Our results indicate that exposure to noise or a mixture of organic solvents may be associated with the prevalence of hypertension in car manufacturing company workers and co-exposure to noise and a mixture of solvents has an additive effect in this regard. Therefore appropriate preventive programs in these workers recommended.

Nursing is a stressful and highly demanding job. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between psychosocial job strain and the prevalence of back symptoms in nursing personnel using the demand-control model. In a cross-sectional study, 545 nursing professionals answered to a self-administered questionnaire on demography, job content, and lower and upper back symptoms (LBS and UBS, respectively). Based on their answers, the participants were grouped as follows: low strain, high strain, active job, and passive job. The groups were compared in regard to the prevalence of LBS and UBS (totalling 58.5 % and 47.9 %, respectively) over the past 12 months. We found no association between job control and back symptoms, but participants with high psychosocial job demands showed greater risk of LBS (OR=1.57 and p=0.014) and UBS (OR=1.73 and p=0.005) than those with low job demands. LBS in the low strain, high strain, and active job groups was more prevalent than in the passive group (OR=1.64, OR=2. 49 and OR=1.90, respectively; p≤0.05). In addition, the high strain group showed greater prevalence of UBS than the passive group (OR=1.82 and p=0.019). Our study suggests that psychosocial job strain, high psychosocial demands in particular, may be associated with greater prevalence of back symptoms in nursing personnel. Our fi ndings may help to design preventive measures that would lower the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in this profession. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2013;64:505-512 Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are among the most common complaints among factory workers (1, 2). The United States and Canada spend 3.1 % and 4.2 %, respectively for indirect costs of MSDs. Annually, billions of dollars are spent on diagnostic and therapeutic procedures related to MSDs (3, 4). According to Caruso and Waters (5), musculoskeletal disorders are also a major cause of morbidity among healthcare workers. Trinkoff et al. (6) suggest that MSDs may be associated with increased nurse turnover. Owen (7) showed that 20 % of nurses had changed their jobs at least once because of an MSD. KEY WORDS: lower back pain, musculoskeletal system, nurses, stress, upper back pain Golabadi M, et al. PSYCHOSOCIAL STRAIN AND BACK SYMPTOMS IN NURSESWith a prevalence of 30 % to 60 %, low back disorders (LBD) are the most frequent MSDs among nurses (6). About 30 % of all LBDs are work-related (8), including psychosocial factors such as job strain (9-13).In his demand-control model, Karasek (14) defi nes job strain as a combination of high psychological job demands and low job control at work. This model has extensively been used to assess psychosocial job hazard in investigations of various work-related health outcomes. The underlying principle is that workrelated stress, measured by levels of job demands and Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/11/18 12:12 PM

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Some studies suggest that exposure to industrial solvents can affect blood pressure. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a mixture of organic solvents on blood pressure in women working in a pharmaceutical company in Iran. Four hundred and thirty-three women were included in the study. Women working in packing units (group 1) were not exposed to the mixture of organic solvents, women in new laboratory units (group 2) were exposed to the mixture within the permitted range and women working in old laboratory units (group 3) were exposed to the mixture above the permitted limit. We compared systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP & DBP) and prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension among groups. The results revealed a signifi cant difference in SBP and pre-hypertension (p<0.001) and hypertension (p<0.05) prevalence between the exposed and the control group, but DBP did not differ signifi cantly. Logistic regression analysis showed a signifi cant association between hypertension and exposure to mixed solvents. Odds ratio for hypertension in the group 2 and group 3 (exposed) workers was 2.36 and 3, respectively, compared to controls. Our results suggest that exposure to a mixture of organic solvents may increase SBP and hypertension and pre-hypertension prevalence in drug manufacture workers. Therefore, more attention should be paid to workers that work in such settings by periodically measuring blood pressure and implementing accurate and comprehensive programs to reduce exposure to organic solvents.