This study aimed to investigate the degree of health-related productivity loss (HRPL) for common health conditions. A total of 4197 workers participated in a web-based questionnaire survey from January to February 2020. HRPL was measured using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire, and a difference in HRPL was calculated for each common health condition. The burden of productivity loss due to each health condition was calculated by the product of the difference in HRPL scores and the percentage of participants who complained. The health conditions most strongly associated with increased HRPL were infertility treatment (30.6%), osteoporosis (25.9%), cancer (25.3%), gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer (25.0%) and anaemia (23.9%). The most important health conditions in order of their magnitude of induced burden of productivity loss were fatigue, neck or shoulder pain, insufficient sleep, back pain, headache, common cold and flu, insomnia, anxiety and diarrhoea or constipation. HRPL is more strongly and importantly associated with the aforementioned health conditions. Occupational health managers should prioritise addressing health conditions strongly and importantly associated with HRPL when implementing health promotion programmes.

The socioeconomic burden of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is significant, and kitchen work is a high-risk occupation for MSDs due to the intensive manual workload and repetitive movements that are involved. However, there are very few studies on MSDs and rest breaks as a workplace intervention among kitchen workers. This study examined the relationship between insufficient rest breaks and increased MSD risk among Korean kitchen workers. Sociodemographic and occupational factors of 1,909 kitchen workers were collected from the 3rd–4th Korean Working Conditions Survey data. Five items on rest breaks at work were categorized into two groups, “sufficient” and “insufficient.” The number of MSDs and work-related MSDs (WMSDs), an outcome variable, was obtained from the sum of MSDs/WMSDs in three anatomical sites (back, neck, and upper limb, lower limb). The association between rest breaks and MSDs was estimated using zero-inflated negative binomial analyses, with adjustments for age, education level, and weekly working hours, and the analyses were stratified by sex. After adjustment, significant associations were found between insufficient rest breaks and an increased risk of MSDs (odds ratio [OR] 1.68 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11–2.54) and WMSDs (OR 1.40 95% CI 1.01–1.96) among female kitchen workers. Insufficient rest breaks were significantly associated with MSDs in female kitchen workers in all three anatomical sites. This study emphasizes the need for rest breaks as a workplace intervention for preventing MSDs in kitchen workers. Further studies to reveal the causality of this relationship are required.

Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess sedentary work’s contribution to breast cancer risk quantitatively using thorough research articles. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis using a registered protocol in PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42020204629). Literature from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane involving sedentary work and breast cancer risk was reviewed. We calculated the overall pooled risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CI with a random-effect model from the included studies. Furthermore, we performed stratified analyses by characteristics of studies. Results: Thirty-one studies (13 cohort studies and 18 case-control studies) were included in the analysis. The overall effect of the pooled analysis was an RR of 1.16 (95% CI 1.08-1.23). The results were 1.20 (95% CI 1.10-1.30) and 1.12 (95% CI 1.02-1.23) for cohort and case-control studies. The effect of sedentary work did not seem to be consistently attenuated by controlling body mass index, menopausal status, or experience of hormone replacement therapy. Conclusion: The results from this meta-analysis suggest that sedentary behavior within the occupational domain was associated with a 15.5% increased risk of breast cancer. It is essential to reduce the sedentary time spent at work and to secure time for leisure-time physical activity among sedentary workers as a primary preventive measure.

Song JH, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2022 Aug;37(33):e257. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e257

Lee J, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2018 Apr;33(19):e144. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2018.33.e144

It has been suggested that long working hours are associated with various diseases through dietary patterns. However, few studies have reported the association between working hours and dietary habits. Thus, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore the difference in dietary fiber intake by working hours. Data of a total of 10,760 workers in South Korea who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES), a nation-wide survey, were analyzed to determine different distributions of dietary fiber insufficiency using multiple logistic regression models. Fiber insufficiency proportion was different from working hour groups. 70.1% of the total population eat fiber insufficiently. Working <40 h group showed 66.8% of fiber insufficiency. But working more than 52 h group marked 73.2% of fiber insufficiency. Logistic regression analysis of 10,760 nation-wide study participants revealed that working for 41–52 h a week (OR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.18–1.47) and working for over 52 h a week (OR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.25–1.62) were significantly associated with insufficient fiber intake compared to workers with standard working hours (30–40 h a week). These associations were still robust in an adjusted model, with working for 41–52 h a week (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.01–1.27) and working for over 52 h (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.09–1.45) showing high associations with dietary fiber insufficiency. Those with long working hours tend to have insufficient intake of dietary fiber. To promote desirable dietary habits, intervention programs on working conditions should be considered.