Despite global warming, the climate in Northern Europe is generally cold, and the large number of deaths due to non-optimal temperatures is likely due to cold temperatures. The aim of the current ...study is to investigate the association between cold temperatures and all-cause mortality, as well as cause-specific mortality, in Tallinn and Riga in North-Eastern Europe.
We used daily information on deaths from state death registries and minimum temperatures from November to March over the period 1997-2015 in Tallinn and 2009-2015 in Riga. The relationship between the daily minimum temperature and mortality was investigated using the Poisson regression, combined with a distributed lag non-linear model considering lag times of up to 21 days.
We found significantly higher all-cause mortality owing to cold temperatures both in Tallinn (Relative Risk (RR) = 1.28, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.01-1.62) and in Riga (RR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.11-1.79). In addition, significantly increased mortality due to cold temperatures was observed in the 75+ age group (RR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.17-2.31) and in cardiovascular mortality (RR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.31-2.55) in Tallinn and in the under 75 age group in Riga (RR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.12-2.22). In this study, we found no statistically significant relationship between mortality due to respiratory or external causes and cold days. The cold-related attributable fraction (AF) was 7.4% (95% CI -3.7-17.5) in Tallinn and 8.3% (95% CI -0.5-16.3) in Riga. This indicates that a relatively large proportion of deaths in cold periods can be related to cold in North-Eastern Europe, where winters are relatively harsh.
: Progressing climate change is accompanied by a worldwide increase in the intensity, frequency, and duration of heat wave events. Research has shown that heat waves are an emerging public health ...problem, as they have a significant impact on mortality. As studies exploring this relationship are scarce for Latvia, this study aims to investigate the short-term associations between heat waves and all-cause mortality as well as cause-specific mortality, during the summer months (May-September) in Riga.
: An ecological time series study using daily reported mortality and temperature data from Riga between 2009 and 2015 was employed. Heat waves were defined based on the categories of the Latvian and Swedish heat warning system. Using a Quasi-Poisson regression, the relationships between heat waves and all-cause as well as cause-specific mortality were investigated.
: Heat waves in Riga were associated with a 10% to 20% increase in the risk of all-cause mortality, depending on the applied heat wave definition, compared to days with normal temperature. In addition, heat-related mortality was found to increase significantly in the ≥65 age group between 12% and 22% during heat waves. In terms of cause-specific mortality, a significant increase of approximately 15% to 26% was observed for cardiovascular mortality. No significant associations were found between heat waves and respiratory or external causes of mortality.
: These results indicate that there are short-term associations between heat waves and all-cause as well as cardiovascular mortality in Riga and that heat waves therefore represent a public health problem in this Baltic city.
The problem of painful and disabling work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is increasing in many employment sectors of Latvia. Official statistics may underestimate the proportion of affected ...employees, causing delays in preventive interventions, ineffective rehabilitation, and a reduction of the workforce. This study investigated the prevalence of painful health conditions among Latvian workers by analyzing survey data and comparing these to official statistics on registered occupational diseases (ODs). A total of 2,446 workers participated in the state-level "Work conditions and risks in Latvia, 2017-2018" survey that included questions about pain lasting longer than 3 days during the previous year. The frequency of subjective reports on the presence, severity, and location of pain and related behaviors was assessed in relation to sex, age, education, and job position. Descriptive statistics and cross tabulation with the chi-squared test as well as multinomial logistic regression were applied to the data. Overall, 27.7% of respondents (
= 678) reported experiencing pain, predominantly in the lower back (14.3%) and mostly moderate (47.1%) or severe (45.1%). Only one-fifth of respondents (20.5%) took sick leave from work and one-third (29.0%) did not take action to alleviate their pain. Participants aged 55-74 years had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) for pain in at least one body region-including hands and legs-than those aged 18-24 years. Women had significantly higher odds of headache (OR = 2.55) and neck pain (OR = 1.85) than men. Respondents with a primary or elementary education level had higher odds of pain in at least one body region (OR = 1.60) and in the lower back (OR = 1.86), while those with secondary education had higher odds of pain in hands (OR = 1.51) than employees with higher education. Unskilled workers had significantly higher odds of pain in hands (OR = 2.42) and legs (OR = 2.12) than directors. Official data revealed a dramatic increase in the proportion of MSDs and related disabilities in the last decade, reaching 75.5% of all first registered ODs in 2019. These results demonstrate a high prevalence of painful conditions among Latvian employees; urgent attention to diagnostics, treatment, and prevention is needed to ensure the musculoskeletal health and productivity of this population.
Preschool Personnel Exposure to Occupational Noise Kaluznaja, Darja; Lakisa, Svetlana
Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B, Natural Sciences,
10/2016, Letnik:
70, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Increased noise, which is also below the occupational exposure values and is “hearing safe” noise, affects the exposed person’s health as a non-specific stressor. Increased noise level also creates ...an environment for additional vocal apparatus load. The objective of this study was to determine preschool personnel occupational noise and its relationship with subjective health complaints. Data were obtained with survey assistance through subjective answers of respondents about health complaints and noise exposure among Rīga preschool personnel. Objective noise measurements were made to assess real noise levels in the preschool environment. Data from 155 respondents and objective measurements of 37 preschool classrooms were obtained. The results showed that the average 8-h noise exposure among Rīga preschool educational institutions was 70 dB(A), which did not exceed the Latvian work environment noise limits, but exceeded the 35–40 dB(A) noise limit in the educational environment guidelines recommended by the WHO. The survey results showed that loud noise is one of the most important workplace environmental factors (~70% of respondents feel a necessity to increase voice because of noise). A constant feeling of fatigue, headache, irritable feeling, and a desire to isolate oneself from others more often occurred in respondents exposed to increased noise, compared with those who noted that they were not exposed to increased noise. In general, loud noise was associated with increased subjective health complaints in preschool education institution personnel.
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