The Impact of Shift Work and Long Work Hours on Employers' Health Care Costs.

Objective: To estimate the additional health care costs incurred by two U.S. manufacturing companies due to their policies related to shift work and long work hours.

The Relationship between Clinical, Momentary, and Sensor-based Assessment of Depression.

The clinical assessment of severity of depressive symptoms is commonly performed with standardized self-report questionnaires, most notably the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), which are usually administered in a clinic. These questionnaires evaluate symptoms that are stable over time. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods, on the other hand, acquire patient ratings of symptoms in the context of their lives.

Susceptibility to gut leakiness: a possible mechanism for endotoxaemia in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Introduction: One of the proposed second hit mechanisms in the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is hepatic oxidative stress triggered by elevated levels of endotoxin. We investigated one possible mechanism for the endotoxaemia--disruption of intestinal barrier integrity.

Methods: We enrolled 16 subjects with fatty liver (10 NASH; 6 steatosis) and 12 healthy subjects.

Are back supports plus education more effective than education alone in promoting recovery from low back pain?: Results from a randomized clinical trial.

Study Design: Randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a back support plus education versus education alone in promoting recovery from a work-related low back disorder (WR-LBD) while simultaneously considering personal, health, and occupational factors and the impact of occupational factors on recovery.

Summary Of Background Data: No randomized studies of active industrial workers with low back disorders exist regarding the effectiveness of back supports plus education.

Participation in occupational health longitudinal studies: predictors of missed visits and dropouts.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether demographics, health, and job factors influence continued participation of employed persons in a longitudinal intervention study of tertiary prevention for work-related low-back disorders (WR-LBDs).

Methods: Four hundred fifty-four actively employed persons had enrolled in an intervention study of back supports and education to promote recovery from a WR-LBD. Baseline values were examined according to whether individuals continued in the study, missed a visit, or dropped out; frequency of missed visits; and early or late dropouts at follow-up intervals of 1, 2, 6, and 12 months.