Effects of Occupational Hazards on Job Stress and Mental Health of Factory Workers and Miners: A Propensity Score Analysis

Our plain-English summary of Effects of Occupational Hazards on Job Stress and Mental Health of Factory Workers and Miners: A Propensity Score Analysis, by Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, H. Yan, et al (BioMed Research International, 2020).

The study

• Authors: Y. Lu, Z. Zhang, H. Yan, B. Rui, J. Liu
• Journal: BioMed Research International
• Published: 2020;2020:1754897
• Cited by: 23 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

This study is to evaluate the effects of different occupational hazards on job stress and mental health of factory workers and miners. A total of 6120 workers from factories and mining enterprises in seven districts and one district of Urumqi were determined using the stratified cluster random sampling method. The Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) questionnaire and the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) were used to evaluate the effects of occupational hazard factors on job stress and mental health of workers. The propensity score analysis was used to control the confounding factors. The occupational hazards affecting job stress of workers were asbestos dust (OR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.09-1.55), benzene (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.10-1.41), and noise (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.22-1.59). The occupational hazards affecting the mental health of workers were coal dust (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.02-1.38), asbestos dust (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.32-1.92), benzene (OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.13-1.47), and noise (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.07-1.42). Different occupational hazards have certain influence on job stress and mental health of factory workers and miners. The enhancements in occupational hazard and risk assessment, occupational health examination, and occupational protection should be taken to relieve job stress and enhance the mental health of factory workers and miners.

Copyright © 2020 Yaoqin Lu et al.

In plain English

This cross-sectional online survey from January to May 2019 studied 6120 factory workers and miners in Urumqi, China. All were exposed at work to coal dust, silica dust, asbestos dust, benzene, lead, noise or Brucella. Of them, 935 were listed as exposed to asbestos dust. The asbestos fiber type was not stated. Job stress was measured with the Effort-Reward Imbalance questionnaire, mental health with the Symptom Checklist-90. Workers were matched on 14 background factors by propensity scores before logistic regression. Overall, 2898 workers (47.35%) had job stress and 2342 (38.27%) had mental health problems. Asbestos dust was associated with job stress (odds ratio 1.30, 95% CI 1.09-1.55) and with mental health problems (odds ratio 1.58, 95% CI 1.32-1.92). Benzene and noise were associated with both outcomes, and coal dust with mental health problems. Silica dust, lead and brucellosis were not statistically significant for either outcome. The authors concluded that coal dust, asbestos dust, benzene and noise were risk factors, and called for more health monitoring of workers exposed to them. They noted a cross-sectional study cannot prove causality.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: cross-sectional questionnaire survey analysed with propensity score matching and multiple logistic regression
• Who was studied: 6120 factory workers and miners in Urumqi, China, surveyed January to May 2019 (4017 men, 2103 women); administrative and management staff, those with less than one year of work, and those taking psychoactive drugs were excluded
• Exposure: Occupational hazards recorded: coal dust, silica dust, asbestos dust (935 workers, 15.28%), benzene, lead, noise and brucellosis; asbestos fiber type and exposure levels not given
• Main results:
  • Of all 6120 workers, 2898 (47.35%) had job stress
  • Of all 6120 workers, 2342 (38.27%) had mental health problems
  • Asbestos dust exposure was associated with job stress: odds ratio 1.30 (95% CI 1.09-1.55); benzene 1.25 (1.10-1.41) and noise 1.39 (1.22-1.59) were also associated
  • Asbestos dust exposure was associated with mental health problems: odds ratio 1.58 (95% CI 1.32-1.92); coal dust 1.19 (1.02-1.38), benzene 1.28 (1.13-1.47) and noise 1.23 (1.07-1.42) were also associated
  • Silica dust, lead and brucellosis were not statistically significant for job stress or mental health problems (for example, silica dust and job stress: odds ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.79-1.18)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that asbestos dust, benzene and noise were risk factors for job stress, and coal dust, asbestos dust, benzene and noise were risk factors for mental health problems. They said occupational health monitoring of exposed workers should be given more importance.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • A cross-sectional design cannot prove causality between variables
  • There were still continuously repeated answers in the online questionnaire
  • Inclusion and exclusion criteria were insufficient, for example family history of mental and behavioral problems was not considered
  • Propensity score matching had little effect when respondents had similar backgrounds
  • Only single hazards were examined. The influence of pollution level and of combined hazards was not studied.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Confounding.

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