DEVELOPMENT OF A EUROPEAN JOB EXPOSURE MATRIX (EUROJEM) FOR PHYSICAL WORKLOAD WITHIN EXPOSOME PROJECT FOR HEALTH AND OCCUPATIONAL RESEARCH (EPHOR) in Occupational and Environmental Medicine
2023
ASL Torino 3
Tipo pubblicazione
Conference Abstract
Autori/Collaboratori (12)Vedi tutti...
Kjellberg K
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Mehlum IS
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Viikari-Juntura E
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland
et alii...
Abstract
Introduction Job exposure matrices (JEM) for physical workload, developed in several European countries, have been utilized to examine associations between physical work demands and ill-health. However, it is unclear whether the exposure measures in these JEMs could be internationally generalizable. The aim was to construct a European JEM (EuroJEM) for physical workload to be used in epidemiological studies based on large European cohorts. Materials and Methods Literature search identified 14 European physical JEMs. As a starting point, three national gender-specific JEMs from Sweden, Norway and Finland, showing similarities regarding exposures, exposure definitions and assessments, and occupational classification systems, were selected. All were based on self-reported exposures and used national variants of ISCO-88(COM). Three exposures were harmonised: fast breathing due to physical workload, forward bent posture, and heavy lifting. In the harmonised EuroJEM, exposure was defined as being exposed at least 1/4 of the time (fast breathing and forward bent posture) or daily (lifting >20 kg) and expressed in five categories of proportion of exposed workers within each occupation: 0-5%, 6-24%, 25-49%, 50-74% and 75- 100%. The harmonisation was conducted by checking for agreement between the national JEMs regarding exposure category for each occupation and gender. If full agreement, this exposure category was assigned to the EuroJEM. For occupations with disagreement or missing information from JEMs, an expert panel, with knowledge of work tasks and conditions within occupations, discussed the exposure level until consensus was reached. Results A first version of a gender-specific EuroJEM for three physical exposures has been constructed, providing levels of proportion exposed for 375 occupations coded with ISCO-88 (COM). Conclusions The constructed EuroJEM for assessment of exposures to physical workload can be used to study exposure-disease associations, includ
Se sei accreditato in BVS-P effettua l'accesso per utilizzare i nostri servizi.
DOI : 10.1136/OEM-2023-EPICOH.159
Keywords
body position; breathing; cohort analysis; conference abstract; consensus; European; exposome; female; Finland; gender; human; male; Norway; occupation; Sweden; worker; workload;