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Introduction. The profession of “machine operator in metalworking”, one of the most common professions in various industries, characterized by a large volume of abrasive operations, accompanied by dust formation, which creates a potential for the occurrence of diseases of the visual organ.The aim of the study is to provide a hygienic assessment of working conditions and occupational risk of visual organ pathology in metalworking machine operators.Materials and methods. Observation groups — machine operators for metalworking of two training groups (experience up to 5 years, experience of 6–20 years). Two comparison groups (administrative and technical personnel of the enterprise) are formed according to the same age-experience principle.Results. The working conditions of machine operators were classified as class 3.2. taking into account the severity and intensity of the work process and the noise level (80 dBA) in the workplace. Nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and manganese were registered in the air of the working area in concentrations below the permissible concentration (PC), and the aerosol dihydroxide was registered above the PC in 25.8% of cases. In the main working groups, diseases of the anterior segment of the eye were more often registered, among which dry eye syndrome (DYS) prevailed (94.1%), chronic blepharoconjunctivitis (79.9%), persistent corneal opacification (21.7%). There was an increase in the prevalence of detected diseases with an increase in work experience (p≤0.05). In machine operators, the frequency of inhibition of lacrimal formation and decreased stability of the tear film was recorded significantly more often, with increasing work experience, the degree of violation of lacrimal formation and stability of the tear film increased. The chances of detecting pathology of the anterior segment of the eye in machine operators are 5.9 and 3.5 times higher than in the comparison group. There are different forces of connection, increasing with the increase of work experience in the profession, between the working conditions of machine operators and the occurrence of SHG (relatively strong), with chronic blepharoconjunctivitis and persistent corneal opacity (medium strength), which suggests the professional conditionality of this pathology.Conclusions. The results obtained suggest that the pathology of the anterior segment of the eye is professionally conditioned in metalworking machine operators and necessitate the introduction of preventive measures aimed at protecting the visual organ.

Introduction. The state of physical development of children and adolescents is an objective criterion of health. It is accepted to be most crucial index for predicting further child development, his readiness for sports, working life, and planning of training loads during physical education. Material and methods. The monitoring group included 7-17-year schoolchildren (820 girls, 748 boys). The body height, weight, chest circumference, the vital capacity of the lungs, the muscle strength of the hands were measured (standard techniques and instruments). A comparative assessment of the obtained indices with similar data of 1976, 2000 was performed. Results. The body height of schoolchildren decreased over the period 1976/2018, there was an increase in body of body weight. The chest circumference trend was uncertain: dropped (boys - 7,8, girls 7, 12-15 years old); increased ( boys 9-15, girls 8-11,16,17 years old). The increase in the lung vital capacity was noted mostly in boys, muscle force of the hands decreased ( boys 10, 13, 16, girls 15-16 years old ). The Stange test values have doubled in the dynamics of 7-17 years, the Genchi test increased by 73.1% for boys and by 8-10% for girls. Conclusion. The revealed features of the dynamics of anthropometrics and functional indices of schoolchildren argue the need to correct physical education programs, including the tolerance motor and power loads.

Summary. Introduction: Comprehensive risk management considering behavioral risk factors is a possible way to minimize adverse health effects of occupational factors. The purpose of the study was assess behavioral risk factors and to develop appropriate measures for preventing occupational diseases in oil refinery operators. Materials and methods: The observation groups included crude oil treatment operators of Ritek LLC in the Volgograd Region located in the subarid climatic zone. The first group consisted of 100 workers under the age of 35 while the second group consisted of 106 workers aged 36-60. Previously published studies were used to substantiate priority occupational risk factors for the operators. To assess lifestyle habits, we conducted a questionnaire-based survey and analyzed data in terms of their statistical significance and real controllability using a multidimensional confirmatory factor analysis. Results: We established that the priority occupational health risks of operators in the climatic conditions of the Volgograd Region included labor severity and intensity (3.1) and hot environment (3.2) posing a high occupational risk of disrupting the thermal state (overheating) of workers. We also identified typical behavioral risk factors, the prevalence and quantitative burden of which was age-specific. In the younger age group, bad habits and poor healthcare activity (reluctance to seek medical advice) generated the highest burdens (943 conditional units each) while in the older age group, major burdens were generated by bad habits and malnutrition (849 and 501 units, respectively). The developed mathematical model proved that a comprehensive health risk management for workers exposed to occupational hazards is feasible by correcting certain behavioral risk factors: a 10 % and 50 % decrease in the burden of bad habits and poor healthcare activity led to a 1.1 and 1.5-fold decrease in the extent of health risk, respectively. Conclusion: The study revealed the most significant behavioral risk factors affecting health of oil refinery operators and substantiated options of the most optimal interaction between the elements of the system reducing the overall risk to human health. Comprehensive health risk management based on optimal interaction of system elements (both occupational and behavioral risk factors) reduces health risks for oil refinery operators.

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