation, were still relevant after a 12-year follow-up, even following retirement.

Methods: All men participating in the ARPEGE ancillary study of the GAZEL cohort (followed-up since 1989) and who answered the 1994 or 1995 general GAZEL self-administered questionnaire were included. Weight and self-reported exposure (arm elevation >90° with and without carrying loads) over the entire working life were collected at baseline (1994-1995).

Working in temporary employment and exposure to musculoskeletal constraints.

Background: In recent years, temporary work (TW) has increased in European countries due to the greater uncertainty in the economy.

Aims: To compare the prevalence of non-specific musculoskeletal symptoms of the upper extremities (UEMSDs) and their main risk factors in blue-collar workers employed through temporary agencies (TW) and in those in permanent employment (PE).

Methods: UEMSDs occurring during the preceding 7 days were assessed using a Nordic questionnaire completed by 1493 blue-collar workers randomly included in a surveillance programme for UEMSDs (171 in TW and 1322 in PE) in a large French region.

Psychosocial exposures at work and mental health: potential utility of a job-exposure matrix.

Objective: To examine the associations between psychosocial exposures at work and depressive symptoms by using two independent French national databases.

Methods: A job-exposure matrix of psychosocial work exposures was constructed from data collected by the national medical monitoring of occupational risks survey in 2003. Depressive symptoms came from the 2002 to 2003 decennial health survey.

Risk factors for Raynaud's phenomenon in the workforce.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of and risk factors for Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) in a French working population characterized by various levels of exposure to work-related constraints.

Methods: The study population comprised 3,710 workers (2,161 men and 1,549 women) who were followed up by 83 occupational physicians and were representative of the region's workforce. RP, as diagnosed by a questionnaire and a standardized interview, was defined as the occurrence of at least occasional attacks of finger blanching triggered by exposure to environmental cold during the previous 12 months.

Heavy manual work, exposure to vibration and Dupuytren's disease? Results of a surveillance program for musculoskeletal disorders.

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Dupuytren's disease in men and its relationship with work exposure, particularly heavy manual work with and without significant use of vibrating tools, using data from a surveillance program for musculoskeletal disorders.

Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in France between 2002 and 2005. Dupuytren's disease was diagnosed clinically by one of 83 occupational physicians.