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OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the association between occupational biomechanical exposures and occurrence of surgically treated ulnar nerve entrapment (UNE). METHODS: A cohort of 229 689 male construction workers who participated in a national occupational health surveillance program (1971–1993) were examined prospectively over a 13-year case ascertainment period (2001–2013) for surgically treated UNE. Job title (construction trade), smoking status, height, weight and age were recorded on examination. Job titles were merged into occupational groups of workers performing similar work tasks and having similar training. Occupational biomechanical exposure estimates were assigned to each occupational group with a job exposure matrix (JEM) developed for the study. Negative binomial models were used to assess the relative risks for each biomechanical exposure and the sums of highly correlated biomechanical exposures. Surgical treatment of UNE was determined via a linkage with the Swedish Hospital Outpatient Surgery Register. RESULTS: There were 555 cases of surgically treated UNE within the cohort. Workers exposed to forceful hand-grip factors had a 1.4-fold higher relative risk (95% CI 1.18–1.63) of undergoing surgical treatment for UNE compared to unexposed workers. Occupational groups comprising workers exposed to forceful hand-grip work showed the highest risks for UNE and included concrete workers, floor layers, ground preparatory workers, rock blasters, and sheet-metal workers. CONCLUSION: Forceful hand-grip work increases the risk for surgically treated ulnar nerve entrapment.

Objective The aim was to examine if exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) increases the risk for hospitalization due to lumbar disc herniation. Methods The study basis is a cohort of 288,926 Swedish construction workers who participated in a national occupational health surveillance programme from 1971 until 1992. Job title, smoking habits, body weight, height and age were registered at the examinations. Assessment of WBV were made for each of the constituent occupations by constructing a job-exposure matrix (JEM). Exposure to WBV was graded on a scale from 0 to 5. In addition, the occurrence of hospitalization due to lumbar disc herniation from January 1st 1987 until December 31st 2010 was collected from a linkage with the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register. Poisson regressions were used to estimate relative risk with 95 percent confidence intervals (95% CI), adjusting for age, height, weight and smoking, using white-collar workers and foremen as a reference group. Results There was an increased risk for hospitalization due to lumbar disc herniation for workers in the construction industry exposed to medium to high WBV compared to white-collar workers and foremen 1.35 (1.12–1.63). When restricting the analyses to include workers 30–49 years of age at the time of the hospital admission the risk was 1.69 (95% CI 1.29–2.21). Conclusion This study further supports that occupational exposure to whole-body vibration increases the risk for hospitalization due to lumbar disc herniation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00420-018-1316-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Workers in the Arctic open-pit mines are exposed to harsh weather conditions. Employers are required to provide protective clothing for workers. This can be the outer layer, but sometimes also inner or middle layers are provided. This study aimed to determine how the Arctic open-pit miners protect themselves against cold and the sufficiency, and the selection criteria of the garments. Workers' cold experiences and the clothing in four Arctic open-pit mines in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia were evaluated by a questionnaire (n=1323). Basic thermal insulation (Icl) of the reported clothing was estimated (ISO 9920). The Icl of clothing from the mines were also measured by thermal manikin (standing/walking) in 0.3 and 4.0 m/s wind. The questionnaire showed that the Icl of the selected clothing was on average 1.2 and 1.5 clo in mild (-5 to +5°C) and dry cold (-20 to -10°C) conditions, respectively. The Icl of the clothing measured by thermal manikin was 1.9w2.3 clo. The results show that the Arctic open-pit miners' selected their clothing based on occupational (time outdoors), environmental (temperature, wind, moisture) and individual factors (cold sensitivity, general health). However, the selected clothing was not sufficient to prevent cooling completely at ambient temperatures below -10°C. Special issue: New development of research on personal protective equipment (PPE) for occupational safety and health

Purpose To describe the self-reported ambient cold exposure in northern Sweden and to relate the level of cumulative cold exposure to the occurrence of sensory and vascular hand symptoms. We hypothesize that cold exposure is positively related to reporting such symptoms. Methods A questionnaire about cold exposure and related symptoms was sent out to 35,144 subjects aged 18–70 years and living in northern Sweden. Results A total of 12,627 out of 35,144 subjects returned the questionnaire (response rate 35.9%). Subjects living in the rural alpine areas reported more extensive cold exposure both during work and leisure time compared to the urbanized coastal regions. Frostbite in the hands was present in 11.4% of men and 7.1% of women, cold sensitivity was present in 9.7 and 14.4%, and Raynaud’s phenomenon was present in 11.0% of men and 14.0% of women. There was a positive association between cumulative cold exposure and neurovascular hand symptoms. Conclusion The present study demonstrates that the cold environment in northern Sweden might be an underestimated health risk. Our hypothesis that cold exposure is positively related to reporting of neurovascular hand symptoms was supported by our findings. In addition, such symptoms were common not only in conjunction with an overt cold injury. Our results warrant further study on pathophysiological mechanisms and suggest the need for confirmatory prevalence studies to support national public health planning. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00420-017-1221-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether exposure to cold could influence the thermal perception thresholds in a working population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was comprised of 251 males and females and was carried out at two mines in the northern part of Norway and Sweden. The testing included a baseline questionnaire, a clinical examination and measurements of thermal perception thresholds, on both hands, the index (Digit 2) and little (Digit 5) fingers, for heat and cold. RESULTS: The thermal perception thresholds were affected by age, gender and test site. The thresholds were impaired by experiences of frostbite in the fingers and the use of medication that potentially could affect neurosensory functions. No differences were found between the calculated normative values for these workers and those in other comparative investigations conducted in warmer climates. CONCLUSIONS: The study provided no support for the hypothesis that living and working in cold climate will lead to impaired thermal perception thresholds. Exposure to cold that had caused localized damage in the form of frostbite was shown to lead to impaired thermal perception.