1 Emory University.
2 Farmworker Association of Florida.
Workplace Health Saf. 2019 Sep;67(9):470-480. doi: 10.1177/2165079919849466. Epub 2019 Jul 17.
With expected increases in extreme weather, there may be a greater risk of injury from extreme heat in outdoor worker populations. To plan for future adaptation measures, studies are needed that can characterize workers' physiologic responses to heat in outdoor settings such as agriculture. The objective of this study was to characterize occupational heat exposure, key vulnerability factors (e.g., gender, energy expenditure), and physiologic heat stress response in a sample of fernery workers. Forty-three fernery workers over 86 workdays were examined regarding heat-related illness (HRI) during the summer months of 2012 and 2013. The key outcome measure was whether a participant's body core temperature (T) reached or exceeded 38.0°C (100.4ºF; T). Participants' T exceeded 38.0°C on 49 (57%) of the workdays, with 30 of 40 participants reaching or exceeding T on at least one workday. Adjusting for sex, there was a 12% increase in the odds of T for every 100 kilocalories of energy expended (OR: 1.12; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: [1.03, 1.21]). Adjusting for energy expenditure, females had 5 times greater odds of T compared with males (OR: 5.38; 95% CI: [1.03, 18.30]). These findings provide evidence of elevated T in Florida fernery workers, indicating an increased risk of occupational HRI, and the need for policy and interventions to address this health risk.
随着极端天气的预期增加，户外工作人群因极端高温而受伤的风险可能会增加。为了规划未来的适应措施，需要进行研究，以描述农业等户外环境中工人对热的生理反应。本研究的目的是描述佛罗里达州蕨类植物工人样本中的职业热暴露、关键脆弱性因素（如性别、能量消耗）和生理热应激反应。在 2012 年和 2013 年的夏季，对 43 名蕨类植物工人在 86 多个工作日期间的与热有关的疾病（HRI）进行了检查。主要结果测量是参与者的核心体温（T）是否达到或超过 38.0°C（100.4°F；T）。在 49 个工作日（57%）中，参与者的 T 超过 38.0°C，40 名参与者中有 30 名至少在一个工作日达到或超过 T。调整性别因素后，能量消耗每增加 100 千卡，T 的几率增加 12%（OR：1.12；95%置信区间[CI]：[1.03，1.21]）。调整能量消耗后，女性 T 的几率是男性的 5 倍（OR：5.38；95% CI：[1.03，18.30]）。这些发现提供了佛罗里达州蕨类植物工人 T 升高的证据，表明职业性 HRI 的风险增加，需要制定政策和干预措施来解决这一健康风险。
