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The evaluation of arterial hypertension in workplaces is an important prevention act and a public health priority; few epidemiological study, up to date, has been projected to detect correlation between workplaces and hypertension disease. We studied a cohort of industrial employees(mainly engineering area) to evaluate epidemiological disease data and to study particular aspects of disease; this work focalized to the role of blood pressure variability in workplace and its measurement by Ambulatory blood pressure in 24 hours (ABPM), useful instrument to predict and help to evaluate cardiovascular risk in workers exposed to several agents. In our study underwent ABPM 56 patients referred to an occupational physician; all of these patients were employed in industrial area (mainly engineering district). Identified risk factors: noise (85 dBA), handling of loads (Niosh Index > 1,6), inorganic powders. Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)was administered to the entire study population, in order to identify the highest risk behavior profiles work related stress. The analysis performed showed no statistically significant correlation. The monitoring was carried out on patients with the indications provided by the ESH-ESC 2007 guidelines for the treatment of hypertension. The data analysis has highlighted the correlation between profile and BP circadian variability, in particular the SBP and MAP, calculated by evaluating the standard deviations; data also have shown that SBP and MAP variability within 24-hour and circadian profiles are two mutually independent variables and not correlated. The dipper group, which preserves a physiological circadian rhythm and is therefore considered a lower risk of cardio-cerebrovascular accidents, has a higher pressure variability compared to other groups, therefore an additional factor of cardiovascular risk. Exposure to noise, and high cardiometabolic request due to handling of loads (with a METs estimated to 3-4), may be contributing cause of these peculiar aspects of disease in our study cohort. Further studies are needed to confirm the observations made so far, in terms of examined population follow-up that we propose to make in the coming years. All these information should be considered in occupational medicine, especially in cardiometabolic risk management of industrial workers.

Manual patient handling (MPH) is a major occupational risk in healthcare settings. The aim of this study was to propose an MPH training model involving interdisciplinary aspects. A scheduled training program was performed with 60 healthcare workers (HCWs) from a hospital in Naples, Italy, providing training divided into three sections (occupational health&mdash, section one, physical therapy&mdash, section two, psychosocial section&mdash, section three) and lasting six hours. Fifty-two HCWs performed the training session. In section one, a questionnaire about risk perception related to specific working tasks was administered. Section two provided specific exercises for the postural discharge of the anatomical areas most involved in MPH. The last section provided teamwork consolidation through a role-playing exercise. The training program could also be useful for risk assessment itself, as they can examine the perceptions of the specific risk of the various workers and incorrect attitudes and therefore correct any incorrect procedures, reducing exposure to specific risks in the field. This pilot study proposes a training model that explores all aspects related to MPH risk exposure and also underlines the need for standardization of this formative model, which could represent a useful tool for studying the real effectiveness of training in workplaces.

The authors conducted a work-related stress surveillance study in 2013 on 6,558 public-sector employees in Italy, examining how they perceived their jobs, via the Job Content Questionnaire, and their mental health status, via the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12). Of the 2,094 employees completing the questionnaires, 60% were male, 52% had a medium-level education, and 76% had a medium-level job. Three hundred and eighty-five employees (18%) had a GHQ-12 score >3 and were classified as GHQ-12 cases: these were more often female (54%), medium-to-highly educated (54%), and had more often reported health problems over the previous year (51%). Thus, GHQ-12 cases represented a significant percentage of the examined population, indicating that work-related stress surveillance programs are needed for the planning of psychosocial interventions aimed at the reintegration of individuals with mental health problems.