Iran Occupational Health

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  Background and aims : Fatigue is indicated as a factor in occupational accidents and diseases and it can reduce individual efficiency. In shift workers who experience sleep disturbance, the occupational accidents and diseases occurring can be aggravated by fatigue. The present study aims to investigate the fatigue intensity and its relationship to insomnia severity among employees of Tehran rolling and steel production company.

  Methods : This descriptive analytical study had been done among 180 workers of the mentioned company. Data collection was done by face-to-face survey method and using the standard questionnaires.

  Results : Results showed that the fatigue score among fixed-dayshift and rotating-shift workers was 6 and 7 respectively and fatigue level for both groups was 4. In all symptoms associated with fatigue average score of rotating-shift were higher than dayshift and there was a significant difference between them. Relationship between the symptoms of fatigue with Insomnia Severity Index was significant. Warehousing received the highest scores of fatigue and severity of insomnia between different tasks under study.

  Conclusion : Our findings indicate that level of fatigue and severity of insomnia among workers of industry is very high. Since this can lead to the occupational accident and reduction efficiency, it is necessary to provide facilities for personnel such as reducing working hours, doing regular rest and exercise during working time, paying sufficient attention to humanitarian needs and improving work system.

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  Background and Aims : Sleep is one of the most important day and night cycles and a complex biological pattern . It is necessary for humans physical and mental balance as sleep disturbance is often an early sign of mental illness. The purpose of this study is to survey and comparison of sleep disorders in shift workers of an automotive industry.

  Methods : This descriptive- analytical study has been conducted on 120 workers in an automobile manufacturing industry located in Tehran. Samples are selected using simple sampling. Data collection was included three questionnaires, demographic data, Insomnia Severity Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The research data were analyzed using SPSS software.

 

  Results: Insomnia Severity Index scores 16.3 on the night shift with a standard deviation of 6 and 12.55 in the morning with a standard deviation of 5. T-test results showed that the severity of insomnia is higher in unmarried than married individuals (P =.004).Comparison scores on the night and morning shifts, using t- test, show that the average sleepiness scores in night shift is higher than morning shift, and is statistically significant (P =.048).

Conclusion: The results of this study indicated the high incidence of insomnia and sleepiness in workers in this vital industry. These results can be disturbing and may affect the quality of work and accident rates