bims-cieche 2025-06-15 papers

Issue of 2025–06–15
two papers selected by
Jonas Stefaan Steel, IDEWE

Value Health Reg Issues. 2025 Jun 05. pii: S2212-1099(25)00068-8. [Epub ahead of print]49 101143

Epidemiology and Economic Burden of Suicide Among Brazilian Workers: Trends, Occupational Disparities, and Gender Differences.

Douglas Paschoal Dos Santos, Alfredo Chaoubah, Helian Nunes de Oliveira.

OBJECTIVES: Suicide among workers represents a significant public health concern with substantial economic implications. This study aimed to analyze temporal trends in suicide cases and estimate the indirect costs of premature mortality among Brazilian workers from 2008 to 2022.
METHODS: We analyzed data from Brazil's Mortality Information System for workers aged 18 to 65 years. Indirect costs were calculated using the Human Capital Approach, considering lost productivity until retirement age (65 years). Sociodemographic characteristics, occupational factors, and regional variations were examined.
RESULTS: A total of 121 880 suicide cases were identified, showing a 68.35% increase from 2008 to 2022. Males represented 84.65% of cases. The accumulated indirect costs amounted to R$26.31 billion (US$5.04 billion). The estimated lifetime indirect cost was R$71 billion (US$13.6 billion) for men and R$14 billion (US$2.9 billion) for women. Rural workers (16.5%) and construction workers (7.07%) had the highest number of cases, whereas management and judicial system positions showed the highest per-case indirect costs. Cases peaked at age 30, with most deaths occurring at home (60.3%). The South region showed disproportionately high suicide rates relative to its population.
CONCLUSIONS: The significant increase in suicide cases and substantial indirect costs highlight the need for targeted prevention strategies, particularly for young adults entering the workforce and high-risk occupations. The findings emphasize the importance of workplace mental health interventions and occupation-specific prevention approaches, considering both the frequency of cases and their economic impact.

Keywords: cost of illness; mental disorder; mental health; occupational health; suicide

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vhri.2025.101143

Front Public Health. 2025 ;13 1573828

Global burden of occupational ergonomic factor-induced low back pain, 1990~2021: data analysis and projections of the global burden of disease.

Meng Wu, Peihong Wu, Huaye Lu, Lei Han, Xin Liu.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a global epidemic that severely affects the quality of life and imposes a substantial economic burden worldwide. Occupational ergonomic factors are the most important modifiable contributors to LBP. In this study, we estimated the global burden of occupational ergonomic factor-induced LBP from 1990 to 2021 using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 database and projected future trends.
Methods: Global years lived with disability (YLDs) and age-standardized YLD rate (ASYLDR) for occupational ergonomic factor-induced LBP by sex and Socio-demographic index (SDI) among individuals aged 15-64 from 1990 to 2021 were obtained from the GBD 2021. Long-term trends were evaluated by calculating the average annual percent change (AAPC) of ASYLDR using a Joinpoint model. A Nordpred model was applied to analyze temporal changes in overall and age-specific YLDs and ASYLDR between 1990 and 2021, and to project trends from 2022 to 2045.
Results: From 1990 to 2021, global YLDs of occupational ergonomic factor-induced LBP increased by 40.63%. Projections indicated that all-age YLDs will exceed 15 million person-years by 2037. The ASYLDR of occupational ergonomic factor-induced LBP had shown a sustained decline since 1990, decreasing by 18.75% between 1990 and 2021, with an AAPC of -0.670% (95% confidence interval: -0.718 to -0.622). This downward trend is expected to persist until 2045. The SDI showed a negative correlation with ASYLDR (R = -0.36, p < 0.001). YLDs and ASYLDR were consistently higher in females than in males.
Conclusion: While the disease burden of occupational ergonomic factor-induced LBP has decreased, the reduction remains modest. Females, low SDI regions, and middle-aged/older adults (40-64 years) are the main contributors to the disease burden. Occupational ergonomic factor-induced LBP remains a critical public health problem that requires urgent attention to find global, comprehensive, effective, and targeted prevention strategies.

Keywords: disease burden; epidemiology; estimate projections; low back pain; occupational ergonomic factors

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1573828