Keiko Minamoto

Occupational dermatoses among fibreglass-reinforced plastics factory workers

Fibreglass‐reinforced plastics (FRP) factory workers are at high risk of developing occupational dermatoses because of their exposure to many chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics as well as to glass fibre or dust. Patch tests were carried out on 29 workers involved in FRP manufacturing processes where unsaturated polyester (UP) resin was used, to investigate the causes of their skin problems. Of the 22 workers who reported experiencing skin problems, 16 showed positive results to at least 1 chemical, including 6 cases of multiple sensitivity. 2 showed positive reactions to UP base resin, 6 to cobalt chloride, 5 to benzoyl peroxide (BPO), 4 to methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKPO), 2 to para‐tertiary butyl catechol (PTBC), 1 to styrene and 1 to formaldehyde. After taking into account their exposures and reported causes by questionnaires and their patch test results, 7 cases were diagnosed as allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) due to chemicals, 3 as irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) due to chemicals, and 3 as dermatitis due to mechanical irritation (MI) from glass fibre or dust, as well as 9 as ACD and/or MI. 18 of the total of 29 subjects (62.1%), including 2 workers without a history of skin problems, were sensitized to at least 1 chemical. Cobalt, peroxides, PTBC and UP base resin were the common causes of ACD.

Quality of life associated with perceived stigma and discrimination among the floating population in Shanghai, China: A qualitative study

The floating population refers to the large and increasing number of migrants without local household registration status and has become a new demographic phenomenon in China. Most of these migrants move from the rural areas of the central and western parts of China to the eastern and coastal metropolitan areas in pursuit of a better life. The floating population of China was composed of 121 million people in 2000, and this number was expected to increase to 300 million by 2010. Quality of life (QOL) studies of the floating population could provide a critical starting point for recognizing the potential of regions, cities and local communities to improve QOL. This study explored the construct of QOL of the floating population in Shanghai, China. We conducted eight focus groups with 58 members of the floating population (24 males and 34 females) and then performed a qualitative thematic analysis of the interviews. The following five QOL domains were identified from the analysis: personal development, jobs and career, family life, social relationships and social security. The results indicated that stigma and discrimination permeate these life domains and influence the framing of life expectations. Proposals were made for reducing stigma and discrimination against the floating population to improve the QOL of this population.

A comparative study of health-promoting lifestyles in agricultural and non-agricultural workers in Japan

ObjectivesTo clarify the difference in health-promoting lifestyles between agricultural and non-agricultural workers in Japan, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 627 residents living in a town with a mixed rural–urban population.MethodsThe subjects were divided into 8 groups by job (agricultural and non-agricultural), age (young and old), and gender (male and female). To evaluate the subjects’ lifestyles, the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II) was applied. The Bartlett test and the Kendall rank test were performed for statistical analysis.ResultsThere was no significant difference in the overall score of the HPLP-II between the two job groups. However, for the HPLP-II subscales, a significantly higher score for “spiritual growth” and a significantly lower score for “physical activity” were seen in the agricultural group than in the non-agricultural group. In general, the old and female groups showed higher scores than the corresponding groups, regardless of job type.ConclusionsIt was determined that the major countermeasures to maintain a healthy lifestyle in agricultural workers should be associated with how to introduce daily activities that maintain and enhance “spiritual growth” and improve “physical activity”.

Applying the social cognitive perspective to volunteer intention in China: the mediating roles of self-efficacy and motivation

When predicting volunteer intention, much attention is paid to the volunteer organization environment (VOE). Given that self-efficacy and motivation have emerged as important predictors of volunteer intention, we adopted a combination of ideas of Banduras social cognitive theory and Ajzens theory of planned behavior integrating VOE, self-efficacy and motivation to examine their effects on volunteer intention and to determine whether self-efficacy and motivation mediate the relationship between VOE and volunteer intention. The subjects of this study consisted of 198 community health volunteers in Shanghai city, China. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify the factor structure using standard principal component analysis. Six new factors were revealed, including two VOE factors, relation with organization and support from government; two motivation factors, personal attitude and social recognition; self-efficacy and volunteer intention. The results of a hierarchical regression analysis indicated that relation with organization accounted for 14.8% of the variance in volunteer intention, and support from government failed to add significantly to variance in volunteer intention; self-efficacy and personal attitude motivation partially mediated the effects of relation with organization on volunteer intention; social recognition motivation did not mediate the relationship between relation with organization and volunteer intention; and relation with organization, self-efficacy and personal attitude motivation accounted for 33.7% of the variance in volunteer intention. These results provide support for self-efficacy and personal attitude motivation as mediators and provide preliminary insight into the potential mechanisms for predicting volunteer intention and improving volunteering by integrating VOE, self-efficacy and motivation factors.

Allergic contact dermatitis due to methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, cobalt naphthenate and acrylates in the manufacture of fibreglass‐reinforced plastics

A 64-year-old man who had been a part-time worker in a fibreglass-reinforced plastics (FRP) factory producing gutter covers etc. developed severe acute hand dermatitis 6 years into his employment. He was involved in the assembly process and had had no previous skin problems. Before the onset, he had not worn protective gloves either when using resin, hardener and accelerator to mend flaws in moulded FRP products, or when using acrylate glue to assemble the FRP. The chemical composition of the resin was unsaturated polyester resin (UP) and the main ingredients of the hardener and accelerator were methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEK peroxide) and cobalt naphthenate, respectively. The glue was the product of a mixture of acrylates. Two months’ treatment and sick leave cured the dermatitis. He returned to work in the same FRP manufacturing process as before, but started wearing natural rubber latex (NRL) gloves with inner thin cotton gloves. Nine months later, with careful use of gloves, he showed only minor recurrence (scaling on the fingertips). Patch tests showed positive results to MEK peroxide in the hardener, cobalt naphthenate in the accelerator and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate in the acrylate glue (Table 1).

Subjective symptoms of medical students exposed to formaldehyde during a gross anatomy dissection course.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety of and to try to find the best plan to cope with exposure to FA for students during a gross anatomy dissection course. The FA exposure level and subjective symptoms was estimated. The relationship between exposure to FA and subjective symptoms of irritation were discussed for times; before, in the beginning period, in the middle period, and upon completion of the Anatomy Dissection Course. The geometric means of FA concentration were 32.7 ug/m3 (before), 891.3 ug/m3 (beginning), 763.3 ug/m3 (middle), and 238.9 ug/m3 (completion), respectively. Among them, FA-related symptoms were observed in 61.1%; 28.0% fell strong stress during the course, and 27.4% complained that their normal life situation was affected. Our results indicate that such subjective symptoms during the anatomy dissection course were related to the period spent in the anatomy dissection room. Our study suggests that shortening the time of each anatomy dissection practical class and reduction of the number of cadaver tables could help to reduce symptoms.

Toxicity study of the volatile constituents of Myoga utilizing acute dermal irritation assays and the Guinea-pig Maximization test.

Toxicity Study of the Volatile Constituents of Myoga Utilizing Acute Dermal Irritation Assays and the Guinea‐Pig Maximization Test: Qingjun Wei, et al. Department of Preventive and Environmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University—Myoga is a fragrant plant which is the special product of Japan and is cultivated throughout Japan. According to our earlier investigation (unpublished data) of myoga cultivators in Japan, 8 of 35 cultivators experienced contact dermatitis in the harvest season. The purpose of this study was to assess the allergenicity of myoga and its major volatile components. The volatile components of myoga were analyzed by gas chromatograph (GC). They included α‐pinene, β‐pinene and R‐(+)‐limonene. We performed a toxicity study of each of the major fragrant components of myoga using acute dermal irritation assays and the Guinea‐Pig Maximization test (GPMT) in order to probe the mechanism of allergic contact dermatitis. In acute dermal irritation assays, α‐pinene, β‐pinene and limonene showed positive responses at concentrations of 4%; limonene oxide at 20% and myoga showed a positive response at concentrations of 100%. From the results of the GPMT, according to Kligman scores, limonene oxide was identified as an extreme skin sensitizer and myoga as a mild skin sensitizer. The results of the present study show that R‐(+)‐limonene is the most important allergen amongst the chemical components of myoga, and we consider it to be the reason why myoga cultivators experience allergic contact dermatitis.

Description of environmental determinants of quality of life in children with intellectual disability in Japan using the Delphi technique

ObjectivesThe present study aimed to define the framework of an environment conducive to the well-being of children with intellectually disability (CID).MethodsA questionnaire composed of 31 items was developed through literature review. Then a 2-round Delphi survey was conducted with 3 different panels: health professionals (HPs), parents of CID, and teachers. The participants were asked to rate each item, select and rank the 10 most important items, and suggest additional ones.ResultsA total of 71 participants responded to the first round: 24 HPs, 22 parents, and 25 teachers. In the second round the overall response rate was 83%. At the end of the exercise, 12 items reached global consensus, i.e., in all groups. Only 5 items were ranked as most important by all groups: attitudes of family members at home; attitudes of HPs and teachers; support from family members at home; support at school (classmates and teachers); and government policies. Nevertheless, the panelists’ views diverged on the remaining items. Several additional elements were suggested.ConclusionsThe views of HPs, teachers, and parents are complementary for the improvement of quality of life (QOL) of CID. The present findings will be used as a basis for the development of an instrument to assess the living environment of CID.

Allergic contact dermatitis from unsaturated polyester resin consisting of maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, ethylene glycol and dicyclopentadiene

A 58-year-old man who had worked in a fibreglass-reinforced plastics (FRP) factory for over 30 years, reported that dermatitis first appeared on his hands 2 months after he started working in the factory and that the condition has recurred since, especially in summer. A first patch test session included 2 kinds of unsaturated polyester resins UP(a) and UP(b) (1%, 5%, 10% pet.) obtained from the factory, and their bases (1, 5% pet.) provided by a manufacturer, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (0.5% pet.) and dimethyl aniline (10% o.o), all of which were prepared in the laboratory, together with a plastics (Trolab) and a Japanese standard series. The Finn ChamberA technique with a occlusion time of 2 days was used for patch tests, which were read 1 day after removal according to ICDRG standard. The results showed positive results (π) to cobalt, UP(a) (1%, 5%, 10%) and UP(a) base (1%, 5%). UP(a) base comprises 4 chemicals: maleic anhydride (MAn), phthalic anhydride (PAn), ethylene glycol and dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) (Fig. 1, Table 1). Purified UP(a) was fractionated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and the fractions were scraped and extracted from the TLC plate and patch tested (1). The fraction

Self-reported hand eczema among dental workers in Japan – a cross-sectional study

Dental workers are considered to have a high risk of developing occupational hand eczema.