Background: Exposure to hand-arm vibration is one of the most common physical harmful factors. The purpose of this study was Experimental study of the level of manual performance disability caused by exposure to hand-arm vibration among automobile casting workers. Methods: This study was performed on 53 casting workers as case group and 28 controls as control group. The measurement of the vibration of the worker's arms and hands was carried out in accordance with the ISO 5349 standard. The level of manual performance disability was evaluated using skeletal-muscular, sensory-neural and vascular tests. Also, a questionnaire was used for the level of disability of the arm, shoulder and hand DASH. Data were analyzed using SPSS16. Results: The 8-hour vibration exposure was 8.33 m / s 2 (4.49), which exceeded the permissible level. Skill and dexterity, fingers and grip strength of the dominant hand in the case group were decreased by 4%, 13.3% and 11%, respectively (P<0.05). The regeneration time of the dominant hand in the case group was 41.2% higher than the control group (P<0.05). Sensory-neurological complications increased in the case group compared to the control group, however, it was not statistically significant. The DASH score in the case group was 10.7 (13.4) and the control group was 4.1 (5.1). Conclusion: Hand-arm manual performance disability in workers exposed to vibration decreased from 4% to 14%, which confirmed the DASH score. In addition, workers showed a higher level of vascular complications compared with sensory-neurological complications.
Background and Objective:Constant exposure to cold is considered a workplace hazard in cold seasons. We aimed to determine the level of cold stress and its relationship with physiological responses in auto mechanics. Materials and Methods:This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in the winter of 2016 among auto mechanics in Hamadan, Iran. Physiological responses were measured in accordance with the ISO 9886 standard method. Body fat percentage was also quantified using Caliper model 01128, and the thermal resistance of the participants' clothing was calculated in clo using the ISO 9920 standard. Environmental measures such as air temperature and air velocity were measured simultaneously, based on which cold stress indices including wind chill factor and wind chill equivalent temperature were determined. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 21. Results: The means of wind chill index, equivalent chill temperature, and minimal required clothing insulation (IREQ) were 489.97±47.679 kcal/m 2 .h, 13.78± 1.869°c, and 2.04±0.246 clo, respectively. According to the results of cold stress indices, the studied employees were exposed to cold stress. Pearson correlation test reflected a significant relationship between cold stress indices and physiological responses (P<0.05), however, IREQ showed the highest association with the physiological responses of the subjects. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between body fat percentage and core temperature (P<0.05; r=0.314). Conclusion:The results confirmed that IREQ index has high validity for the estimation of cold stress among auto mechanics. Moreover, the increase of body fat percentage boosts cold tolerance of employees.
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