Migrant Workers from the Eastern-Mediterranean Region and Occupational Injuries: A Retrospective Database-Based Analysis from North-Eastern Italy

Matteo Riccò, Sergio Garbarino and Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
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Matteo Riccò: Department of Prevention, Operative Unit for Health and Safety in the Workplaces—UOPSAL, Provincial Agency for Health Services of the Autonomous Province of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
Sergio Garbarino: Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, and Maternal/Child Sciences (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi: Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, and Maternal/Child Sciences (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: The month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and, according to the Islamic tradition, it coincides with the month when the Noble Koran/Qur’an began to be revealed. In recent years, concerns about the potentially negative health effects of Ramadan fasting and the risks of work-related injuries have increased in Western European (EURO) countries. In the present study, we performed a retrospective database-based analysis assessing the impact of Ramadan fasting on occupational injuries (OIs) in North-Eastern Italy among migrant workers from the Eastern-Mediterranean Region (EMRO). Our results suggest that EMRO workers exhibit a significantly increased risk for OIs during Ramadan in periods characterized by heat-waves, while their frequency was somehow reduced for days associated with Ramadan characterized by increased but not extreme temperatures. However, these results may be attributable to an explanatory causation in the specific differences between EMRO and EURO workers in the job tasks performed at the workplace. Not coincidentally, no significant differences were found regarding industrial settings, mechanisms of OIs and final prognosis. Despite the obvious practical implications for health decision- and policy-makers, due to the limitations of the present investigation, further studies are warranted.

Keywords: migrant worker; Ramadan fasting; circadian rhythm and biological clock; occupational injuries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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