Workplace Health - Articles - Page 188

Survey shows workers often go to work sick

January 14, 2016

For most of the country, the winter months often bring colder temperatures, snow, indoor activities and an increase in the spread of germs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cold and flu season typically peaks in the United States between December and February.2

A NIOSH Science Blog post

The opioid overdose epidemic and the workplace

January 13, 2016

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released troubling statistics on the growing epidemic of drug and opioid overdose deaths in the United States. The origins of this epidemic have been linked to prescription opioids.

New research: Excess sodium intake remains common in U.S.

January 11, 2016

Nearly all Americans – regardless of age, race, gender or whether they have high blood pressure (hypertension) – consume more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet. That is the conclusion of a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in today’sMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Cancer death rate continues steady drop

More than 1.7 million cancer deaths averted between 1991 and 2012

January 10, 2016

Steady reductions in smoking combined with advances in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment have resulted in a 23% drop in the cancer death rate since its peak in 1991. The drop translates to more than 1.7 million cancer deaths averted through 2012.

EPA releases info on insecticides that may be harmful to bees

First-of-its-kind assessment delivers on President Obama’s National Pollinator Strategy

January 8, 2016

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a preliminary pollinator risk assessment for the neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, which shows a threat to some pollinators. EPA’s assessment, prepared in collaboration with California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation, indicates that imidacloprid potentially poses risk to hives when the pesticide comes in contact with certain crops that attract pollinators.

Feds release new(est) dietary guidelines

January 7, 2016

The federal government has released its “2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines,” which it says focuses on the big picture with recommendations to help Americans make choices that add up to an overall healthy eating pattern.

Respiratory ills of Iraq and Afghan vets often go undiagnosed and untreated

January 5, 2016

Evidence is mounting that veterans are suffering from pulmonary disorders related to deployment to the Middle East, but little is being done to diagnose and treat these illnesses, say researchers who are proposing new guidance for treating affected troops.

Mold health risks may require an industrial hygienist’s expertise

January 5, 2016

Mold in a home is a serious matter that can cause not only substantial property damage but significant harm to an individual's health.

Doctors: How to improve cardiac arrest survival in three easy steps

January 5, 2016

Although survival rates for people who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital are extremely low in most places, emergency physicians propose three interventions to improve survival rates and functional outcomes in any community and urge additional federal funding for cardiac resuscitation research in an editorial published online last Wednesday in Annals of Emergency Medicine (“IOM Says Times to Act to Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival … Here’s How”).

Fighting dirty air: How Chinese citizens try to “wash their lungs”

January 4, 2016

Until December, 2015, the Chinese government had never issued a "red alert" for severe smog levels in any of its cities. But in December it issued two of them, closing schools, stalling freeways, and leading some environmental policy experts to believe that, with respect to air pollution, the recent alarms may represent a national turning point.