Risk Factors for Frequent Work-related Burn and Cut Injuries and Low Back Pain among Commercial Kitchen Workers in Japan

Abstract

This study investigated risk factors for frequent work-related burn and cut injuries and low back pain (LBP) among kitchen workers including personal, work-related and environmental factors. Subjects were 991 kitchen workers in 103 schools, 17 hospitals and nursing homes, and 6 restaurants in central Japan. A cross-sectional survey was carried out using a structured selfadministered questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations between frequent injuries/LBP and risk factors. The effective response rate was 75.1% (n=744), the mean age was 40.7 (SD 11.7) and 77.2% were female. Burn injury was associated with a smaller kitchen (OR 1.94; 95%CI, 1.13-3.33), and gas kitchens rather than electric kitchens (OR 2.30; 95%CI, 1.17-4.52). LBP was associated with female gender (OR 2.46; 95%CI, 1.37-4.43), high body height (>160 cm) (OR 2.03; 95%CI, 1.22-3.36), and large number of meals produced per person (≥150 meals) (OR 1.83; 95%CI, 1.12-3.00). The results of this study suggest that securing adequate work space and introducing electric kitchen systems may reduce the risk to kitchen workers, as well as the importance of adequate height of cooking equipment and selecting an appropriate volume of meals to produce per person to prevent LBP in kitchen workers.

Burn and Cut Injuries Related to Job Stress among Kitchen Workers in Japan

“…The subjects in this study were 991 workers aged from 17 to 68 yr old in 126 kitchen facilities, which included 103 primary schools (578 workers, 58.3%), 17 hospitals (343 workers, 34.6%), and 6 restaurants (70 workers, 7.1%) in central Japan. The 126 kitchen facilities were recruited from a list that they were compiled by occupational doctors and researchers of this study, as previously reported 19 , 30 ) . All the schools were public schools, and 81 of them were located in the Chubu region, while 22 were located in the Tokyo metropolitan area.…”

“…(≤5 times/>5, ≤10 times/>10, ≤20 times/>20 times). For the burns (+) and cuts (+) those who were injured six times or more in the last year were the frequent group, and they were used to analyze the correlation between each factor and injuries according to Tomita’s study 19 ) .…”

“…Previous studies reported that kitchen worker had a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders 8 , 9 , 10 ) , skin diseases 11 , 12 ) , and slipping 13 , 14 ) . Furthermore, many studies reported a high risk of kitchen work-related burns or cuts among kitchen workers in many countries, such as in the US 15 , 16 , 17 ) , Finland 18 ) , Ireland 2 ) , Canada 3 ) , Singapore 4 ) , India 14 ) , and Japan 19 ) . In addition, burns injury led to lost working time and public expenses 3 , 13 ) .…”

“…Regarding the causes of burns, personal factors (males, younger, less job experience), work-related factors (night-shift work), and environmental factors were reported 15 , 16 , 19 ) . The ergonomics, equipment, and devices were considered in some previous studies 18 ) .…”

Health Effects on Canteen Staff Working in a University Canteen

“…More women than men work in the university canteen which is consistent with general statistics that women are more likely to work in a kitchen than men. From previous studies, musculoskeletal pain including low back pain seems to be a problem in women more than men [12] [13]. Subjects whom stand up for long time during food preparation could lead to effects on subjective discomfort among cooks during food preparation [14].…”