HBV‐ and HCV‐ Infected Workers in the Japanese Workplace

Abstract

HBV-and HCV-Infected Workers in the Japanese Workplace, Rie NARAI, et al. Department o f E n v i r o n m e n t a l H e a l t h , U n i v e r s i t y o fOccupational and Environmental Health-Around three million Japanese are persistently infected with HBV or HCV. Though most of them work in various industries, little is known about the actual conditions in their workplaces. To clarify the workplace conditions of workers with hepatitis, three kinds of questionnaire surveys, answered by occupational health physicians and workers with hepatitis, were carried out. The rates of workers recognized as workers with hepatitis B or C by occupational health physicians were 0.82% and 0.48% of 130,092 workers, respectively. About 30% of workers with hepatitis were engaged in "hazardous work". The percentage of workers engaged in various types of hazardous work among workers with hepatitis was nearly the same as that among all Japanese workers. About 30% of occupational health physicians witnessed exacerbation of hepatitis in the workers at their workplaces, and 22% of workers with hepatitis experienced exacerbation of hepatitis. The rate of workers with hepatitis who had experienced exacerbation was not significantly different between workers with and without hazardous work. Workers with hepatitis have strong concerns about the relationship between work and exacerbation. As causes of exacerbation, occupational health physicians cited "unknown", "drinking" and "quit treatment" while workers with hepatitis answered "work-related causes", besides "unknown" and "drinking." (J Occup Health 2007; 49: 9-16)

A systematic review of hepatitis C virus epidemiology in Asia, Australia and Egypt

“…The estimated HCV prevalence was 1–1.9%. Published estimates come from a large number of blood donor (138, 143–149) and subgroup‐based studies throughout the country from 1991 to 2010 (140, 141, 145, 147, 150–184). A study of pregnant women in 1990–1994 found a prevalence of 0.3% in women <40, and 1.8% in women over 40, suggestive of the importance of historical risk factors (140).…”

Health Disparities among Occupations in Taiwan: A Population Study

“…The literature concerning occupational health disparities and occupational health psychology seem to suggest that mental (e.g., burnout) or physical health disparities (e.g., CVD or asthma) may be attributed to working conditions and job characteristics such as ergonomic risk factors 20) ; exposures to vinyl chloride, silica, carbon fuel, wood dust, asbestos, mineral oils; or external ionizing radiation at work [21][22][23] ; amount of control or discretion at work [24][25][26][27][28][29][30] ; and skills and abilities required to perform tasks (e.g., regulating one's emotions and ways of expressing them to meet requirements at work 31) . Other contributing factors also include shift work and eating habits 32) , management and organizational structure 33) , safety and health climate 34) , nature of jobs that create conflict between work and family 35) , access to and utilization of quality health care 36) and organizational regulations or policies (e.g., sick leave policies or return to work policies).…”

Sociodemographic Factors and Prejudice toward HIV and Hepatitis B/C Status in a Working-Age Population: Results from a National, Cross-Sectional Study in Japan

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