Journal of Occupational

  Introduction: The majoritiy of abortion risk factors has been classified as environmental and vary from one place to another. This study aimed to explore the relationship between exposure to pesticides and spontaneous abortion among female pistachio farmers in Rafsanjan, Iran.

  Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 50 women with spontaneous abortion and 50 women without this history who were matched based on some factors were recruited. Cases and controls were recruited through the list of all pregnant women who were registered in the rural health centers of the county. A written consent form was taken. Dependent and independent variables were experiencing spontaneous abortion and had been exposed to pistachio farms pesticides, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Odds ratio was also calculated to measure the level of risk for spontaneous abortion after exposing to pistachio pesticides and 95% confidence interval was reported.

  Results: About 72% and 22% of mothers with and without spontaneous abortion had experienced working in pistachio farms during their pregnancy, respectively. There was a significant level of risk for mothers who had worked in pistachio farms (during their pregnancy) to experience spontaneous abortion compared to those mothers who did not (Odds Ratio= 9.1, 95%CI=3.7-22.6). Odds ratio showed an increasing risk of spontaneous abortion among those who helped with spraying pesticides in pistachio farms compared to those mothers who did not (OR= 9.3, 95%CI=2.0-43.7).

  Conclusion: Exposure to pesticides has been a major risk for causing spontaneous abortion among pregnant pistachio farmers in the area of this research. Further investigations are recommended.

  Background : Some researchers have argued that job satisfaction has been vaguely defined in the organizational literature. Also, there is a lack of consensus over the meaning of job satisfaction in literature. The aim of this study was to clarify dimensions of job satisfaction's concept based on a systematic review study.

  Materials and Methods: The present study used a systematic review to clarify job satisfaction's concept. Some databases including Pubmed and Medline were searched, carefully using proper keywords. A total of 38 articles were reviewed, all were published between 1986 and 2009, with the majority being of quantitative nature and design. Data on the following items were extracted: country, setting, subjects, the definition of job satisfaction, theoretical background for measuring job satisfaction and the dimensions of job satisfaction.

  Results: The results of this study showed that job satisfaction has been born in mind both conceptually and operationally. In both aspects, job satisfaction was assumed to be influenced by personal and organizational dimensions. The main focus was on identifying and controlling different factors to provide job satisfaction for individuals. Yet, individuals' contributions to satisfy themselves were ignored.

Conclusions: We explored that job satisfaction is a multi dimensional concept. This contains individual abilities, attitudes, beliefs and value system. To achieve job satisfaction, it is important that the staff have the characteristics of positive feelings and attitudes, commitment, and responsibility.

  Background: In the refractory brick manufacturing industry, because of the high risks associated with the level of dust in the factory environment and thermal stress, a precise identification of industrial hazards is required as a part of safety analysis. The aim of this study was to introduce a preventive approach to risk identification and assessment in the refractory brick production line.

  Materials and Methods: In this paper, methods such as observation of factory operations, process analysis through the factory diagrams, and interviews with employees were used. In addition, the risk levels of the factory were investigated using the risk matrix.

  Results: The results of the study showed 97 deviations from the main process with various causes and consequences. None of the deviations were in the unacceptable category with 3.09% falling in the undesirable category, 3.09% in the acceptable but in need of revision category, and 92.78% in the acceptable category.

  Conclusions: The results showed that 40.2% of the risks were caused by human errors. The installation of a secondary control valve in the transfer route of the glue vapors to the workplace, an alternative pressure control system, a secondary ventilation system, several fans near the furnace (redundancy), and a real-time phenol monitor are recommended. Moreover, regular analysis of safety, health, and environmental risks are some of the recommendations proposed to reduce the identified risk level.

Background: Due to increasing life expectancy and declining fertility rates, the population over the age of 60 in developed and developing countries is increasing. This matter draws attention toward the improvement of the health of the elderly and consideration of the health and treatment needs of this important group of human society. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of integrated care and educational interventions of a healthy lifestyle on the quality of life (QOL) of the elderly.

Materials and Methods: This semi-empirical study was conducted on 180 elderly patients admitted to the health centers in Rafsanjan, Iran. Multistage sampling was performed in the health centers of the city and the suburbs. The subjects were divided into two groups of intervention (n = 90) and control (n = 90). The intervention group was under the program of healthy lifestyle education for a period of 6 months. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The quiestionnaires were completed through interviews during two time intervals of before and after the intervention. SPSS software was used for data analysis.

Results: The mean ages of subjects in the intervention and control groups were 71.8 ± 2.3 and 66.4 ± 2.3, respectively. The mean QOL scores of subjects in the intervention and control groups before the intervention were 56.05 ± 2.17 and 61.39 ± 1.46 (out of 100), and after the intervention were 62.11 ± 3.03 and 56.9 ± 1.59, respectively. The statistical comparison showed that the QOL score of the intervention group after the intervention was significantly higher than before the intervention (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The results of this study showed an increase in QOL of the elderly after the intervention compared to before the intervention. Therefore, by educating the elderly as groups and individuals about adopting a healthy lifestyle and by implementing healthcare, their QOL can be promoted.

Background: Gastrointestinal cancers are among the most common cancers in different communities. Gastrointestinal tract cancer is the most common cancer among Iranian men and the second common cancer among Iranian women. Due to the impact of environmental factors on the risk of gastrointestinal cancer and the increasing use of agricultural pesticides, this study aimed to investigate the effects of exposure to pesticides on gastrointestinal cancer among  pistachio farmers, Rafsanjan, Iran

Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 79 patients with gastrointestinal cancer (cases) and 143 healthy people (controls) were studied. For each case, two people were selected as controls for each case  from  their neighbors and relatives. Data were  collected  using the study checklist which included demographic  information and specific items related to their exposure. Data were  analyzed using independent t-test, chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and logistic regression. 

Results: The risk of gastrointestinal cancer after controlling some confounding factors among individuals who were exposed to  spraying pesticides  for less than 10 days per year was 1.38 (CI: 0.70-2.71), and in individuals who were exposed to it for between 10 to 20 days per year was 1.71 (CI: 0.79-3.7). The difference was not statistically significant . However, for individuals who had this exposure for more than 20 days per year, the risk was increased to 8.53 (CI: 2.1-34.7) which was statistically significant (P = 0.004). Unexpected exposure to agricultural pesticides and living close to pistachio gardens, both significantly (P < 0.05) increased the risk of gastrointestinal cancers by 8.67 (CI: 1-75.71) and 2.7 (CI: 1.43-5.1), respectively. Among subjects who used  protective equipment, the risk of gastrointestinal cancer was statistically lower (OR = 0.18, 95%CI: 0.042-0.85) than this risk among people who did not use this equipment (P = 0.03).

Conclusions: Our findings showed that exposure to pesticides, in particular for long time, increased the risk of gastrointestinal cancer among pistachio farmers. Further studies in this area are recommended.

Background: The spread of the novel coronavirus seems mysterious enough to make us double-check the indices being used to predict its transmission. In this study, serological analysis was performed to assess some metric and epidemiological aspects of the infection and its transmissibility among people in contact with SARA-CoV-2 patients.   
Material and Methods: A total of 453 contacts of 40 COVID-19 patients entered this contact tracing prospective cohort study. Accordingly, SARS-CoV-2 patients were diagnosed by the real-time polymerase chain reaction testing of nasopharyngeal samples. The infectiousness history was detected by the serological testing of IgG and IgM. Trained expert team completed two questionnaires, and blood samples were taken by experts in a laboratory. Data were analyzed using SPSS V21.0 and R software.
Results: The mean ages of the SARS-CoV-2 patients and the contacts were 53.0±18.2 and 30.8±19.3 years, respectively. The overall R₀ of the infection was 2.58. Household and non-household secondary attack rates (SAR) were 20% (95%CI; 12.7–27.3) and 11.3% (95%CI; 6.1-16.5), respectively. The transmission probability of each contact was 0.0205, and the serial interval was 6.4±4.6 (95% CI; 5.2–7.6) days. The SAR was higher among the contacts who were exposed to asymptomatic primary cases (28%, 95%CI; 10-46%) than (13.8%, 95%CI; 9.4-18.2) among those exposed to symptomatic patients. 
Conclusions: It is concluded that the herd immunity of 60 to 65% is needed in human communities, based on the amount of R₀ estimated in our survey. The findings demonstrated the amount of the reduction in infection R₀, which is predicted based on both clinical and public health interventions.