BACKGROUND Several studies have reported predictors for loss of mobility and impairments of physical performance among frail elderly people. AIM To evaluate the relationship between lifetime occupation and physical function in persons aged 80 years or older. METHODS Data are from baseline evaluation of 364 subjects enrolled in the ilSIRENTE study (a prospective cohort study performed in a m...

Manual material handling (MMH) is unavoidable because of the nature of jobs or tasks as and man-machine interfaces in a construction worksystem. Data were collected from six strata of workers viz., masons, mason helpers, carpenters, welders, gas cutters and ground-level helpers (259 out of 700 workers) from a construction site of a steel plant located in India to analyze different types of occu...

The goal of this study was to quantify the effect of experience and handrail presence on trunk muscle activities, rotational spinal stiffness and postural stability of construction workers. We evaluated spinal stability, and objective and subjective postural stability in 4 expert and 4 novice construction workers who were performing a manual task in a standing position on a scaffold, with and w...

The impact of heat stress on human health has been extensively studied. Similarly, researchers have investigated the impact of heat stress on workers' health and safety. However, very little work has been done on the impact of heat stress on occupational accidents and their severity, particularly in South Australian construction. Construction workers are at high risk of injury due to heat stres...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study is to describe the inequalities in mortality by occupational category and sex in a retrospective cohort of civil servants working in the city council of Barcelona (Spain). METHODS The cohort was followed for the period 1984-1993. There were 11 647 men and 9001 women. Age-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of death for occupational categories and manual versus n...

This study discusses the workplace ergonomic issues in highway construction, and the safe work practices associated with the prevention of ergonomic-related injuries and illnesses in the construction field. In order to achieve the study objectives, a survey was designed and sent to Wisconsin based construction contractors. To design an adequate questionnaire, the research team first conducted a...

With predicted increasing frequency and intensity of extremely hot weather due to changing climate, workplace heat exposure is presenting an increasing challenge to occupational health and safety. This article aims to review the characteristics of workplace heat exposure in selected relatively high risk occupations, to summarize findings from published studies, and ultimately to provide suggest...