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Biomedical subjects

O Y Chan

Publications and source records attributed to O Y Chan.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Health problems among spice grinders.

Sixty-one male spice grinders from 14 factories were studied to determine if they had any skin problems, respiratory symptoms or hearing loss associated with their work. All subjects were interviewed and examined. Audiometric examinations were arranged for those with significant noise exposure. Assessments of dust and noise levels were conducted. Symptoms of upper respiratory tract irritation, such as sneezing and runny nose, during work were experienced by 49.2 per cent of workers. These symptoms were maximal in the first few weeks of employment in spice grinding and did not recur in half of the affected workers. Over 26 per cent of the workers experienced a warm or burning sensation of the skin when grinding chili or pepper. None of the spice grinders had symptoms or evidence on physical examination of allergic skin disease or asthma. Noise-induced hearing loss was detected in 21 per cent of the workers examined but none had severe disabling deafness. Dust levels ranged from 0.03 to 0.82 mg/m3, with a mean value of 0.15 mg/m3. Noise exposure was significant, with levels of between 87 and 98 dBA. Control measures to reduce the noise and dust exposure are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Sleep-wake patterns and subjective sleep quality of day and night workers: interaction between napping and main sleep episodes.

Five hundred and ninety-three women electronics workers were studied to determine if there was any association between their subjective sleep quality and their sleep patterns. They were 108 day workers, 107 permanent night workers, 216 workers on weekly phase-advance (night/afternoon/morning), and 162 workers on two-weekly phase-delay (morning/afternoon/night) rotating shift schedules. The study was part of a larger survey on night workers involving a self-administered questionnaire. The proportion of nappers was higher in night workers than in day, morning, and afternoon shift workers. Nappers had shorter main sleep, but their total sleep duration was generally the same as that of nonnappers. Compared to nonnappers, a higher proportion of day and morning shift workers who napped did not sleep well. Permanent night workers, with the highest proportion of nappers, had more workers sleeping well than rotating night workers. Subjects who slept well were those with longer total and main sleep and generally started the main sleep earlier. The results indicate a relationship between subjective sleep quality, sleep length, main sleep start, and napping behavior. Whether this relationship is causal is difficult to establish as sleep quality may also reflect the general health status, and this may result in differences in sleep behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Respiratory function in cadmium battery workers--a follow-up study.

The lung function status of workers in a cadmium-nickel battery factory was re-examined 3 years after an initial study which showed a mild restrictive effect. During this period, further measures were taken to reduce the cadmium exposure. Of the 44 'original' cadmium-exposed workers, 17 were still exposed to cadmium. Another 13 were transferred to non-cadmium work at least 6 months and 14 left the company at least 1 year before the present study. Blood and urine cadmium concentrations were considerably lower than previously, consistent with the decreased cadmium-in-air levels. The total lung capacity increased both in the workers who were still exposed to cadmium and those who ceased exposure. The latter group also had increased vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms decreased particularly in the workers who were no longer exposed to cadmium.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Leptospirosis risk in public cleansing and sewer workers.

The degree of leptospirosis risk was investigated in 80 sewer and 120 public cleansing workers. They were interviewed and their serum samples tested for the presence of leptospiral antibodies by the sensitised erythrocyte lysis (SEL) test. Another 100 control subjects matched by sex, age and ethnic group were similarly studied. The study subjects had higher seroprevalence than the controls--over six times higher for SEL titres of greater than 1:100 and over 1.5 times for titres of greater than 1:25. The highest seroprevalence was found in workers cleaning wet markets and food centres. There was no significant correlation between the prevalence of positive titres and symptom prevalence or hospitalisation. Five of the study subjects (all sewer workers) gave a history of jaundice.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1982

Study on workers exposed to cadmium in alkaline storage battery manufacturing and PVC compounding.

The extent of cadmium exposure was studied in a cadmium-nickel battery factory and 8 PVC factories using cadmium stabilisers in the compounding of PVC. A total of 101 cadmium-exposed workers and 21 control subjects matched by sex, age, ethnic group and smoking history was investigated. Blood and urine cadmium levels were considerably elevated in the battery workers but were not raised in the PVC workers. These findings were consistent with the results of cadmium-in-air assessments. Among the female battery workers, urine cadmium excretion increased significantly with employment time. There was good correlation between blood and urine cadmium levels among the female subjects. A significant association between blood cadmium levels and prevalence of chest pain was also noted among the females. No low molecular weight proteinuria was detected, but two female battery workers had slight albuminuria and one male PVC worker had glucosuria but had abnormal GTT results.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Low birth weight in relation to parental occupations-a population-based registry in Singapore (1994-1998).

OBJECTIVES: To study the association between parental occupation and low birth weight (LBW) in infants born in Singapore between 1994 and 1998. Other factors that may be related to LBW were also investigated. METHODS: A retrospective study. Information was obtained from the Singapore National Registry of Births and Deaths on parental occupations for live births between 1 January 1994 to 31 December 1998. Parental date of birth, ethnic group, and highest educational qualification were also obtained. The associations between these factors and the occurrence of LBW was assessed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total 208,360 live births were studied. Analyses were restricted to singleton births > or =37th week gestation (total of 189,064). No significant differences in LBW risk were found for the different maternal occupational groups, compared with a referent group ("legislators, senior officers, and managers"). However, fathers who were "not working" (OR=2.04; 1.57-2.65), "not classifiable by occupation" (OR=1.34; 1.09-1.65), and "cleaners, laborers, and related workers" (OR=1.32; 1.12-1.55) had the highest risk of LBW infants when compared with "legislators, senior officers, and managers," after adjustment for maternal occupation, ethnic group, educational level and age, paternal educational level, infant gestational age, sex, and birth order. CONCLUSION: Certain paternal occupational groups appear to be associated with a higher risk of having LBW infants. This may be linked to socioeconomic status and possible work-related factors. Future studies of pregnancy outcomes should not ignore the potential contributions of fathers.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗