The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptoms and doctor-diagnosed musculoskeletal disorders (DDMDs) were estimated among union construction ironworkers by a telephone-administered questionnaire. Of 1996 ironworkers eligible, 1566 were contacted and 981 were interviewed. The prevalence of self-reported MSD symptoms was high for the lower back (56%), wrist/hands/fingers (40%), knees (39%), and shoulders (36%). The most common DDMDs were tendonitis (19%), ruptured disk in the back (18%), bursitis in the shoulder (15%), and carpal tunnel syndrome (12%). Generally, the prevalence of DDMDs and MSD symptoms increased with duration of employment. In age-adjusted logistic regression analyses, those who worked 25 to 35 years were more likely to have tendonitis (odds ratio [OR] 7.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.1–16.6), shoulder bursitis (OR 13.7, 95% CI 3.1–60.4), knee bursitis (OR 5.1, 95% CI 1.0–25.1), and ruptured intervertebral back disk (OR 6.7, 95% CI 2.6–17.5). The effect of prior injury was also consistently high (upper extremities, OR 4.6; lower extremities OR 5.1; lower back, OR 6.0). Among workers without prior injuries, MSD symptoms were more frequent for the lower back in structural ironwork (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1–2.6), and for the upper extremity in concrete reinforcement ironwork (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2–2.9). These findings suggest that some musculoskeletal morbidity in construction ironworkers may be work related and thus preventable.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) by definition are a subset of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) that arise out of occupational exposures. While traditional exposure assessment techniques have proved to be successful in identifying ergonomic exposures that are epidemiologically linked to these disorders, some are troubled by the lack of one-to-one correspondence between specific occupational exposure profiles and specific MSDs. In the absence of more sophisticated hypotheses that might explain the occurrence of WRMSDs in a variety of exposure patterns, the aetiologic relationships may (again) be called into question. Another unanswered question is whether specific types of WRMSDs have qualitatively different exposure-response relationships. A clearer understanding of the underlying pathomechanisms associated with specific WRMSDs could help future researchers better determine how and when various occupational exposure profiles become pathogenic. Such knowledge could also be used to design exposure assessment tools to capture exposure information more relevant to the risk of WRMSDs. The main goals of this paper are to summarize several recently described pathomechanisms, most of which have been discussed primarily in clinical and experimental literature that might not be widely read by occupational health scientists. Suggestions are made as to how future research could evaluate whether these phenomena are relevant to the effects of physical exposures and the underlying disease processes of common WRMSDs.

Studies examining the prevalence of zoonotic agents in the Caribbean are very limited. The objective of this study was to examine the seroprevalence of seven zoonotic agents among individuals residing on 10 English-speaking Caribbean countries. Sera from healthy, pregnant women were collected from Antigua-Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent-Grenadines and tested for the presence of IgG antibodies to dengue virus, hepatitis E virus, hantaviruses, leptospiral agents, spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR), typhus group rickettsiae (TGR), and Coxiella burnetii (Q fever). The highest seroprevalence values were observed for dengue virus, SFGR, and leptospirosis, although the lowest seroprevalence values were observed for hepatitis E virus, C. burnetii, and TGR. Antibodies to hantaviruses were not detected in any individuals.

A study was conducted to assess the ergonomic hazards of ironwork job tasks associated with concrete reinforcement work at a large highway construction site. PATH (posture, activity, tools, and handling) analysis, a work-sampling method, was used to provide task-based estimates of the percentage of time ironworkers spent in specified postures of the trunk, arms, and legs; performed activities; used tools; and handled loads. A total of 2128 PATH observations were made of 17 ironworkers performing 5 job tasks: (1) ground-level reinforcement bar (rebar) construction, (2) wall rebar construction, (3) ventilation rebar construction, (4) preparation work, and (5) supervising. Nonneutral trunk postures were observed frequently (exceeding 30%) and manual material handling (MMH) was the most commonly observed activity (exceeding 20%) for all job tasks except supervising. The percentage of time workers spent in specific postures, activities performed, tool use, and MMH activities differed significantly between the five main job tasks, even when supervising was excluded from the analysis. It was concluded that ironworkers are exposed to significant ergonomic hazards when performing concrete reinforcing tasks, and that opportunities exist for the implementation of ergonomic interventions. Further, the results of this study can be used to target specific hazardous tasks for ergonomic interventions and confirms the need to use a task-based exposure assessment strategy to properly assess ergonomic risk profiles for nonstructured jobs such as construction.