Incorporating Lifestyle Medicine Into Occupational Medicine Practice: ACOEM Guidance Statement.

Lifestyle medicine (LM) utilizes evidence-based therapeutic lifestyle changes to address lifestyle factors that impact health, performance, and injury risk and recovery. By integrating LM principles into clinical care, workplace policies, and programs, along with other evidence-based methods, occupational and environmental medicine clinicians and medical directors can enhance worker health and performance, manage chronic disease, and facilitate faster recovery from injury and illness. This guidance addresses approaches that can be used in the clinic and workplace to address tobacco, substance misuse, nutrition, physical activity, overweight/obesity, sleep, mental well-being, and social connectedness.

The Association Between Social Determinants of Health, Risk Factors, Job Performance, and Health Care Costs in an Employed Population.

The aim of the study is to compare employees of a US school district based on their social determinants of health (SDoH). Methods: Employees ( N = 5006) were categorized into low-, medium-, or high-need SDoH tiers. Of them, n = 2469 also participated in a health risk appraisal in 2019.

Occupational Medicine Physicians Transition to Retirement: An International Survey of Plans, Preparation, and Interests.

Objective: The aim of the study is to understand the needs and interests of occupational medicine physicians (OMPs) as they transition to retirement.

Methods: An electronic survey was distributed through member organizations in the United States (ACOEM), United Kingdom (SOM/FOM), India (IAOH), South Africa (SASOM), and Medichem.

Results: Four hundred ninety-seven OMPs at various career stages responded, including 282 from the United States, 97 from the United Kingdom, 36 from India, 30 from South Africa, and 52 from other countries.

Role and Value of the Corporate Medical Director.

The role of the Corporate Medical Director (CMD) has received increased attention during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to evolve. This updated guidance addresses the role and value of the CMD in: health policy, strategy, and leadership; fostering a culture of health and well-being; supporting worker health and productivity/performance; addressing mental health; collaborating on employer benefits design; developing programs for global health, travel medicine, and remote/extreme environments; overseeing on- and near-site clinics; incorporating digital technology, artificial intelligence, and telehealth in health programs; supporting critical incident preparedness and business continuity planning; addressing workplace hazards; and overseeing periodic executive health examinations.

The Role and Value of Corporate Medical Directors in Employer Benefits Management: Current Perceptions of Corporate Medical Directors and Benefits Professionals.

Objective: Knowledge of health-related employer benefits is considered a core competency by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. This study seeks to understand how this translates into practice.

Methods: An electronic survey was e-mailed to members of American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Corporate Medicine and Health and Human Performance Sections; Integrated Benefits Institute; and Employer Health Innovation Roundtable.

Migraine Headache in an Employed Population: Demographics, Health Risks, Pharmaceutical Utilization, and Productivity Loss.

Objective: Demographics, health risks, pharmaceutical utilization, and other characteristics of adults with and without migraine who were employed by a school district in the southern United States were compared.

Methods: A total of 4528 employees completed a health risk appraisal. A diagnosis of migraine was reported by 11%.

Demographics, Preventive Services Compliance, Health, and Healthcare Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Employed Adults.

Objective: This study examined demographics, health risks and conditions, preventive services, and health care experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) adults who are employed in the United States.

Methods: Male and female gay, lesbian, or bisexual employees (N = 1191) from seven companies participated in an online survey.

Results: Differences were observed in the characteristics of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals on a number of demographic, health, and preventive services measures.

Health and Wealth: The Importance for Lifestyle Medicine.

Many people spend years dreaming about their retirement. Unfortunately, today's workers will likely work longer, suffer greater economic uncertainty, and might have poorer health status compared with retirees in previous generations. Preserving good health during the working years is associated with a more consistent employment record, greater financial resources, and reduced risk of disease.

Results of a Virtual Migraine Education Program in an Employed Population.

Objective: Migraine affects about 15% of the world's population and disproportionately affects adults who are working age. It is associated with higher healthcare costs, absenteeism, and lost productivity. A metropolitan school district in the southern United States offered a virtual migraine education program to their teaching employees.

Lifestyle Medicine and Worker Productivity.

The issue of employee productivity has become a major concern for companies. Inefficiency can occur at every stage of production either as poor design, worker limitation, or other factors. It is generally assumed that a healthy worker is more productive than an unhealthy worker.

Oral Health: Opportunities for Lifestyle Medicine Highlighted by the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

A significant amount of illness has origins in oral microorganisms. The current SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic has reduced the general population's access to and use of routine and nonemergency dental care. This creates a dangerous situation in which oral bacteria, fungi, and viruses may remain unchecked and allowed to flourish, which in turn increases risks for several systemic diseases as well as negative outcomes for pregnancies and surgical patients.

A Physician's Guide for Workers' Return to Work During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: Higher probability of developing severe COVID-19 has been associated with health risk factors and medical conditions which are common among workers globally. For at risk workers, return to work may require additional protective policies and procedures.

Methods: A review of the medical literature was conducted on health risk factors and medical conditions associated with increased COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, standardized measures for community COVID transmission, and occupation-specific risk.

Health and Economics of Lifestyle Medicine Strategies.

The cost of medical care in the United States is increasing at an unsustainable rate. The lifestyle medicine (LM) approach is essential to influence the root causes of the growing chronic disease burden. LM addresses health risk factors in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of developing disease rather than limiting resources and medical expenditures on acute care and reacting to illness, injury, and disease.

Absenteeism and Presenteeism Associated With Common Health Conditions in Brazilian Workers.

Background: This study describes the effects of common health conditions associated with absenteeism and presenteeism in a population-based sample of workers in Brazil.

Methods: Data were analyzed from the cross-sectional São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey on 1737 employed residents aged more than 18 years old conducted from 2005 to 2007.

Results: Physical diseases and mental disorders are highly prevalent among Brazilian workers.

Understanding and improving value frameworks with real-world patient outcomes.

Objectives: To provide recommendations that will improve approaches to measuring the value of new medical technologies to patients.

Study Design: Informed discussion by experts after literature review.

Methods: A working group was formed, and participants discussed how value frameworks should incorporate key features important to patients in evaluating new medical technologies, particularly for chronic diseases.

Role and Value of the Corporate Medical Director.

: The role of the corporate medical director (CMD) has evolved over the last 300 years since Ramazzini first identified diseases of Italian workers in the early 1700s. Since then, there has been a gradual blurring of the boundaries between private and workplace health concerns. Today's CMD must have intimate knowledge of their corporation's industry and the businesses that they support, particularly the occupational and environmental programs that comply with all local, state, and/or national standards and regulations.

Obesity in the Workplace: Impact, Outcomes, and Recommendations.

Objective: To conduct a comprehensive literature review to develop recommendations for managing obesity among workers to improve health outcomes and to explore the impact of obesity on health costs to determine whether a case can be made for surgical interventions and insurance coverage.

Methods: We searched PubMed from 2011 to 2016, and CINAHL, Scopus, and Cochrane Registry of Clinical Trials for interventions addressing obesity in the workplace.

Results: A total of 1419 articles were screened, resulting in 275 articles being included.

The Association of Employee Engagement at Work With Health Risks and Presenteeism.

Introduction: Employee engagement is a key factor in work performance and employee retention. The current study seeks to examine the relationship between employee engagement and health risks and productivity.

Methods: In 2012, employees of a global financial services corporation participated in a health risk appraisal (HRA) which measured employee engagement, health risks, and on-the-job productivity loss (presenteeism).

Association Between Employee Dental Claims, Health Risks, Workplace Productivity, and Preventive Services Compliance.

Objective: This study examined differences in health risks and workplace outcomes among employees who utilized preventive dental services compared with other employees.

Methods: A retrospective observational study of employees of a large financial services corporation, with data from health risk appraisal questionnaires, medical claims, pharmacy claims, and dental claims.

Results: Employees with no dental claims were significantly more likely to have a variety of health risk factors (such as obesity and tobacco use), health conditions (such as diabetes), absenteeism, and lost on-the-job productivity, and were significantly less likely to be compliant with clinical preventive services compared with those with preventive dental claims.

The Association Between Changes in Employee Sleep and Changes in Workplace Health and Economic Outcomes.

Sleep disturbance is negatively associated with workplace productivity. This study sought to identify whether or not changes in sleep from 2012 to 2013 were associated with changes in health risks, medical conditions, or workplace economic outcomes. Employees of a Fortune 100 financial services corporation were categorized based on changes in self-reported hours of sleep from 2012 to 2013 and compared based on their health risk factors, medical conditions, health care costs, and productivity measures.