COVID-19-related hospital admission in spouses of partners in at-risk occupations.

Objective: This study aimed to quantify the risk of COVID-19-related hospital admission in spouses living with partners in at-risk occupations in Denmark during 2020-21.

Methods: Within a registry-based cohort of all Danish employees (N=2 451 542), we identified cohabiting couples, in which at least one member (spouse) held a job that according to a job exposure matrix entailed low risk of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (N=192 807 employees, 316 COVID-19 hospital admissions). Risk of COVID-19-related hospital admission in such spouses was assessed according to whether their partners were in jobs with low, intermediate or high risk for infection.

Occupational risk of COVID-19 related hospital admission in Denmark 2020-2021: a follow-up study.

Objective: Mounting evidence indicates increased risk of COVID-19 among healthcare personnel, but the evidence on risks in other occupations is limited. In this study, we quantify the occupational risk of COVID-19-related hospital admission in Denmark during 2020-2021.

Methods: The source population included 2.

Patterns of change of multisite pain over 1 year of follow-up and related risk factors.

Background: Multisite musculoskeletal pain is common and disabling. This study aimed to prospectively investigate the distribution of musculoskeletal pain anatomically, and explore risk factors for increases/reductions in the number of painful sites.

Methods: Using data from participants working in 45 occupational groups in 18 countries, we explored changes in reporting pain at 10 anatomical sites on two occasions 14 months apart.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sickness absence for mental ill health in National Health Service staff.

Objective: To explore the patterns of sickness absence in National Health Service (NHS) staff attributable to mental ill health during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in March-July 2020.

Design: Case-referent analysis of a secondary dataset.

Setting: NHS Trusts in England.

Ethnic differences in risk of severe Covid-19: To what extent are they driven by exposure?

Background: This study quantifies the risk of Covid-19 among ethnic groups of healthcare staff during the first pandemic wave in England.

Methods: We analysed data on 959 356 employees employed by 191 National Health Service trusts during 1 January 2019 to 31 July 2020, comparing rates of Covid-19 sickness absence in different ethnic groups.

Results: In comparison with White ethnic groups, the risk of short-duration Covid-19 sickness absence was modestly elevated in South Asian but not Black groups.

Changing patterns of sickness absence among healthcare workers in England during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Patterns of sickness absence shed useful light on disease occurrence and illness-related behaviours in working populations.

Methods: We analysed prospectively collected, pseudonymized data on 959 356 employees who were continuously employed by National Health Service trusts in England from 1 January 2019 to 31 July 2020, comparing the frequency of new sickness absence in 2020 with that at corresponding times in 2019.

Results: After exclusion of episodes directly related to COVID-19, the overall incidence of sickness absence during the initial 10 weeks of the pandemic (March-May 2020) was more than 20% lower than in corresponding weeks of 2019.

Risks of COVID-19 by occupation in NHS workers in England.

Objective: To quantify occupational risks of COVID-19 among healthcare staff during the first wave (9 March 2020-31 July 2020) of the pandemic in England.

Methods: We used pseudonymised data on 902 813 individuals employed by 191 National Health Service trusts to explore demographic and occupational risk factors for sickness absence ascribed to COVID-19 (n=92 880). We estimated ORs by multivariable logistic regression.

Consequences of ignoring clustering in linear regression.

Background: Clustering of observations is a common phenomenon in epidemiological and clinical research. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of using multilevel analysis to account for such clustering, but in practice, methods ignoring clustering are often employed. We used simulated data to explore the circumstances in which failure to account for clustering in linear regression could lead to importantly erroneous conclusions.

A case management occupational health model to facilitate earlier return to work of NHS staff with common mental health disorders: a feasibility study.

Background: The NHS is the biggest employer in the UK. Depression and anxiety are common reasons for sickness absence among staff. Evidence suggests that an intervention based on a case management model using a biopsychosocial approach could be cost-effective and lead to earlier return to work for staff with common mental health disorders.

Are depressive disorders caused by psychosocial stressors at work? A systematic review with metaanalysis.

In the last decade, many studies have examined associations between poor psychosocial work environment and depression. We aimed to assess the evidence for a causal association between psychosocial factors at work and depressive disorders. We conducted a systematic literature search from 1980 to March 2019.

Individualised placement and support programme for people unemployed because of chronic pain: a feasibility study and the InSTEP pilot RCT.

Background: Chronic pain is a common cause of health-related incapacity for work among people in the UK. Individualised placement and support is a systematic approach to rehabilitation, with emphasis on early supported work placement. It is effective in helping people with severe mental illness to gain employment, but has not been tested for chronic pain.

Relative burden of lung and pleural cancers from exposure to asbestos: a cross-sectional analysis of occupational mortality in England and Wales.

Objectives: To explore the extent to which asbestos-exposed jobs vary in the ratio of excess mortality from lung cancer to deaths from pleural cancer.

Design: Using data on underlying cause of death and last full-time occupation for 3 688 916 deaths among men aged 20-74 years in England and Wales during 1979-2010, we calculated proportional mortality ratios (PMRs), standardised for age and social class, with all occupations combined as reference. For each of 22 asbestos-exposed job groups with significantly elevated PMRs for pleural cancer, we calculated excess mortality from lung cancer (observed minus expected deaths) and its ratio to number of deaths from pleural cancer.

Associations of sickness absence for pain in the low back, neck and shoulders with wider propensity to pain.

Objectives: To explore the association of sickness absence ascribed to pain at specific anatomical sites with wider propensity to musculoskeletal pain.

Methods: As part of the CUPID (Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability) study, potential risk factors for sickness absence from musculoskeletal pain were determined for 11 922 participants from 45 occupational groups in 18 countries. After approximately 14 months, 9119 (78%) provided follow-up information about sickness in the past month because of musculoskeletal pain, including 8610 who were still in the same job.

Levels and Determinants of Fine Particulate Matter and Carbon Monoxide in Kitchens Using Biomass and Non-Biomass Fuel for Cooking.

To assist interpretation of a study in rural Pakistan on the use of biomass for cooking and the risk of coronary heart disease, we continuously monitored airborne concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) for up to 48 h in the kitchens of households randomly selected from the parent study. Satisfactory data on PM and CO respectively were obtained for 16 and 17 households using biomass, and 19 and 17 using natural gas. Linear regression analysis indicated that in comparison with kitchens using natural gas, daily average PM concentrations were substantially higher in kitchens that used biomass in either a chimney stove (mean difference 611, 95% CI: 359, 863 µg/m) or traditional three-stone stove (mean difference 389, 95% CI: 231, 548 µg/m).

Acute coronary syndrome and use of biomass fuel among women in rural Pakistan: a case-control study.

Objectives: Three billion people use biomass fuel for cooking and heating globally. We assessed the association between acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and use of biomass fuel for cooking.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study among women living in defined areas that were served by two tertiary care hospitals.

MultiTex RCT - a multifaceted intervention package for protection against cotton dust exposure among textile workers - a cluster randomized controlled trial in Pakistan: study protocol.

Background: In the Pakistani textile industry the prevalence of workplace respiratory illnesses, including byssinosis, is high. The MultiTex RCT study aims to determine the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention package in reducing dust levels in cotton mills, decreasing the frequency of respiratory symptoms among cotton textile workers, and improving their lung function.

Methods/design: We will conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial at 28 textile mills in Karachi.

A behaviour change package to prevent hand dermatitis in nurses working in health care: the SCIN cluster RCT.

Background: Although strategies have been developed to minimise the risk of occupational hand dermatitis in nurses, their clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness remain unclear.

Objectives: The Skin Care Intervention in Nurses trial tested the hypothesis that a behaviour change package intervention, coupled with provision of hand moisturisers, could reduce the point prevalence of hand dermatitis when compared with standard care among nurses working in the NHS. The secondary aim was to assess the impact of the intervention on participants' beliefs and behaviour regarding hand care, and the cost-effectiveness of the intervention in comparison with normal care.

Determinants of international variation in the prevalence of disabling wrist and hand pain.

Background: Previous research has indicated that wide international variation in the prevalence of disabling low back pain among working populations is largely driven by factors predisposing to musculoskeletal pain more generally. This paper explores whether the same applies to disabling wrist/hand pain (WHP).

Methods: Using data from the Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability (CUPID) study, we focused on workers from 45 occupational groups (office workers, nurses and other workers) in 18 countries.

Coronary heart disease, hypertension and use of biomass fuel among women: comparative cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To explore the associations of hypertension and coronary heart disease (CHD) with use of biomass fuel for cooking.

Design: Comparative cross-sectional study.

Setting: Rural villages in Sindh, Pakistan.

Considerations for refining the risk assessment process for formaldehyde: Results from an interdisciplinary workshop.

Anticipating the need to evaluate and integrate scientific evidence to inform new risk assessments or to update existing risk assessments, the Formaldehyde Panel of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), in collaboration with the University of North Carolina, convened a workshop: "Understanding Potential Human Health Cancer Risk - From Data Integration to Risk Evaluation" in October 2017. Twenty-four (24) invited-experts participated with expertise in epidemiology, toxicology, science integration and risk evaluation. Including members of the organizing committee, there were 29 participants.