bims-cieche 2025-10-05 papers

Issue of 2025–10–05
two papers selected by
Jonas Stefaan Steel, IDEWE

J Occup Health. 2025 Oct 01. pii: uiaf055. [Epub ahead of print]

Work productivity by diseases diagnosed among workers: a study using large-scale claims data and survey data of workers in Japan.

Takuya Maekawa, Kentaro Yamato, Norihiro Nakamichi, Yuka Kurita, Masami Nakai, Chihiro Osawa, Akiko Hatakama, Hitoshi Suzuki, Masaya Takahashi, Ryotaro Ishii, Takeo Nakayama.

OBJECTIVES: Japan faces the need for occupational health management based on an understanding of workers' health and its impact on work productivity. With a paucity of comprehensive studies, we conducted this study to investigate work productivity by diseases among workers of various occupations in Japan, by using a large-scale database.
METHODS: This retrospective, descriptive study utilized pre-existing data derived from health insurance claims and two surveys conducted in 2021. The analysis included the data of ≥19-year-old current workers with response data to the questions regarding Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI). The WPAI of the target diseases, defined by claims diagnosis codes, was plotted against the 1-year prevalence of each disease. The cost of lost productivity was estimated based on the response data regarding the WPAI.
RESULTS: Overall, 31,540 individuals participated, and the analysis showed that psychiatric disorders, headache, epilepsy, and insomnia had a high percentage of participants reporting any level of WPAI, although the prevalence of these diseases was low. We also explored the cost of lost productivity to supplement the interpretation of the overall impact of health problems; however, no clear trend was observed.
CONCLUSIONS: Many Japanese workers with psychiatric disorders, headaches, epilepsy, and insomnia have impaired work productivity and daily activities.

Keywords: Japan; burden of disease; database; disease; productivity

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/joccuh/uiaf055

Front Public Health. 2025 ;13 1605072

Global trends in low back pain and neck pain in the working population: implications for occupational health.

Yonghui Zhao, Jiqing Wang, Boya Zhao, Yingang Zhang.

This study systematically evaluated the global burden of low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP) among individuals aged 20-65 from 1990 to 2021, utilizing data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database. We analyzed incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), and age-standardized rates across 204 countries and regions, stratified by socio-demographic index (SDI). Key findings indicate a slight decline in LBP metrics but a mild increase in NP trends, with higher growth rates observed in females. Socioeconomic status significantly influenced these patterns, with developed countries showing lower YLDs increasing rate. The study highlights the need for gender-specific and region-tailored public health strategies, particularly focusing on women in lower SDI countries. These findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions to mitigate the growing burden of LBP and NP in an aging workforce increasingly engaged in office work.

Keywords: BAPC analysis; global burden database; low back pain; neck pain; occupational health

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1605072