Work-Related Eye Injuries: A Relevant Health Problem. Main Epidemiological Data from a Highly-Industrialized Area of Northern Italy

Fabriziomaria Gobba, Enrico Dall’Olio, Alberto Modenese, Michele De Maria, Luca Campi and Gian Maria Cavallini
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Fabriziomaria Gobba: Chair of Occupational Medicine, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Enrico Dall’Olio: Chair of Occupational Medicine, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Alberto Modenese: Chair of Occupational Medicine, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
Michele De Maria: Institute of Ophthalmology, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy
Luca Campi: Institute of Ophthalmology, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy
Gian Maria Cavallini: Institute of Ophthalmology, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-12

Abstract: The province of Modena is one of the most industrialized areas of Northern Italy. The medical records of the Ophthalmological Emergency Department (OED) of Modena University Hospital were studied: there were 13,470 OED accesses in 2014 and in 754 cases that an occupational eye injury occurred. The frequency of work-related eye injuries (3‰) was lower compared to other published studies, but the absolute number is still relevant, showing the need for more adequate prevention, especially in metal work, construction work, and agriculture, where the worst prognoses were observed. Intervention programs must be implemented as early as possible in the working life, considering that the frequency in younger workers is about double that of the oldest age class (3.5‰ vs. 1.8‰), and special attention should also be given to foreigners, who have a 50% higher injury risk. Furthermore, the planning of specific interventions for eye-injured workers may be useful, considering that a previous injury does not appear to encourage the adoption of preventive interventions, and a subgroup of eye-injured workers have a potential risk for new injuries. Finally, the data presented here indicates how OED records, integrated with specific occupational information, can be applied for studies on work-related eye injuries.

Keywords: work-related eye injury; ophthalmological emergency; occupational accident prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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