Publications by authors named "Wergeland E"

Background: Globally, work-related deaths (injuries and diseases) are a major social and public health problem. Register data on fatal occupational injuries in high-income countries may be considered to have high quality, especially when reporting is mandatory and regulated by law. We aimed to assess the accuracy of work-related injury death statistics in Norway, with reference to the Labour Inspection Authority and three other on-going registration systems (the cause-specific mortality register, the register for governmental compensations, and the register for insurance companies).

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Since the turn of the new Millennium, there has been an increase in efforts to build environmental-friendly sports arenas around the world. Fuelled by large sporting events like the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 'Green Games,' and the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, stadium architecture has become a vehicle for this trend. So far, the emphasis has primarily been on new arenas, in line with the widespread belief in international architecture of the 2000s that older buildings are less energy-efficient by default.

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Background: This study updates information on mortality and cancer morbidity in a cohort of Norwegian talc workers.

Methods: Follow-up was extended with 24 years, covering 1953-2011. Comparisons were made with the general population and between subgroups within the cohort.

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Background: Noise-induced hearing loss is the diagnosis that is most frequently reported to the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority. The objective of this study was to describe the doctors' reports on noise-induced hearing loss and assess the quality of the information.

Material And Method: The study is based on reports to the Labour Inspection Authority for the years 2005-09.

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Background: Work-related amputations are serious yet preventable injuries. Workers in the manufacturing sector in particular are vulnerable to amputation injuries compared to workers in other sectors.

Methods: In this study, we used a two-source capture recapture method to estimate the true number of annual work-related amputations in the Norwegian manufacturing sector for a 10-year study period (1998-2007).

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Background: The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority records fatal occupational injuries in mainland bases activities, i.e. all sectors except offshore, aviation, shipping, hunting and fishing; the Registry's information on these injuries has been considered complete.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare self-reported work-relatedness of neck-shoulder and arm pain with experts' assessments based on specific criteria.

Methods: A sample of 217 employed participants in the Oslo Health Study 2000-2001, aged 30, 40, and 45 years, who reported neck-shoulder or arm pain in the past month, underwent a health examination. A criteria document for evaluating the work-relatedness of upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders was used to -establish clinical diagnoses and assess the work-relatedness of pain with respect to the subject's present job.

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The Norwegian Labour Inspectorates (NLI's) Registry for Work-Related Diseases was established in 1920. Based on the principle of sentinel health events (SHE), its central purpose is to provide information to the NLI to enable workplace interventions and the prevention of hazardous exposures. Although physicians are required to report work-related diseases to the NLI, only 3% did so in 2006.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to quantify socioeconomic inequalities in low-back pain, neck-shoulder pain, and arm pain in the general working population in Oslo and to examine the impact of job characteristics on these inequalities.

Methods: All economically active 30-, 40-, and 45-year-old persons who attended the Oslo health study in 2000-2001 and answered questions on physical job demands, job autonomy, and musculoskeletal pain were included (N=7293). Occupational class was used as an indicator of socioeconomic status.

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Background: Pregnant women at work have special needs, and sick leave is common. However, job adjustment in pregnancy is addressed in European legislation. Our main objective was to examine if job adjustment was associated with reduced absence.

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Background: Lack of knowledge about the occurrence of work-related health problems in the general population makes it difficult to estimate the potential for their prevention in the workplace.

Aims: To examine the prevalence of self-reported work-related health problems among adult citizens of Oslo, Norway.

Methods: The study was part of the Oslo Health Study 2000-2001, in which all individuals in certain age cohorts were invited to a comprehensive health screening.

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Background: The construction industry is prone to accidents. In Norway there is little research-based knowledge on accident pattern and risk factors. The main objective of the study was to examine whether in-depth studies of accidents in this industry, leading to injuries registered by the health services, could identify preventable risk factors and preventive measures.

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This paper presents a two-step injury surveillance system. In the first step, limited data (a minimum data set) on all (or a representative sample of all) injuries to residents and non-residents within a defined geographical area were obtained using routine collection procedures within the medical care system. The second step involved periodically sampling of specific injuries, injured persons, or places for in-depth investigations from the database established by the first step, or selecting relevant injured persons seeking treatment in the medical care system, to collect many data (an expanded data set) on a limited number of injuries.

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