Characteristics of Work-related Fatal Injuries Among Aged Workers in Republic of Korea.

Objectives: The present paper aimed to examine whether an aging workforce is associated with an increase in work-related fatal injuries and to explore the underlying reasons for this potential increase.

Material And Methods: Aged workers were defined as those who were at least 55 years old. Work-related fatalities were assessed in aged and young workers who were registered with the workers' compensation system in 2021 in the Republic of Korea.

Distribution of volatile organic compounds by distance from industrial complexes and potential health impact on the residents.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the air pollutants emitted from the petrochemical industry known to pose adverse health effects on workers. The database based on the third phase of The Environmental Health Study in the Korean National Industrial Complexes (EHSNIC) in Ulsan conducted from 2018 to 2021 was used. Subjects were divided into the exposed and control group according to the estimated pollution level and distances from the industrial complexes.

Cooking oil fume exposure and Lung-RADS distribution among school cafeteria workers of South Korea.

Background: Cooking oil fumes (COFs) from cooking with hot oil may contribute to the pathogenesis of lung cancer. Since 2021, occupational lung cancer for individual cafeteria workers has been recognized in South Korea. In this study, we aimed to identify the distribution of lung-imaging reporting and data system (Lung-RADS) among cafeteria workers and to determine factors related to Lung-RADS distribution.

Factors affecting work-related non-fatal injuries among aged workers in South Korea.

Introduction: The objective of this paper is to investigate whether an aging workforce is associated with an increase in work-related non-fatal injuries and to explore the underlying reasons for this potential increase.

Methods: Aged workers were defined as those who were at least 55-years-old. Work-related non-fatal injuries were assessed in aged and young workers who were registered with the workers' compensation system from 2017 to 2021 of South Korea.

Association of postnatal exposure to mixture of bisphenol A, Di-n-butyl phthalate and Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate with Children's IQ at 5 Years of age: Mothers and Children's environmental health (MOCEH) study.

Early childhood is important for neurodevelopment, and exposure to endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates in this period may cause neurodevelopmental disorders and delays. The present study examined the association between exposure to mixtures of BPA and three metabolites of phthalates in early childhood and IQ at 5 years of age. The Mother and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study is a prospective birth cohort study conducted in Korea with 1751 pregnant women enrolled from 2006 to 2010.

The effect of residential greenness during pregnancy on infant neurodevelopment using propensity score weighting: A prospective mother-infant paired cohort study.

Background: While prior studies have suggested an association between green spaces and infant neurodevelopment, the causal effect of green space exposure during pregnancy has not been fully investigated. This study aimed to identify with causal inference the effect of exposure to residential greenness during pregnancy on infants' mental-psychomotor development and the role of maternal education in modifying this association.

Methods: We prospectively collected data of pregnant women and their infants from Mothers and Children Environmental Health cohort study.

Decrease in Weekly Working Hours of Korean Workers From 2010 to 2020 According to Employment Status and Industrial Sector.

Background: The present study examined changes in the working hours of Korean workers from 2010 to 2020 according to employment status and industrial sector.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from the third (2010), fourth (2014), fifth (2017) and sixth (2020) Korean Working Conditions Surveys, which were conducted by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.

Results: During the past 10 years, workers classified as employees, self-employed, or employers experienced clear declines in average weekly working hours and in the percentages of individuals who worked more than 48 hours per week.

Effect of PM concentration on anemia blood indicators reduced by air purifiers.

Housewives perform daily household chores, which directly expose them to indoor particulate matter (PM). Indoor PM exposure is a potential factor that increases systemic inflammation and affects hematopoietic action. This study investigated the decrease in indoor PM concentration by air purifiers on indicators of anemia, such as hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC).

Reduced Diffusing Capacity in Humidifier Disinfectant-Associated Asthma Versus Typical Asthma: A Retrospective Case Control Study.

Background: Humidifier disinfectant-related lung injury (HDLI) is a severe form of toxic inhalational pulmonary parenchymal damage found in residents of South Korea previously exposed to specific guanidine-based compounds present in humidifier disinfectants (HD). HD-associated asthma (HDA), which is similar to irritant-induced asthma, has been recognized in victims with asthma-like symptoms and is probably caused by airway injury. In this study, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DL) in individuals with HDA was compared to that in individuals with pre-existing asthma without HD exposure.

Association of paternal cadmium and other heavy metal exposure to birth outcomes using propensity score matching.

Background: Human exposure to cadmium has various effects on health, especially on male reproductive organs. Although it is widely known that prenatal maternal cadmium exposure can affect birth outcomes, the effect of paternal exposure to cadmium remains unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of paternal cadmium exposure on fetal growth by considering maternal cadmium exposure and exposure to other heavy metals, namely mercury and lead.

Acute lung injury in a worker after inhalation of ethylene phosphorodifluoridite.

Ethylene phosphorodifluoridite (CHFOP) (CAS No. 3965-00-2) is a colorless corrosive fuming liquid that is used as a stabilizer in the electrolyte of rechargeable batteries. There are no previous reports of toxic effects following exposure to this compound.

Factors Related to Psychological Well-Being as Moderated by Occupational Class in Korean Self-Employed Workers.

We examined factors related to the psychological well-being of self-employed workers in Korea, and the moderation of these effects by occupational class. This secondary analysis examined the data of 14,454 self-employed individuals from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2017). In all occupational classes, psychological well-being score was greater in women, and increased with monthly income and the frequency of working at very high speed; there were lower mean scores in those who became self-employed out of necessity rather than personal choice; in addition, the score decreased as the number of musculoskeletal symptoms increased.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Indoor Particulate Matter on Blood Indicators Related to Anemia.

Exposure to indoor particulate matter (PM) is a potential risk factor that increases systemic inflammation and affects erythropoiesis. This study investigated the association between exposure to indoor PM and blood indicators related to anemia (BIRA) in housewives. Indoor PM and blood folate status are important factors in the risk of anemia.

Factors related to depressive symptoms in Korean self-employed workers.

Background: We examined factors related to depressive symptoms in Korean self-employed workers.

Methods: This secondary analysis examined data of 14,454 self-employed individuals from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2017). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship of depressive symptoms with different variables.

Association between prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and infantile allergic diseases modified by maternal glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms: results from the MOCEH birth cohort.

Background: Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) has been linked to allergic disease onset. Variations in the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene family can impact the progression of allergic diseases. We sought to examine the association between prenatal PAH exposure and infantile allergic diseases in 6-month-old infants, and how maternal glutathione S-transferase M1 () or T1 () polymorphism affects the association between prenatal PAH exposure and allergic diseases in the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study.

Association of weekly working hours with poor psychological well-being and moderation by employment status in Korean workers.

We examined the association of weekly working hours with poor psychological wellbeing in Korean workers and the moderating effect of employment status. This secondary analysis examined data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey (2017). There were 30,108 waged employees and 14,459 self-employed individuals.

Joint association of prenatal bisphenol-A and phthalates exposure with risk of atopic dermatitis in 6-month-old infants.

Background: Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates could trigger immune response. Few studies have investigated the association between prenatal BPA and phthalate exposure and atopic dermatitis (AD) in infants.

Objective: We aimed to clarify the joint association of prenatal exposure to BPA and phthalate metabolites with AD incidence in 6-month-old infants.

Association of blepharoptosis with refractive error in the Korean general population.

Background/objectives: We investigated the effect of blepharoptosis on refractive errors across different age groups in Korean population.

Subjects/methods: This cross-sectional study was performed with data obtained in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2008 to 2012. A total of 33,103 participants were enroled in our study.

Factors that Affect Depression and Anxiety in Service and Sales Workers Who Interact With Angry Clients.

Introduction: We evaluated depression and anxiety in service and sales workers from Korea who interacted with angry clients to identify factors that mediated and moderated depression and anxiety in these workers.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey conducted in 2017. A structural equation model was used for mediation and moderation analysis.

Lung disorders induced by respirable organic chemicals.

Respirable organic chemicals were originally thought to cause allergic respiratory diseases, such as bronchial asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and believed not to cause lung disorders derived from inflammatory or fibrotic processes such as pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial pneumonitis. It has recently been reported, however, that exposure to organic chemicals can cause interstitial lung diseases. In this review, we discuss the clinical features of occupational asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, as well as other lung disorders, including interstitial pneumonitis, caused by humidifier disinfectants in Korea and by a cross-linked acrylic acid-based polymer (CL-PAA) in Japan.

Factors related to psychological well-being in unskilled manual workers.

Objectives: The authors characterized the demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial work factors associated with performance of unskilled manual work, and then identified the modifiable psychosocial work factors that affected the psychological well-being of these workers.

Material And Methods: This study analyzed data from the fifth Korean Working Condition Survey conducted in 2017. The study subjects were 37 081 Korean employees.