Background: This systematic review with meta-analysis was carried out to study the relationship between workplace violence and sleep problems.Methods: The PRISMA statement was used to conduct a systematic search of the literature on PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Sociological abstract, DOAJ, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. Of the original number of 749 studies, 34 were included in the systematic review, and 7 in the meta-analysis.Results: A total of 119,361 participants from 15 different countries took part in these studies which were published between 1999 and 2019. Significant heterogeneity was observed among the studies (I2 = 96%). In a random-effects meta-analysis model, pooled odds ratio (OR) analysis revealed that there was a direct relationship between occupational exposure to violence and sleep problems (OR = 2.55; 95% CI = 1.77–3.66). According to the GRADE guidelines, the quality of evidence of the association was low.Conclusions: The findings of this study demonstrate that occupational exposure to physical, verbal, or sexual violence is associated with sleep problems. Further research on the relationship between violence and sleep is needed so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent violence and improve sleep hygiene in the workplace.Trial Registration Number: PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42019124903) February 9, 2019.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic diseases that may originate from an interaction between genetic and lifestyle risk factors. However, the possible role of occupational chemical exposures in the disease development and progression remains unclear. Therefore, this review aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between occupational exposure to specific chemical substances or industrial activities and DM morbidity and mortality outcomes. Although some positive findings may support the diabetogenic role of certain pesticides and dioxins in different workplaces, the variable conditions of exposure, the lack of quantitative environmental or biological monitoring data and the different outcomes evaluated do not allow defining a specific exposure-disease causality. Therefore, further epidemiological studies will be necessary to adequately assess modes of action for different substances, dose-response relationships as well as individual susceptibility factors potentially affecting the exposure-disease continuum. Overall, this appears important to adequately assess, communicate and manage risks in occupational chemical exposure settings with the aim to protect workers and build healthier job conditions for diabetic employees.

IntroductionWork-related stress (WS) has been proposed as a risk factor for the development of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). The number of studies, however, is limited, and results are conflicting. The occupational health physician can give an effective contribute to clarify this point by systematically collecting data from workers waiting for medical examination.MethodsDuring 2016, the workers were invited to complete a questionnaire that included the Effort-Reward Imbalance scale (ERI) of Siegrist and the Support scale from the DCS model of Karasek, before their medical examination in the workplace. 1904 persons (male 32.6%, female 67.4%) participated in the study. The mean age was 47.35±9.38. Health data were obtained from medical surveillance records.ResultsThe prevalence of workers with high blood pressure (316, 16.6%), high cholesterol/reduced HDL-cholesterol (511, 26.8%), high triglycerides (195, 10.2%), high blood glucose (91, 4.8%), and obesity (677, 35.6%) led to a diagnosis of MetS in 196 workers (10.3%). In univariate logistic regression analysis, WS was significantly associated with the occurrence of MetS (OR 1.82; 95% CI: 1.41 to 2.35). ERI was also significantly associated with hypertriglyceridemia (OR 1.64; 95% CI: 1.27 to 2.13) and with overweight (OR 1.33; 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.59). The association was still significant in multivariate models, after correction for confounders.DiscussionThe observed association between WS and MetS deserves particular attention. The root causes of stress in workers must be investigated so as to have information for prevention.