Total Worker Health


CDC: 1 in 6 Get Sick from Foodborne Illnesses Each Year

Salmonella was the leading cause of estimated hospitalizations and deaths, responsible for about 28 percent of deaths and 35 percent of hospitalizations due to known pathogens transmitted by food.

Upcoming Summit Targets Bedbugs

The summit is open to the public and will focus on ways the federal government and others can continue to work together on management and control of bedbugs.

Stroke Drops to Fourth Leading Cause of Death in 2008

Heart disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death, still accounted for nearly half (48 percent) of all deaths in 2008.

On hand for the discussions were (from left to right): Brian Galonek, Beth Russert, Kevin Cronin, Heidi Chatfield, Greg Canose, Michelle M. Smith, and George Delta.

Incentive Legislation Campaign Promotes Tax Changes to Reduce Health Costs

Incentive Federation Executive Director George Delta explained that upcoming tax reform and health care issues on the horizon for the 112th Congress that begins in January could provide a workable venue to promote the use of incentives as a means to reduce health care costs.

ACOEM Releases New Musculoskeletal Treatment Guidelines

The 3rd edition contains more than 12,650 references and 2,500 recommendations—a comprehensive collection of evidence-based musculoskeletal medical recommendations—with supporting evidence levels and tables.

ASSE Says Holiday Travel Increases Risk of Bedbugs

In the past, pesticides were used to eliminate the problem, but as pest control practices have changed, the bedbug problem has grown. Experts note too that most bedbugs are homegrown and are being spread from belongings taken from one place to another.

Unified Federal Addiction Institute Considered

NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., said a review board's recommendation makes scientific sense and would enhance NIH's mission. A plan to accomplish it could be ready in mid-2011.

Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks are Unsafe: FDA

Experts have raised concerns that caffeine can mask some of the sensory cues individuals might normally rely on to determine their level of intoxication.



Serious research could quantify how much of a drain on productivity presenteeism truly is.

'Presenteeism' Difficult to Quantify, Researcher Says

A new paper questions the validity of available tools for measuring revenue loss from "presenteeism," which has become a buzzword in occupational health studies.

DOL Announces Enforcement Plan to Protect Workers' Retirement, Health Benefits

The enforcement cases represent civil cases filed in federal district courts across the country to protect the contributions made by employees and matching contributions promised by their employers.

Study: Sitting Longer May Reduce Lifespan

Physiologists who analyzed obesity, heart disease, and diabetes found that the act of sitting shuts down the circulation of a fat-absorbing enzyme called lipase.

FDA Working to Prevent Radiation Overdoses During CT Scans

The Food and Drug Administration has been investigating reports that patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) brain perfusion scans were accidently exposed to excess radiation. FDA found that when properly used, the CT scanners did not malfunction. Instead, it is likely that the improper use of the scanners resulted in these overdoses.

Balancing Safety

Being "well-balanced" is not only a good way of living, it's also critical for high-level safety performance.

CDC: Number of Americans with Diabetes Could Triple by 2050

Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in 2007, and is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults under age 75, kidney failure, and non-accident/injury leg and foot amputations among adults.

ASSE Board OKs Ergonomics Practice Specialty

The board also began the yearlong centennial celebration by approving the Philippines Chapter's charter and recognizing COHN as an accredited certification for ASSE's professional membership category.

The Nokia n8 phone

2010 mHealth Summit Expecting 2,000+

Keynote speakers include Bill Gates, Ted Turner, NIH Director Francis Collins, and Dr. Julio Frenk, faculty dean of the Harvard School of Public Health.

13 Genomes of Lyme Disease Bacteria Strains Sequenced

They will give a more complete picture of the scope of natural variations in the bacteria and the disease they cause, according to NIH.

The rule will add spirometry testing, occupational history, and symptom assessment to the chest x-ray exam now required for underground coal miners and will extend medical surveillance to surface coal miners.

MSHA Rule to Lower Coal Dust Exposures

Part of the agency's "End Black Lung -- Act Now" campaign, the rule being published Oct. 19 will halve the concentration limit for respirable coal dust in underground mines to 1.0 mg/m3 over the next two years and also will phase in required use of continuous personal dust monitors.

ASSE Offers Free 'Ergonomics Tip Sheet'

The American Society of Safety Engineers' Ergonomics Branch is providing tips to help reduce MSDs at work and at home as part of October's National Ergonomics Month.

10 Prevention Tips for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Throughout October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and its clinical care partner, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, are offering a series of weekly research-based tip sheets regarding a variety of topics related to breast cancer, including breast cancer prevention, screening and early detection, treatment, and survivorship.

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