Attitude of Medical Students towards Occupational Safety and Health: A Multi-National Study

Background. Lead exposure is an environmental and occupational health problem associated with different clinical outcomes; however, its relationship with anemia in mining workers is not well characterized. This study evaluated the relationship between blood lead level (BLL) and anemia in mining workers who underwent annual medical‐occupational evaluations. Methods. We conducted a cross‐sectional study to estimate the association between the BLL and anemia in workers of a mining company during the year 2019. We obtained occupational information and laboratory test results, with the hemoglobin level for identifying anemia and BLL measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The relationship between BLL and anemia was evaluated in a generalized linear model with a log link and the Poisson family to obtain crude and adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) and its 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results. Three hundred forty mining workers, mainly male (95%), with a mean age of 36.8 ± 9.4 years, were evaluated. The median hemoglobin and BLL were 14.1 g/dL (Interquartile range (IQR): 13.0–15.3) and 3.4 µg/dL (IQR: 2.1−4.8). Only one worker presented a BLL exceeding the upper limit value established by the Ministry of Health of Peru (up to 40.0 µg/dL). We found anemia in 21.8% of the mining workers (CI95%: 17.5–26.5). A low and inverse correlation between hemoglobin and BLL (rho: −0.169) was obtained in this study. BLLs were significantly associated with anemia (aPR: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01–1.08). Conclusion. Occupational exposure to lead is weakly associated with anemia in mining company workers. Strengthening actions to prevent and control lead exposure is relevant and guarantees the comprehensive promotion of worker health and healthy workplaces.

Background. Demodex folliculorum is a mite that causes human demodicosis, which is characterized by producing lesions on the face, and its infestation could be associated with factors that alter the immune response, including Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between T2D and D. folliculorum infestation in patients attended at a hospital in Peru in 2021. Methods. A cross-sectional study enrolling patients who were classified according to the presence (n = 100) and absence (n = 100) of T2D was conducted. Information was obtained on age, sex, domestic animal husbandry, and symptoms and signs associated with demodicosis. Demodicosis was determined to be present when counts of D. folliculorum greater than five mites per cm² were found in superficial facial skin biopsies. Results. A frequency of demodicosis in 76 and 35 patients with and without T2D, respectively, was observed. In the multivariate analysis adjusted for confounders age, sex, and domestic animal husbandry, T2D was found to be associated with D. folliculorum infestation (PR: 2.13; 95% CI95: 1.42–3.19). Conclusions. T2D was associated with D. folliculorum infestation. In this sense, it is important to strengthen surveillance to identify of D. folliculorum infestation in people with T2D.

Peru is one of the countries with the highest lead contamination in the world. Biological monitoring has limitations due to the shortage of laboratories with validated methodologies for the measurement of blood lead, and it is necessary to use alternative methods for its measurement in high-altitude cities. We aimed to compare the blood lead levels (BLL) measured by the LeadCare II (LC) method and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (GF-AAS). We measured the BLL of 108 children from the city of La Oroya. The mean and median BLL for GF-AAS were 10.77 ± 4.18 and 10.44 µg/dL, respectively; for the LC method, the mean was 11.71 ± 4.28 and the median was 11.60 µg/dL. We found a positive linear correlation (Rho = 0.923) between both methods. Notwithstanding, the Wilcoxon test suggests a significant difference between both methods (ρ = 0.000). In addition, the Bland–Altman analysis indicates that there is a positive bias (0.94) in the LC method, and this method tends to overestimate the BLL. Likewise, we performed a generalized linear model to evaluate the influence of age and hemoglobin on BLL. We found that age and hemoglobin had a significant influence on BLL measured by the LC method. Finally, we used two non-parametric linear regression methods (Deming and Passing-Bablok regression) to compare the LC method with the GF-AAS. We found that these methods differ by at least a constant amount, and there would be a proportional difference between both. Although in general there is a positive linear correlation, the results of both methods differ significantly. Therefore, its use in cities located at high altitudes (higher than 2440 m.a.s.l.) would not be recommended.

This review identifies and describes the main outcomes and complications associated with remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review of the literature was carried out. This included observational studies whose population or partly carried out remote work, published between March 1, 2020, and November 30, 2020. The descriptors were adapted to MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, Scopus and PsycINFO databases. We found 139 studies; 15 articles were included in this synthesis. A total of 18,818 remote workers were reported, of which women represented between 18.2%-100%. The findings describe the increased use of electronic devices, sedentary lifestyle, anxiety, depression, feelings of loneliness, sleep disorders and the presence of musculoskeletal pain in remote workers. Therefore, it is necessary to provide assistance and education to the remote worker in order to improve their conditions, reduce the associated complications and positively impact their lifestyle.

Introducción: Los plaguicidas organofosforado son compuestos utilizados para el control de plagas en actividades agrícolas; genera exposición ocupacional asociada a posibles intoxicaciones agudas y crónicas que se manifiestan por alteraciones a nivel bioquímico, molecular y genético, los cuales pueden ser evaluados mediante el uso de marcadores genotoxicológicos. Objetivo: Determinar el uso de marcadores genotoxicológicos para la evaluación de agricultores expuestos a plaguicidas organofosforados. Diseño: Observacional, analítico, transversal con grupo control. Lugar: Empresa de agroexportación de espárragos en el Distrito de Virú, La Libertad. Intervenciones: Se determinó la actividad enzimática de la colinesterasa sérica (BChE) y eritrocitaria (AChE), y se hizo ensayos de genotoxicidad (aberraciones cromosómicas, ensayo cometa y micronúcleos) en 59 trabajadores expuestos a plaguicidas (grupo expuesto) y 50 personas sin exposición a plaguicidas (grupo control). Principales medidas de resultados: Actividad enzimática de la colinesterasa sérica (BChE) y eritrocitaria (AChE), y ensayos de genotoxicidad (aberraciones cromosómicas, ensayo cometa y micronúcleos). Resultados: Las edades promedio del grupo expuesto y control fueron de 39,6±10,8 y 34,0±11,5 años, respectivamente. En referencia a la actividad BChE, se encontró diferencia significativa (p<0,001) entre el grupo expuesto (4 733.0±1 350.1 U/L) y control (7 075.0±1 674.0 U/L). Caso contrario se presentó en la actividad AChE entre el grupo expuesto (4 867,0±632,2 U/L) y control (5 051,0±505,5 U/L). Además, se evidenció la inhibición de ambas enzimas en 9 trabajadores expuestos por debajo del valor de referencia. No se evidenció diferencias significativas en los marcadores genotoxicológicos, a excepción del recuento de micronúcleos, puentes nucleoplásmicos, gemaciones, binucleaciones celulares y cariorexis de células de epitelio bucal; y en la evaluación del daño al ADN mediante el ensayo cometa (p<0,05) se obtuvo promedios de intensidad de cola de 8,28±1,85 (Rango: 6,06-15,75) y 7,30±1,25 (Rango: 4,04-9,41) para el grupo expuesto y control, respectivamente. Conclusiones: El uso de marcadores genotoxicológicos aporta información relevante como herramienta que permite predecir el riesgo asociado a cáncer, considerando que el evento inicial es el daño al ácido desoxiribonucléico (ADN) en cualquier etapa del ciclo celular; además, existió asociación significativa entre el efecto genotóxico y la exposición a plaguicidas organofosforados evidenciada por la inhibición de la BChE.