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Urine monitoring is the preferred method to determine exposure to soluble compounds of uranium in workplaces. The interpretation of uranium contents in workers bioassay samples requires knowledge on uranium excretion and its dependence on intake by diet. Exceptionally high concentrations of natural uranium in private drinking water sources have been measured in the granite areas of Southern Finland. Consequently, high concentrations of natural uranium have been observed in the urine and hair samples of people using water from their own drilled wells. Natural uranium content in urine and hair samples of family members, who use uranium-rich household water, have been analyzed by using ICP-MS. The uranium concentrations both in urine and hair samples of the study subjects were significantly higher than the world-wide average values. In addition, gammaspectrometric methods have been tested for determining uranium in hair samples. This method can be used only for samples with highly elevated uranium concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 234U/238U ratio in water, hair and nails samples was determined by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) and inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometry (ICP-QMS) and by alpha-spectrometry for the water samples only. A correlation of 0.99 was found between the two ICPMS methods and of 0.98 with alpha-spectrometry. The range of activity ratios was between 0.9 and 2.6 according to the MC-ICPMS measurements. The reproducibility of both ICPMS techniques was better than 4% for water samples containing 1 µg l-1 of uranium and a 234U/238U atom ratio of 54.9 × 10-6. Sample preparation for the ICPMS consisted of dilution of water samples containing >10 µg l-1 of uranium and measurement time was ~1 mm, while alpha-spectrometry involved pre-concentration and separation of the uranium and counting times of 1000 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The isotopic ratio 234U/238U in drinking water and in hair, toenail, and urine samples from 45 individuals who consumed 0.2-2775 μg d-1 of uranium in their drinking water was determined using a multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICPMS). The 234U/238U atom ratio in the water samples varied from 51 × 10-6 to 252 × 10-6 whereas in secular equilibrium (i.e., unity activity ratio) the ratio is 54.9 × 10-6. The correlation of the 234U/238U ratio between hair and nail samples was 0.98, and between hair and nails and urine the ratio was 0.91 and 0.89, respectively. The correlation of the ratio between water and the hair or nails was 0.97 but only 0.72 for water and urine, possibly due to spectral interferences. These results conclusively demonstrated that the uranium found in the bioassays can be traced to the drinking water, thus providing a direct link to the source of exposure. Hair may serve as an excellent indicator of occupational or environmental exposure to uranium and provide information regarding its source. Bioassay of hair is attractive as it is an effective bio-concentrator, samples can be easily stored, the concentration reflects an integrated value, and, finally, the measurement of the 234U/238U isotopic ratio in digested hair samples by MC-ICPMS is feasible and highly informative. Hair bioassay can also be used to assess exposure to depleted uranium long after the subjects have left the area suspected of contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) and pulse shape analysis (PSA) was used in measuring radon and gross alpha- and beta-activities in groundwater. We used conventional LSC counters for the measurement of radon in water, but low-background LSC spectrometers for the gross activity measurements. The lower limit of detection (LLD) for radon in water is 0.6 Bq/l for a 60 min count with a conventional counter, but 0.1 or 0.2 Bq/l, with the two types of low-background LSC spectrometers equipped with a pulse shape analyser (PSA). The gross alpha and beta activity measurements are made using a simple sample preparation method, PSA of a low background LSC and spectrum analysis. The LLD recorded for gross alpha and beta with the two spectrometers are 0.02 and 0.03 Bq/l and 0.2 and 0.4 Bq/l, respectively, for a 180 minutes count and a 38 ml sample volume. The method also enable the calculation of the U and226Ra contents in water and indicates the presence of some other long-lived radionuclides (210Pb,228Ra or40K). The LLD for U recorded with both spectrometers is 0.02 Bq−1 and for226Ra 0.01 Bq·1−1. The LLDs attained by this LSC method are two orders of magnitude lower than the maximum permissible concentrations set for U and226Ra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A randomly selected sample of adult subjects living in a Swedish county was examined for the presence of oral mucosal lesions. Nine hundred twenty (920, 95%) of the selected sample of 967 subjects, comprising approximately 0.75% of the total adult population, were examined; lesions were registered in 596 of the 920. The registered prevalence levels were very similar to earlier reported data from Sweden. Further, the relationship between tobacco habits and mucosal lesions was analyzed and the time needed for treatment of the lesions was estimated. A positive correlation could be demonstrated between tobacco use and leukoplakia, frictional white lesion, coated tongue, hairy tongue and excessive melanin pigmentation, while a negative correlation was observed for geographic tongue and aphthous ulcers. Approximately 70% of the lesions were associated with local irritants (e.g. dentures, tobacco, cheek and lip biting etc.). The estimated mean time required for registration and management of oral mucosal lesions in the studied group of adults was 24 rain per individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the study is to explore sequences of sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) days from 2012 to 2018 among privately employed white-collar workers., Design: A 7-year prospective cohort study using microdata from nationwide registers., Setting: Sweden., Participants: All 1 283 516 privately employed white-collar workers in Sweden in 2012 aged 18-67., Methods: Sequence analysis was used to describe clusters of individuals who followed similar development of SA and DP net days/year, and multinomial logistic regression to analyse associations between sociodemographic variables and belonging to each observed cluster of sequences. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were adjusted for baseline sociodemographics., Results: We identified five clusters of SA and DP sequences: (1) 'low or no SA or DP' (88.7% of the population), (2) 'SA due to other than mental diagnosis' (5.2%), (3) 'SA due to mental diagnosis' (3.4%), (4) 'not eligible for SA or DP' (1.4%) and (5) 'DP' (1.2%). Men, highly educated, born outside Sweden and high-income earners were more likely to belong to the first and the fourth cluster (ORs 1.13-4.49). The second, third and fifth clusters consisted mainly of women, low educated and low-income (ORs 1.22-8.90). There were only small differences between branches of industry in adjusted analyses, and many were not significant., Conclusion: In general, only a few privately employed white-collar workers had SA and even fewer had DP during the 7-year follow-up. The risk of belonging to a cluster characterised by SA or DP varied by sex, levels of education and income, and other sociodemographic factors., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Reduced work ability is relatively common among job seekers and it can hinder future labour market attachment. A commonly used measure to increase employability is the use of active labour market programmes. While vocational labour market training (LMT) has been shown to be an effective way to increase work participation among job seekers, there is still uncertainty about how LMT works in different population groups, for example, among persons with a work disability history., Methods: We used nationally representative Finnish register data on 16 062 LMT participants in 2008-2015 aged 25-59 with a history of sickness absence (SA) and propensity score matched participants without such history. For matching, we used information on sociodemographic and work-related factors. We used difference-in-differences analysis to investigate the differential changes in work participation before and after LMT between those with and those without SA history., Results: Having a history of SA was associated with a lower gain in work participation after LMT, but the magnitude varied by sex, employment history and follow-up time. In women, having a history of SA contributed to 3.9-6.2 percentage points smaller increase in work participation 1-3 years after LMT, depending on the employment history. In men, the corresponding numbers were 2.0-4.3 percentage points. The results were more pronounced if the SA was due to mental disorders., Conclusions: The results indicate that work disability, especially due to mental disorders, can hamper work participation after LMT and should be considered when planning employment-enhancing measures for job seekers., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.)

Objectives: The use of part-time sickness absence (pSA) enables return to part-time work from full sickness absence. However, subsequent labour market outcomes of pSA users depend on various individual and work-related characteristics. We investigated labour market paths of private and public sector employees after having a pSA spell. Moreover, we examined individual and work-related factors associated with following them., Design: Longitudinal register-based cohort study., Setting: Finnish employed population., Participants: 9896 receivers of partial sickness allowance aged 45-56 in the years 2010-2014., Outcome: We constructed labour market trajectories based on the proportion of time spent in various labour market statuses measured over 3 years after the end of the pSA spell using multiresponse trajectory analysis. We then examined how different individual and work-related factors were associated with assignment to the different trajectory groups using logistic regression analyses., Results: The majority of the pSA users followed paths where work participation was consistently elevated (Sustained Work group, 40.4%), or only slightly reduced (Slightly Reduced Work group, 31.6%). Moreover, more than 1/10th of the users followed a path where receiving partial work disability benefits became predominant (Partial Work Disability group, 12.5%). The rest followed paths where other non-employment (Other Non-Employed group, 7.8%) or full work disability (Full Work Disability group, 7.7%) became the prevailing status. Lower educational level and income predicted assignment to all other groups than the Sustained Work group. Additional predictors were identified, yet these differed between the trajectory groups., Conclusions: The majority of the pSA users maintained a connection to working life, yet weaker working life paths were also identified. The paths were determined by various individual and work-related factors that can help health professionals and employers to better target support measures particularly towards individuals whose connection to working life is at risk to weaken after the use of pSA., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Increasing employment and immigration have been proposed as possible solutions to tackle the problem of the labour force shortage in aging societies. Ensuring sufficient health and work ability among migrants is a key factor in increasing and maintaining their employment. Many studies have found higher disability pension (DP) rates among migrants compared to natives but such studies lack in determining the risk of DP by occupational class and industrial sector. This study explores the risk of DP and the contribution of sociodemographic and work-related factors between migrants and natives in Finland., Methods: Full-population panel data obtained from the administrative registers of Statistics Finland were used to study 2.3 million individuals aged 25-60 years in 2010. We calculated hazard ratios (HR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) to estimate the risk of having a DP in 2011-2019 using Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for different sociodemographic and work-related factors., Results: Compared to natives, migrants had a lower risk of a DP (HR 0.58, 95% CI 0.53-0.63). We found great variation between countries of origin, where compared to natives, migrants from refugee-exporting countries (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.22-1.53) and other non-European countries (HR 1.30; CI 1.18-1.43) had a higher risk of DP, but migrants from other countries did not differ or had a slightly lower risk of DP than natives. The associations between sociodemographic factors and the risk of DP were very similar between natives and migrants., Conclusion: Migrants had a lower risk of a DP than natives except for migrants from outside Europe. The associations between different sociodemographic and work-related factors and the risk of DP were similar between natives and migrants and did not completely explain the differences in the risk of DP., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

In this study, we assessed whether the long-term decrease in sickness absences in Finland is explained by observed and unobserved compositional changes in the workforce. Utilizing register-based panel data on Finnish wage earners aged 30-62, we examined the annual onset of compensated sickness absence (granted after 10 weekdays) in the period 2005-2016. We applied random effects models adjusting for changes in the observed sociodemographic and occupational characteristics of the study population. We also applied fixed effects models, with corrections of the estimates for cohort ageing, to additionally account for the unobserved time-invariant characteristics of the study population over the years. Of the observed characteristics, increasing educational level partly explained the decreasing trend in sickness absences, and the further contribution of the occupational class was weak. Additionally, accounting for unobserved individual characteristics further explained the decreasing trend in sickness absences among those aged 30-47 years and led to a reverse increasing trend among those aged 48-62 years irrespective of sex and employment sector. Particularly for those over 47 years old, the decrease in sickness absences appeared to be more strongly influenced by compositional changes in characteristics that are established before fully entering the labour market - such as educational level as well as unmeasured individual characteristics that remain unchanged after childhood and early adulthood - than in the work environment or other factors contributing at working age. Sickness absence trends fluctuated during economic cycles, which did not appear to be explained by immediate changes in the observed or unobserved characteristics. Different mechanisms are likely to explain long-term sickness absence trends and trends around economic cycles. Attempts to improve work ability and labour market inclusion in long-term should rely more on increasing educational levels among the workforce and on interventions carried out early during the life course., (© 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association between combinations of job demands/control and future sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) trajectories over 11 years., Methods: A population-based prospective cohort study of female (n = 1,079,631) and male (n = 1,107,999) employees in 2001. With group-based trajectory analysis, we modeled the trajectories of annual mean SA/DP days in 2002 to 2012. We predicted trajectory memberships for job demands/control using multinomial regression., Results: We found three SA/DP trajectories for women (low stable, medium stable, and high increasing) and two for men (low stable and high increasing). Low demands/low control in women [odds ratio (OR) 1.42; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.38 to 1.45], and low demands and medium/high control in men (equal OR of 1.23; 95% CI 1.18 to 1.28) were strongly associated with high increasing trajectory., Conclusion: The associations between job demands/control varied between SA/DP trajectories and between sexes.

Background: It is well documented that sickness absence is strongly associated with disability retirement. A long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in particular increases the risk of disability retirement, but little is known about the variation of this risk across diagnostic causes. Further, as occupational classes differ in their diagnostic profiles, it is likely that the role of diagnosis in the pathway from LTSA to disability retirement varies between occupational classes. We examined how LTSA of different diagnostic causes predicts all-cause disability retirement and disability retirement due to the same diagnostic group or due to some other diagnostic group than that which caused the LTSA spell in different occupational classes., Methods: Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyse a 70% random sample of all employed Finns aged 25-62 Finns in 2006 (N = 1,458,288). Disability retirement was followed from 2007 to 2014. The risk of disability retirement was compared between occupational classes with at least one LTSA spell due to musculoskeletal diseases, mental disorders, respiratory diseases, or circulatory diseases and those who had no LTSA spells due to these diagnostic groups during 2005., Results: Those who had LTSA due to musculoskeletal diseases or mental disorders transferred more often to disability retirement due to same diagnostic group, whereas those who had LTSA due to respiratory or circulatory diseases transferred more often to disability retirement due to some other diagnostic group. The largest occupational class differences in all-cause disability retirement were found among those with LTSA due to mental disorders. For men, the hazard ratios (HR) varied from HR 5.70 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.00-6.52) in upper non-manual employees to 2.70 (95% CI 2.50-2.92) in manual workers. For women, the corresponding HRs were 3.74 (95% CI 3.37-4.14) in upper non-manual employees and 2.32 (95% 2.17-2.50) in manual workers., Conclusions: The association between LTSA and disability retirement varies between diagnostic groups, and the strength of this association further depends on the person's occupational class and gender.