Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology
Volume:12 Issue: 2, Spring 2023

The ABO/Rh blood groups were related to susceptibility to numerous infectious and non-infectious diseases. Here, the association of ABO/Rh groups with susceptibility to COVID-19 and disease severity was investigated in a population from southeast Iran.

 In this descriptive study, information regarding the clinical characteristics and ABO/Rh blood groups was collected from 524 patients with COVID-19 from March to October, 2020. The data of blood groups from patients were compared with those from 7365 healthy individuals during the same period. Data was analyzed using SPSS.

 No significant differences were found between COVID-19 patients and the healthy group regarding the proportions of A, B, and O blood groups. However, the proportion of the AB blood group was significantly higher in COVID-19 patients than that in healthy people (11.8% versus 8.2%, P <0.004). When the A group was considered as a reference, the AB blood group was associated to a greater risk of COVID-19 [OR: 1.45 (1.06-1.98), P<0.02]. No association was found between ABO blood groups and COVID-19 severity. The proportion of the Rh-positive blood group was slightly higher in COVID-19 patients than in the other group. The proportion of Rh-negative patients was greater in severe COVID-19 than in mild and moderate forms (P<0.001). In A, AB, and O blood groups, the proportions of Rh-negative patients were greater in severe COVID-19 than those with mild and moderate disease (P=0.05, P<0.05, and P<0.001, respectively).

 The AB blood group was associated with greater susceptibility to COVID-19, while Rh-negative status was positively associated with disease severity.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide including in the Asian population. CVD risk assessment provides support for policymakers for prevention strategies. This research aimed to estimate the 10-year CVD risk and evaluate the agreement between three risk scores.

A descriptive study was conducted based on 9398 subjects aged 40–70 years from 10520 PERSIAN Guilan Cohort Study (PGCS) participants in Guilan, Iran. Baseline demographic data, comorbidities, and CVD variables were derived from cohort records. The 10-year CVD risk events for every individual were calculated using three risk score models including the American College of Cardiovascular / American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) tool, Framingham Risk Score (FRS), and World Health Organization (WHO) chart. The agreement between the CVD risk scores was evaluated using the kappa statistics.

The proportion of high-risk people based on WHO, FRS, and ACC/AHA was 17.5%, 16.1%, and 5.4%, respectively. WHO risk score can find the highest frequency of females with high CVD risk scores. The best agreement was observed between FRS and ACC/AHA (κw=0.672, complete agreement=82.3%). Agreement between the WHO and ACC/AHA as well as WHO and FRS was reported as κw=0.351 and κw=0.357, respectively.

WHO risk chart found the greatest number of people as the high-risk category. A substantial agreement was observed between FRS and ACC/AHA.

Iran has been affected by sanctions over the past few decades. The aim of the present study is to explore the effects of economic sanctions and inflation rates on the rate of low birth weight (LBW) in Rafsanjan, a city in southeastern Iran.

In this descriptive study, we used data obtained from the Iranian maternal and neonatal online system (Iman System). The prevalence of LBW was evaluated in separate times including 2016-2021 on all live births registered in medical centers covered by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences.

The rate of LBW decreased from 2016 to 2018 (from 90.4 per 1000 to 79.9 per 1000), but after the sanctions were aggravated in 2018, LBW clearly increased. The rate of LBW in 2018 was 79.9 per 1000 live births, and this rate reached 87.9 per
1000 live births in 2021.

The results of our study showed that the increased prevalence of LBW may be related to sanctions and an increased inflation rate. Policymakers should note that these of political and economic interventions first damage people’s health including child and maternal health.

There are considerable opium addicts, particularly among workers in Iran's industrial sectors. This study aimed to investigate the effects of simultaneous exposure to excessive noise and opium addiction on adult rat sperm parameters.

In this experimental study 42 adult Wistar male rats in 6 groups were studied as follows: group 1 control, group 2 exposed to noise (100 dB) 8 h/day, group 3 received daily 50 mg/case opium solution, group 4 received daily 100 mg/case opium solution, group 5 received daily 50 mg/case opium solution and exposed to noise 8h/day, and group 6 received daily 100 mg/case opium solution and exposed to noise 8h/day. After 50 days, cauda epididymis was removed for sperm parameters examination (WHO guidelines).

In the groups receiving opium (50 and 100 mg/case), sperm count, sperm viability, and normal sperm morphology (%) significantly decreased compared to the control group. Exposure to noise and consumption of opium solution simultaneously significantly reduced the count, viability, and percentage of sperm with normal morphology in both selected doses, as well as a significant difference between groups 5 and 6 in count, viability, and normal sperm morphology(%) parameters(P<0.05).

According to the results, noise exposure and taking opium would actively reduce the count, viability, and normal sperm morphology. It is therefore suggested that the mechanism of such effects should be investigated in animal and human studies.

Firefighters are frequently exposed to job-related traumatic events that may have negative health consequences. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a self-disclosure program using expressive writing to enhance firefighters' positive psychological improvements.

 Allowing for attrition, 28 firefighters working in rescue-firefighting duties were recruited from five fire stations in Changwon in 2018. An experimental group received the self-disclosure program, in which expressive writing consisted of four sessions for enhancing post-traumatic growth. Participants filled out the Life Orientation Test-Revised Optimism Scale, the Korean version of the Brief COPE for problem-focused coping, the Korean version of the Event-Related Ruminating Scale to measure ruminative thinking, and the Korean version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory to measure posttraumatic development. The data were analyzed by frequency, mean and standard deviation, and paired t-test using the SPSS/WIN 26.0 program. The significance level of alpha was .05.

 Male participants in rescue-firefighting duties participated, and worked as firefighters for an average of 13.57 years. There were significant differences between pretest and posttest findings on optimism (t=2.60, p=.016), problem-focused coping (t=2.51, p=.019), and deliberate rumination (t=2.32, p=.029). It indicated that the experimental group's optimism, problem-focused coping, and deliberate rumination significantly increased after participating in the expressive writing program.

 The self-disclosure program using expressive writing is effective for firefighters with job-related traumatic events by developing positive psychological changes. It is advised that a chief fire officer should

Shiftwork among industrial workers can lead to poor sleep quality, which in turn is related to occupational fatigue. This study aimed to predict the sleep quality of industrial workers with rotating shifts based on occupational fatigue using structural equation modeling.

This descriptive study was conducted among 208 production line workers in a food industry of Alborz province, Iran, in the year 2022. Participants were selected by the census method. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire (PSQI), and occupational recovery (OFER-15). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to investigate the association between the latent variables of occupation fatigue and sleep quality.

About 74% of workers in all three subscales (chronic, acute, and recovery) reported moderate or high fatigue. In seven subscales related to sleep quality, approximately 22.6-32.2% of workers in the subscales of subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, and daytime dysfunction reported poor or very poor quality. The results indicated a significant and negative association between occupational fatigue and the sleep quality of workers. The model presented in this study indicated that occupational fatigue could predict 22% of sleep quality among industrial workers (R2=0.22, β=-0.47, t-value=-4.37).

According to the results of structural association between latent variables, decreasing occupational fatigue could improve sleep quality among one-fifth of industrial workers. Therefore, identifying effective factors and corrective strategies for removing occupational fatigue plays an important role in promoting the sleep quality of rotating shift workers.

This study aimed to determine the preventive effect of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) against continuous noise-induced hearing loss.

A total of 24 adult male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups of 6 animals: control, noise, noise and NAC, noise and saline. Animals were subjected to 102 dB (102±0.5) of continuous, 8 kHz-centered high pass white noise. For two days before to noise, one hour prior to noise for ten days in a row, and two days after noise, NAC (325 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally administered. Temporary and permanent hearing loss were assessed by pre and post noise (1, 7 and 21 days) recordings of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs).

Amplitudes was temporally reduced significantly first day post noise exposure in all groups, and all frequencies (P<0.05). The initial and subsequent recovery was more pronounced in noise-exposed animal treated with NAC compared to those received noise and saline, especially in higher frequencies (P<0.05). Noise and NAC group experienced less permanent hearing loss than noise and saline group (P<0.05).

NAC could partially improve permanent hearing loss after noise exposure However, temporary hearing loss was not affected by NAC.

Light can be considered as one of the factors affecting performance, visual comfort, proficiency, and energy efficiency in the workplace. This study aimed to investigate the oxidative stress-induced light intensity in male rats.

In this experimental study, a total of 32 male rats were randomly divided into four groups of eight (control group: exposure to 150 lux, group 2, 3, and 4 exposure to 300, 5000, and 8000 lux, respectively). Blood samples were collected from each rat before, 7, and 14 days after exposure. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) levels were measured as oxidative stress indices. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.

The results showed that the intensity of 8000 lux increased the MDA level and decreased the TAC level 7 and 14 days after exposure. The TAC level decreased in the group exposed to 5000 lux light intensity during 7 and 14 days (0.31±0.065 mmol/L and 0.36±0.077 mmol/L, respectively). The 5000 and 8000 lux light intensities decreased the TAC and caused oxidative stress in male rats after 7 and 14 days, and only the group exposed to 300 lux light intensity can restore TAC to normal levels since the 7th day.

The results of this study showed that light intensity is a significant factor in the development of oxidative stress. It seems that higher light intensities along with 14 days have more effects on the oxidative stress.