Thermal comfort sustained by cold protective clothing in Arctic open-pit mining-a thermal manikin and questionnaire study.

Workers in the Arctic open-pit mines are exposed to harsh weather conditions. Employers are required to provide protective clothing for workers. This can be the outer layer, but sometimes also inner or middle layers are provided.

Musculoskeletal symptoms and exposure to whole-body vibration among open-pit mine workers in the Arctic.

Objectives: This cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out at 4 open-pit mines in Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden as part of the MineHealth project. The aim has been to compare the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms between drivers of mining vehicles and non-drivers.

Material And Methods: The mine workers were asked whether they had suffered from any musculoskeletal symptoms during the previous 12 months in specified body regions, and to grade the severity of these symptoms during the past month.

Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Malformations among Newborns in Monchegorsk (North-West Russia): a Register-Based Study.

Background: Cardiovascular malformations (CVM) are one of the most prevalent groups of birth defects. Knowledge about the prevalence, distribution and survival in Russia has been limited. The aim of our study was to assess the perinatal prevalence, structure and risk factors for CVM among newborns in Monchegorsk (Murmansk Oblast, Russia) and the mortality among the affected newborns in the period 1973-2008.

Low back pain among mineworkers in relation to driving, cold environment and ergonomics.

Objectives: We aimed to study the association between low back pain (LBP) and exposure to low temperature, wet clothes, heavy lifting and jobs that involve whole body vibration (WBV) in a population of miners.

Methods: Health and personal data were collected in a population study by a questionnaire. A total of 3530 workers from four mines participated in the study.

Low birth weight in newborns to women employed in jobs with frequent exposure to organic solvents.

The effects of occupational exposure to organic solvents in pregnancy on foetal growth are still unclear. Our aim was to study whether live newborns to women employed in paid jobs with frequent exposure had a different risk of being born with low birth weight (LBW), compared to those of women in jobs without such exposure. The study population was all singleton newborns delivered in the industrial township of Mončegorsk (N = 26,415).

How occupational health is assessed in mine workers in Murmansk Oblast.

Objectives: We aimed to describe how work exposure and occupational health is assessed for mine workers in Murmansk Oblast, Russia.

Study Design: A descriptive study based on current practice, laws and available literature.

Methods: The information and data were obtained from scientific publications, reports, regional and federal statistics, legal documents, through personal visits and on-site inspections.

Congenital anomalies in newborns to women employed in jobs with frequent exposure to organic solvents--a register-based prospective study.

Background: The foetal effects of occupational exposure to organic solvents in pregnancy are still unclear. Our aim was to study the risk of non-chromosomal congenital anomalies at birth in a well-defined population of singletons born to women employed as painters and spoolers in early pregnancy, compared to women in non-hazardous occupations.

Method: The study population for this prospective cohort study was singleton newborns delivered to working mothers in the industrial community of Mončegorsk in the period 1973-2005.

Maternal nickel exposure and congenital musculoskeletal defects.

Objective: To investigate whether women occupationally exposed to nickel in early pregnancy are at elevated risk of delivering a newborn with a malformation or deformation of the musculoskeletal system (ICD-10: Q65-Q79).

Methods: Data about the newborn, maternal occupation and workplace were obtained using the Kola Birth Register (KBR). Each record in the KBR was assigned a categorical nickel (Ni) exposure rating according to the occupation the delivering woman had at the time of becoming pregnant.

Spontaneous abortions among nickel-exposed female refinery workers.

A case-control study to investigate whether women employed in nickel-exposed work areas in early pregnancy are at elevated risk of spontaneous abortion (SA). Data about pregnancy outcome and maternal factors were obtained about each delivery and SA from women in selected work places. Each pregnancy record was assigned a categorical nickel (Ni) exposure rating according to the women's occupations at pregnancy onset.

Small-for-gestational-age newborns of female refinery workers exposed to nickel.

Objectives: It has not yet been established whether exposure to nickel (Ni) compounds may cause reproductive toxicity. The objective of this study was to investigate whether women employed under conditions of nickel exposure in early pregnancy were at elevated risk of delivering a newborn small-for-gestational-age (SGA).

Materials And Methods: A register-based study of a well defined population.

Pregnancy health and outcome in two cities in the Kola Peninsula, Northwestern Russia.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to compare the prevalence of selected maternal and lifestyle factors as well as the reproductive outcome of working women in two cities in Northwestern Russia (Moncegorsk and Apatity), and to assess the quality of pregnancy-outcome data obtained in an interview with registered information.

Study Design: A retrospective questionnaire study in an interview format. Women (n =1696) from selected workplaces in Apatity and Moncegorsk participated (85% of those available).

Genital malformations in newborns of female nickel-refinery workers.

Objectives: This study investigated whether pregnant women employed in nickel-exposed work areas are at elevated risk of delivering a newborn with a genital malformation.

Methods: In this register-based cohort study, data about pregnancy outcome and occupation were obtained using the Kola Birth Registry. Each record in the Registry was assigned a categorical nickel exposure rating according to the occupation the delivering woman had at the time of becoming pregnant, using, as guidelines, the water-soluble nickel subfraction of the inhalable aerosol fraction obtained by personal monitoring for nickel-refinery workers or the measured urinary nickel concentrations.

The prevalence of selected pregnancy outcome risk factors in the life-style and medical history of the delivering population in north-western Russia.

Objectives: A population-based birth registry has been set up for the Arctic town of Moncegorsk in north-western Russia. This investigation describes the health status of the delivering population, including pregnancy history and the prevalence of obesity, infections, smoking and alcohol abuse during the pregnancy period. An overview of the occupations of the delivering population is also presented.

The Kola Birth Registry and perinatal mortality in Moncegorsk, Russia.

Background: A population-based birth registry has been set up for the Arctic town of Moncegorsk in north-western Russia. In this investigation, the quality and the content of the registry are assessed and the perinatal mortality (PM) rates in the period 1973-97 estimated.

Material And Method: Enrollment in the Kola Birth Registry (KBR) involved the retrospective inclusion of all births with at least 28 weeks of gestation in Moncegorsk in the period 1973-97.