No abstract

Highlights WHO and ILO are developing joint estimates of work-related burden of disease and injury. We systematically reviewed effect of occupational exposure to noise on CVD. We found 17 eligible studies with 534,688 participants in 11 countries/3 WHO regions. We are very uncertain about the effect of occupational exposure to noise on CVD.

Objectives: To assess the type and incidence of subjective symptoms related to the use of mobile phones in Polish users. Material and Methods:The study was conducted in 2005 using a questionnaire survey. Although it has been quite a long time, up to now, no such data have been published for Poland. The questionnaire consisted of 53 questions concerning sex, age, education, general health, characteristics of a mobile phone (hand-held, loud-speaking unit) as well as the habits associated with its use (frequency and duration of calls, text messages, etc.) and complaints associated with using a mobile phone. Results: As many as 1800 questionnaires were sent. The response was obtained from 587 subjects aged 32.6±11.3 (48.9% women, 51.1% men); the age did not differ significantly between men and women. The subjects owned a cell phone for an average of 3 years. Majority of the respondents used the phone intensively, i.e. daily (74%) or almost daily (20%). Headaches were reported significantly more often by the people who talked frequently and long in comparison with other users (63.2% of the subjects, p = 0.0029), just like the symptoms of fatigue (45%, p = 0.013). Also, the feeling of warmth around the ear and directly to the auricle was reported significantly more frequently by the intensive mobile phone users, compared with other mobile phone users (47.3%, p = 0.00004 vs. 44.6%, p = 0.00063, respectively). Most symptoms appeared during or immediately after a call and disappeared within 2 h after the call. Continuous headache, persisting for longer than 6 h since the end of a call, was reported by 26% of the subjects. Conclusions: Our results show that the mobile phone users may experience subjective symptoms, the intensity of which depends on the intensity of use of mobile phones.

Results of epidemiological studies on the association between use of mobile phone and brain cancer are ambiguous, as well as the results of 5 meta-analysis studies published to date. Since the last meta-analysis (2009), new case-control studies have been published, which theoretically could affect the conclusions on this relationship. Therefore, we decided to perform a new meta-analysis. We conducted a systematic review of multiple electronic data bases for relevant publications. The inclusion criteria were: original papers, case-control studies, published till the end of March 2014, measures of association (point estimates as odds ratio and confidence interval of the effect measured), data on individual exposure. Twenty four studies (26 846 cases, 50 013 controls) were included into the meta-analysis. A significantly higher risk of an intracranial tumor (all types) was noted for the period of mobile phone use over 10 years (odds ratio (OR) = 1.324, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.028-1.704), and for the ipsilateral location (OR = 1.249, 95% CI: 1.022-1.526). The results support the hypothesis that long-term use of mobile phone increases risk of intracranial tumors, especially in the case of ipsilateral exposure. Further studies are needed to confirm this relationship. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(1):27-43

Objectives: Since the circulatory and nervous systems are composed of electrically excitable tissues, it is plausible that they can be stimulated by electromagnetic fields (EMF). No clinical studies have as yet been carried out to explain whether and how occupational exposure to 50 Hz EMF can influence the neurovegetative regulation of the cardiovascular function. The present project was undertaken to assess the autonomic function in workers occupationally exposed to 50 Hz EMF, by analyzing the heart rate variability. Materials and Methods: The study group comprised 63 workers of switchyard substations, aged 22-67 years (39.2 ± 10.0 years), and the control group 42 workers of radio link stations, aged 20-68 years (40.7 ± 9.2 years), employed at workposts free from EMF exposure. The age range and employment duration in both groups did not differ significantly. To assess the neurovegetative regulation of the cardiac function, heart rate variability (HRV) analysis was made based on 512 normal heart beats recorded at rest. The analysis, performed using fast Fourier transformation, concerned the time-and frequency-domain HRV parameters. Power spectrum in the very low (VLF), low (LF) and high (HF) frequency bands was determined. Results: The relative risk of decreased HRV (STD R-R < 27 ms), calculated with use of a logistic regression model, was significantly higher in the exposed group than in controls (OR = 2.8). The VLF power spectrum was significantly higher in the exposed group and correlated with the exposure level. The percentage of subjects with dominant sympathetic function (LF/HF>1) was significantly higher in the study group than in controls (65% vs. 47%). Conclusions: It was concluded that occupational exposure to 50 Hz EMF could influence the neurovegetative regulation of the cardiovascular system.