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Although coronavirus disease 2019 is causing a variety of psychological problems for workers, there are few longitudinal studies on changes in workers' mental health by workplace intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the change in the prevalence of depression and anxiety according to the active involvement of the workplace.This study was conducted on 1,978 workers at a workplace who underwent a health screening from January 2019 to August 2020, and classified depression and anxiety disorders using a self-report questionnaire. After the first pandemic, the company stopped health screening, took paid leave and telecommuting, and conducted interventions such as operating its own screening clinic. To see if this workplace intervention affects workers' mental health, we conducted generalized estimating equations to compare odds ratio (OR).In the pre-intervention group, 384 people (16.86%) had depression, and 507 people (22.26%) had anxiety disorder. Based on the OR before intervention, the OR of depression decreased to 0.76 (0.66-0.87) and the OR of anxiety disorder decreased to 0.73 (0.65-0.82).As a result of this study, it was confirmed that workplace intervention was related to a decrease in depression and anxiety. This study provides basic data to improve workers' mental health according to workplace intervention, and further research is needed according to workplace intervention in the future.

Background Recently, lung cancer screenings based on age and smoking history using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) have begun in Korea. This study aimed to evaluate the distribution of lung imaging reporting and data system (Lung-RADS) categories in shipyard workers exposed to lung carcinogens such as nickel, chromium, and welding fumes according to job type, to provide basic data regarding indications for LDCT in shipyard workers. Methods This study included 6,326 workers from a single shipyard, who underwent health examinations with LDCT between January 2010 and December 2018. Data on age, smoking status and history, medical history, and job type were investigated. The participants were categorized into high-exposure, low-exposure, and non-exposure job groups based on the estimated exposure level of nickel, chromium, and welding fumes according to job type. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to determine the difference between exposure groups in Lung-RADS category ≥ 3 (3, 4A, and 4B). Results Out of all participants, 97 (1.5%) participants were classified into Lung-RADS category ≥ 3 and 7 (0.1%) participants were confirmed as lung cancer. The positive predictive value (ratio of diagnosed lung cancer cases to Lung-RADS category ≥ 3) was 7.2%. The hazard ratio (HR) of Lung-RADS category ≥ 3 was 1.451 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.911-2.309) in low-exposure and 1.692 (95% CI: 1.007-2.843) in high-exposure job group. Adjusting for age and pack-years, the HR was statistically significant only in the high-exposure job group (HR: 1.689; 95% CI: 1.004-2.841). Conclusions Based on LDCT and Lung-RADS, among male shipyard workers, Lung-RADS category ≥ 3 were significantly higher in the high-exposure job group. Their HR tended to be > 1.0 and was statistically significant in the high-exposure job group. Additional studies should be conducted to establish more elaborate LDCT indications for occupational health examination.

Background This study assessed the association between shift work and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), in female workers in electronics manufacturing services (EMS). Methods Female EMS workers who received special medical examinations for workers in Gyeongnam, Korea between January 2017 and December 2017 were enrolled in this study. Their age, marital status, education level, alcohol consumption, smoking habit, regular exercise, quality of sleep, work stress, and depression were investigated, and blood tests were conducted. The t- and χ2 tests were conducted to compare the general and biochemical characteristics between daytime and shift worker groups. Age-adjusted partial correlation analysis was performed to examine the linear relationship between hs-CRP level and other risk factors for CVDs. In addition, the difference in hs-CRP levels according to work schedule was analyzed by ANCOVA after adjusting for variables that could affect the hs-CRP level. Results Although the average hs-CRP levels did not differ significantly between daytime and shift workers (0.92 ± 1.87 and 1.07 ± 2.20 mg/dL, respectively), shift workers tended to show a higher hs-CRP level (p = 0.067). After adjusting for variables that can affect the hs-CRP level, the estimated average hs-CRP level was significantly higher in shift workers (1.325 ± 0.156 mg/dL) than that in daytime workers (0.652 ± 0.350 mg/dL) (p = 0.003). Conclusions The results of this study identified a relationship between shift work and hs-CRP level increase in women. Because multiple studies have reported associations between increased hs-CRP and CVD, follow-up of hs-CRP may help early detection of CVD in shift workers.