Background and objectives: Progressing climate change is accompanied by a worldwide increase in the intensity, frequency, and duration of heat wave events. Research has shown that heat waves are an emerging public health problem, as they have a significant impact on mortality. As studies exploring this relationship are scarce for Latvia, this study aims to investigate the short-term associations between heat waves and all-cause mortality as well as cause-specific mortality, during the summer months (May-September) in Riga. Materials and Methods: An ecological time series study using daily reported mortality and temperature data from Riga between 2009 and 2015 was employed. Heat waves were defined based on the categories of the Latvian and Swedish heat warning system. Using a Quasi-Poisson regression, the relationships between heat waves and all-cause as well as cause-specific mortality were investigated. Results: Heat waves in Riga were associated with a 10% to 20% increase in the risk of all-cause mortality, depending on the applied heat wave definition, compared to days with normal temperature. In addition, heat-related mortality was found to increase significantly in the ≥65 age group between 12% and 22% during heat waves. In terms of cause-specific mortality, a significant increase of approximately 15% to 26% was observed for cardiovascular mortality. No significant associations were found between heat waves and respiratory or external causes of mortality. Conclusion: These results indicate that there are short-term associations between heat waves and all-cause as well as cardiovascular mortality in Riga and that heat waves therefore represent a public health problem in this Baltic city.

Background and objectives: Despite global warming, the climate in Northern Europe is generally cold, and the large number of deaths due to non-optimal temperatures is likely due to cold temperatures. The aim of the current study is to investigate the association between cold temperatures and all-cause mortality, as well as cause-specific mortality, in Tallinn and Riga in North-Eastern Europe. Materials and Methods: We used daily information on deaths from state death registries and minimum temperatures from November to March over the period 1997–2015 in Tallinn and 2009–2015 in Riga. The relationship between the daily minimum temperature and mortality was investigated using the Poisson regression, combined with a distributed lag non-linear model considering lag times of up to 21 days. Results: We found significantly higher all-cause mortality owing to cold temperatures both in Tallinn (Relative Risk (RR) = 1.28, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.01–1.62) and in Riga (RR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.11–1.79). In addition, significantly increased mortality due to cold temperatures was observed in the 75+ age group (RR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.17–2.31) and in cardiovascular mortality (RR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.31–2.55) in Tallinn and in the under 75 age group in Riga (RR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.12–2.22). In this study, we found no statistically significant relationship between mortality due to respiratory or external causes and cold days. The cold-related attributable fraction (AF) was 7.4% (95% CI -3.7–17.5) in Tallinn and 8.3% (95% CI -0.5–16.3) in Riga. This indicates that a relatively large proportion of deaths in cold periods can be related to cold in North-Eastern Europe, where winters are relatively harsh.

Increased noise, which is also below the occupational exposure values and is “hearing safe” noise, affects the exposed person’s health as a non-specific stressor. Increased noise level also creates an environment for additional vocal apparatus load. The objective of this study was to determine preschool personnel occupational noise and its relationship with subjective health complaints. Data were obtained with survey assistance through subjective answers of respondents about health complaints and noise exposure among Rīga preschool personnel. Objective noise measurements were made to assess real noise levels in the preschool environment. Data from 155 respondents and objective measurements of 37 preschool classrooms were obtained. The results showed that the average 8-h noise exposure among Rīga preschool educational institutions was 70 dB(A), which did not exceed the Latvian work environment noise limits, but exceeded the 35–40 dB(A) noise limit in the educational environment guidelines recommended by the WHO. The survey results showed that loud noise is one of the most important workplace environmental factors (~70% of respondents feel a necessity to increase voice because of noise). A constant feeling of fatigue, headache, irritable feeling, and a desire to isolate oneself from others more often occurred in respondents exposed to increased noise, compared with those who noted that they were not exposed to increased noise. In general, loud noise was associated with increased subjective health complaints in preschool education institution personnel

Health impairments can compromise occupational performance, thereby diminishing productivity when individuals are unable to meet job demands. Reduced aerobic capacity is specifically associated with a diminished ability to perform prolonged tasks, as lower cardiorespiratory fitness restricts both endurance and physiological efficiency. The aim of the study is to assess the habitual physical activity and aerobic endurance and BMI of office workers and to find relationship among parameters. Methods: 51 office workers participated in the study (89 % women and 11 % men, with a mean age of 42.2 ± 10.1 years). Data was collected using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the 6-Minute Walk Test (6-MWT). The questionnaire process and the collection of data from the 6-MWT of respondents took place anonymously, with the permission of the Research Ethics Committee of Rīga Stradiņš University. Mathematical statistics (descriptive statistics and Spearman Rank correlation) were used. This research was funded by the framework of the Plan of the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility and the State budget grant RSU/LSPA-PA-2024/1–0013. The results have shown that 41 % of office workers do not participate in vigorous physical activities, while 19 % participate in them two days a week. On the other hand, 19 % of office workers do not participate in moderate physical activities during the week. The results of the 6-MWT study indicate that 88 % are healthy people, and the average result of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) in the group was 516.82 meters. The participants spend on average 472.92 minutes sitting per day, which corresponds to approximately 7 hours. There is a correlation between the time spent participating in moderate physical activities and the distance covered in the 6-MWT test, and the longer the employees sit, the less distance covered in the 6-MWT. Conclusions: the study examined the relationship between daily levels of moderate physical activity, sedentary time, and aerobic endurance, emphasizing the necessity for office employees to reduce prolonged sitting. The findings suggest that, moving forward, multifaceted strategies will be required to effectively encourage physical activity within workplace settings. Keywords: physical activity, BMI, aerobic endurance, office workers.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP) are major public health concerns and leading causes of disability worldwide. While workplace psychosocial factors have been identified as risk factors, the role of workplace conflicts and rivalry remains underexplored. This study examines the association between hierarchical workplace conflicts, rivalry, and the prevalence of LBP and NP among Latvian employees working with computers. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Work Conditions and Risks in Latvia 2019-2021 survey, which included 1,313 employees who worked with computers for more than two hours per day. Workplace psychosocial factors, including conflicts with managers, coworkers, worker groups, and clients, as well as workplace rivalry, were assessed. Binomial logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for age, gender, and education. Results: Workplace conflicts were significantly associated with increased odds of LBP and NP. Conflicts with managers increased the odds of LBP (aOR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.12–2.00) and NP (aOR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.06–2.32). Employees experiencing conflicts with coworkers (aOR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.25–2.22), clients (aOR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.07–1.93), and rivalry (aOR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.01–1.84) also had significantly higher odds of LBP. Conclusions: Our findings highlight workplace conflicts and rivalry as important psychosocial risk factors for LBP and NP. Addressing these factors through workplace interventions and leadership strategies could contribute to musculoskeletal health promotion.