Henk F van der Molen

Amsterdam UMC - Universiteit van Amsterdam · Public and Occupational Health

Objectives This study aims to present an overview of the formal recognition of COVID-19 as occupational disease (OD) or injury (OI) across Europe. Methods A COVID-19 questionnaire was designed by a task group within COST-funded OMEGA-NET and sent to occupational health experts of 37 countries in WHO European region, with a last update in April 202...

Werken met de handen verhoogt de kans op M. Dupuytren. Daarnaast zijn er persoonsgebonden risicofactoren. Wat het beste werkt ter preventie is niet bekend. Een aanpak van verschillende risicofactoren werkt daarom mogelijk het beste.

Objectives This study aims to present an overview of the formal recognition of COVID-19 as occupational disease (OD) or injury (OI) across Europe. Methods A COVID-19 questionnaire was designed by a task group within COST-funded OMEGA-NET and sent to occupational health experts of 37 countries in WHO European region, with a last update in April 2022...

Dysfunction of the skin barrier plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of inflammatory skin diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and contact dermatitis. Epidermal biomarkers can aid in evaluating the functionality of the skin barrier and understanding the mechanisms that underlay its impairment. This narrative review provides an ove...

Background: There is a paucity of data on occupational disease incidence in Italy, and we analyzed the trend on time as an incidence rate ratio (IRR). Methods: Occupational diseases reported to the Italian National Insurance for Occupational Diseases (INAIL) in industrial and services sectors from 2006 to 2019 were considered and analyzed. Annua...

Background: Instruments with sufficient diagnostic accuracy are better able to detect healthcare workers (HCWs) who are at risk of psychological distress. The objective of this review is to examine the diagnostic accuracy and measurement properties of psychological distress instruments in HCWs. Methods: We searched in Embase, Medline and PsycINF...

Background: Healthcare workers can suffer from work-related stress as a result of an imbalance of demands, skills and social support at work. This may lead to stress, burnout and psychosomatic problems, and deterioration of service provision. This is an update of a Cochrane Review that was last updated in 2015, which has been split into this revie...

Draaien van de arm: bij hoe vaak per dag spreek je van ‘hoge blootstelling op werk’ en ‘kans op arbeidsgebonden overbelastingsletsel van de laterale epicondylitis of tenniselleboog’? Dr. Paul Kuijer en collega’s vatten het uitgebreide artikel hieronder samen.

Introduction and Background Cochrane Work began life as a Cochrane Review Group in 2004. Funding stopped in 2018 and the editorial base moved from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) to the who have provided funding have provided funding to date, but such funding for evidence synthesis is not sustainable in the medium to long term.I...

Introduction Hairdressers are at increased risk for hand eczema (HE) due to frequent skin contact with irritants and allergens in the workplace. Individuals with (a history of) atopic dermatitis are more susceptible to develop occupational HE. This study aims to review the current prevalence and incidence of HE in hairdressers, as well as the patte...

Introduction Hairdressers are at increased risk of adverse health effects due to exposure to hazardous chemicals released from hair care products during hairdressing activities. Safety assessments of hair products consider only consumer exposure, however exposure for professional hairdressers might be substantially higher. In this study we aimed to...

Introduction Contact dermatitis (CD) is a highly prevalent skin disease among agricultural, construction and service workers caused by direct and usually repeated dermal exposures to harmful objects, fluids or chemicals. CD occurs in two forms, as allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) or irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) which differ in pathophysiology...

Sand–cement-bound screed floor layers are at risk of work-related lower back pain, lumbosacral radicular syndrome and knee osteoarthritis, given their working technique of levelling screed with their trunk bent while mainly supported by their hands and knees. To reduce the physical demands of bending of the trunk and kneeling, a manually movable sc...

Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the most significant occupational carcinogenic exposure in terms of the number of workers exposed (i.e., outdoor workers). Consequently, solar UVR-induced skin cancers are among the most common forms of occupational malignancies that are potentially expected globally. This systematic review is registered in PROS...

Sand-cement bound screed floor layers are at risk for work-related low back pain, lumbosacral radicular syndrome and knee osteoarthritis given their working technique of level-ling screed with their trunk bended and mainly supported by their hands and knees. To reduce the exposure of the physical demands of bending of the trunk and kneeling, a manu...

Background: To support occupational physicians (OPs) in the implementation of workers' health surveillance (WHS), a training programme was developed. Aims: (i) To evaluate the effects of a WHS training programme for OPs on knowledge, self-efficacy and skills to implement WHS. (ii) To evaluate to what extent a WHS training programme is acceptable...

Bedrijfs- en verzekeringsartsen zien regelmatig beroepsziekten aan hand en pols in hun praktijk. Het Nederlands Centrum voor Beroepsziekten maakte een overzicht van de kenmerken van deze beroepsziekten in de laatste tien jaar. Het ging hierbij om 2139 meldingen. De meestgemelde diagnose was L686 ‘RSI van pols en hand’ met 805 meldingen. De twee mee...

Background Outdoor work is associated with high and chronic exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation which might lead to an increased risk of developing skin (pre)malignancies. Prevalence of actinic keratosis (AK), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) and cutaneous melanoma (cM) in Dutch outdoor workers (OW) has not p...

This systematic review, conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines, focuses on genotoxicity of oxidative hair dye precursors. The search for original papers published from 2000 to 2021 was performed in Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane registry, Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety of the European Commission and German MAK Commission opinions....

Outdoor workers are at higher risk for keratinocyte cancer. Data-base of UV-exposure generated in the Genesis-UV study will facilitate specific prevention measures and workers’ health surveillance in outdoor occupations.

The objective of this review is to identify work‐related and personal risk factors for contact dermatitis (CD), and assess their association with this frequently occurring occupational disease. A systematic review of the literature from 1990 to June 2, 2020, was conducted using Medline and Embase. Prospective cohort and case‐control studies were in...

Een preventieve maatregel die kan bijdragen aan het reduceren en/of voorkomen van stressgerelateerde aan-doeningen bij zorgmedewerkers is risicocommunicatie. Risicocommunicatie gaat over oorzaken, gevolgen en preventieve maatregelen van gezondheidsrisico's en heeft drie doelen: informeren, geïnformeerde besluit-vorming stimuleren en motiveren tot a...

Background and Aims: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome with a high prevalence among workers. Insights on the physical work‐related risk factors is necessary to develop appropriate preventative methods. The objective of this systematic review, including meta‐analyses, is to assess which physical wor...

Blue-collar workers have, on average, poorer health than white-collar workers. Existing worksite health promotion programs (WHPPs) are often not successful among blue-collar workers. This study evaluates the effect of the Citizen Science-based WHPP on the targeted lifestyle behaviors among construction workers. The data of 114 participants were ret...

Background: The burden of occupational hand eczema in hairdressers is high, and (partly strong) allergens abound in the hair cosmetic products they use. Objectives: To systematically review published evidence concerning contact allergy to an indicative list of active ingredients of hair cosmetics, namely, p-phenylenediamine (PPD), toluene-2,5-di...

Objective: To assess personal and work-related characteristics of construction workers with knee osteoarthritis (KO) associated with their ability to perform their current profession in the following two years. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among Dutch construction workers diagnosed with KO using data from the Worker Health Surv...

Objectives: To review recent epidemiological studies investigating carcinogenic or reprotoxic effects among hairdressers who seem to be at greater risk for systemic adverse effects of chemicals released from hair care products than consumers. Methods: A systematic review according to the PRISMA-P guidelines was performed and included studies pub...

Background Many workplace health promotion programs (WHPPs) do not reach blue-collar workers. To enhance the fit and reach, a Citizen Science (CS) approach was applied to co-create and implement WHPPs. This study aims to evaluate i) the process of this CS approach and ii) the resulting WHPPs. Methods The study was performed in two companies: a con...

Purposes Healthcare workers are at risk of stress-related disorders. Risk communication can be an effective preventive health measure for some health risks, but is not yet common in the prevention of stress-related disorders in an occupational healthcare setting. The overall aim is to examine whether risk communication was part of interventions aim...

The safety assessment of cosmetics considers the exposure of a ‘common consumer’, not the occupational exposure of hairdressers. This review aims to compile and appraise evidence regarding the skin toxicity of cysteamine hydrochloride (cysteamine HCl; CAS no. 156-57-0), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP; CAS no. 9003-39-8), PVP copolymers (CAS no. 28211-18...

Background: Mental health complaints occur frequently among healthcare workers. A workers' health surveillance mental health module (WHS-MH) was found to be effective in improving work functioning of nurses, although not implemented regularly. Therefore, training for occupational physicians and nurses to facilitate the implementation of WHS-MH was...

We aimed to review the determinants of burnout onset in teachers. The study was conducted according to the PROSPERO protocol CRD42018105901, with a focus on teachers. We performed a literature search from 1990 to 2021 in three databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase. We included longitudinal studies assessing burnout as a dependent variable, with...

Background Outdoor workers (OW) receive a higher dose of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) compared to indoor workers (IW) which increases the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Regular sunscreen use reduces the NMSC risk, however, adequate sun-safety behavior among OW is poor. The main objective was to conduct method- and intervention-related elem...

Introduction: Exposure to hazardous chemicals released during hairdressing activities from hair care products puts hairdressers at risk of adverse health effects. Safety assessments of hair products are mainly focused on consumers, but exposure for professional hairdressers might be substantially higher. Objective: To identify and assess availab...

Objective To review the literature on respiratory effects of persulfate salts (PS) or hair bleaches in hairdressers and animal models exploring mechanisms behind PS-induced asthma. Methods A systematic review according to the PRISMA guidelines was performed. Studies published from 2000 to July 2021 that fulfilled predefined eligibility criteria we...

Purpose To investigate the combined effects of occupational physical activity (OPA) and either overweight/obesity or low levels of leisure-time vigorous physical activity (LTVPA) on self-rated health. Methods A longitudinal study was performed among 29,987 construction workers with complete data on 2 Workers’ Health Surveillance Programs during 20...

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have produced the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury (WHO/ILO Joint Estimates). For these, systematic reviews of studies estimating the prevalence of exposure to selected occupational risk factors have been conducted...

Introduction: Worldwide the construction industry is characterized by high physical work demands and prevalent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The two body regions with the highest one-year prevalence are the low back (51%, 95%CI 41–61) and the knee (37%, 95%CI 22–52). A job were workers are exposed to high physical work demands that...

Current cosmetic regulations primarily focus on protecting consumers, not the professional user who is subjected to a partly different, and certainly more intense exposure to hazardous substances. Against this background, the present systematic review aims to compile and appraise evidence regarding skin toxicity of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA...

Hairdressers are at high risk of developing occupational hand eczema. Opinions on the health and safety concerns of non-food consumer products, such as cosmetics and their ingredients, consider the exposure of a 'common consumer', which may not account for occupational exposure of hairdressers. As result, there is a parlous scenario in which seriou...

Background Hairdressers are commonly affected by hand eczema (HE), due to skin hazardous exposure such as irritants and allergens in the work environment. Objective To give an overview of the current prevalence, incidence, severity as well as the pattern of debut and the contribution of atopic dermatitis on HE in hairdressers. Methods A systemati...

Introduction: Hairdressers constitute a major subgroup in the service sector. They are exposed to various substances hazardous for skin, airways or systemically. Accordingly, skin and other occupational diseases are common. The present systematic review will compile and appraise evidence regarding skin, systemic and airways toxicity of an indicati...

Background International consensus is needed on case definitions of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and diseases (MSDs) for use in epidemiological research. We aim to: 1) study what information is needed for the case definition of work-related low back pain (LBP), lumbosacral radicular syndrome (LRS), subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS), carpal...

Background: Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a highly prevalent musculoskeletal disorder in workers, often associated with physically demanding work. Knowledge of work‐relatedness of LE is crucial to develop appropriate preventive measures. This study investigates the prospective association between work‐related physical risk factors and LE. Methods:...

Introduction High physical workload and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are common among blue-collar workers, both being separate risk factors for self-rated health. It may however be that the combination of high physical workload and an unhealthy lifestyle have a stronger effect than the sum of these factors, but studies to the combined effects are...

Introduction Stress-related disorders are frequently reported in the working population, with varying incidence rates of 13% for psychological distress up to 22% for emotional exhaustion with even higher prevalence rates in specific professions and countries. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to examine which work-related...

Introduction Teachers represent an occupation with high levels of burnout. Objective To identify determinants of burnout in teachers. Methods We conducted a systematic review according to PROSPERO protocol CRD42018105901. We performed literature search for the period 1990–2018 in three databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase. We included longitud...

We aimed to review occupational burnout predictors, considering their type, effect size and role (protective versus harmful), and the overall evidence of their importance. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase were searched from January 1990 to August 2018 for longitudinal studies examining any predictor of occupational burnout among workers. We arranged p...

Objectives Although there is evidence that work-related exposures cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there are few quantitative studies assessing the degree to which these factors contribute to PTSD. This systematic review with meta-analysis identified work-related exposures associated with PTSD, and quantified their contribution to this...

Background There is a need for non-invasive biomarkers to assess in vivo efficacy of protective measures aiming at reducing ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure. Stratum corneum (SC) biomarkers showed to be promising markers for internal UVR dose and immune response. Purpose To establish a dose-response relationship for SC biomarkers and explore t...

Objective A consensual definition of occupational burnout is currently lacking. We aimed to harmonize the definition of occupational burnout as a health outcome in medical research and reach a consensus on this definition within the Network on the Coordination and Harmonisation of European Occupational Cohorts (OMEGA-NET). Methods First, we perform...

Introduction: Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) incidence is increasing, and occupational solar exposure contributes greatly to the overall lifetime ultraviolet radiation (UVR) dose. This is reflected in an excess risk of NMSC showing up to three-fold increase in outdoor workers. Risk of NMSC can be reduced if appropriate measures to reduce UVR-expos...

Workers’ health surveillance (WHS) is an important preventive activity aimed at prevention of work-related diseases. However, WHS is not regularly implemented in some EU-countries. As occupational physicians (OPs) have to play an important role in implementation of WHS, this study aimed to develop an intervention to support OPs in implementation of...

Background The aim of this study was to identify case definitions of diagnostic criteria for specific musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) for use in occupational healthcare, surveillance or research. Methods A scoping review was performed in Medline and Web of Science from 2000 to 2020 by an international team of researchers and clinicians, using the...

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are developing joint estimates of the work-related burden of disease and injury (WHO/ILO Joint Estimates), with contributions from a large network of experts. Evidence from mechanistic data suggests that occupational exposure to ergonomic risk factors ma...

Aims: Occupational Burnout (OB) is currently measured through several Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and some of them have become widely used in occupational health research and practice. We, therefore, aimed to review and grade the psychometric validity of the five OB PROMs considered as valid for OB measure in mental health professiona...

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are developing joint estimates of the work-related burden of disease and injury (WHO/ILO Joint Estimates), with contributions from a large network of experts. Evidence from mechanistic and human data suggests that occupational exposure to ergonomic (or...

Background: This case report describes whether a female civil servant who developed bilateral ulnar neuropathy can be classified as having an occupational disease. Methods: The Dutch six-step protocol for the assessment and prevention of occupational diseases is used. Results: Based on the six-step protocol, we propose that pressure on the uln...

Objective The objective was to conduct an update of a previously published review and meta-analysis on the association between work-related psychosocial risk factors and stress-related mental disorders (SRD).Design Systematic review and meta-analysis.Data sources Medline, Embase and PsycINFO were searched for articles published between 2008 and 12...

Purpose Clinicians need to know whether inguinal hernia (IH) can be attributed to work to answer questions regarding prevention and medical causation. This review describes whether work-related risk factors are associated with IH.MethodsA systematic review was performed in Medline via PubMed until February 3rd, 2020. Inclusion criteria were that IH...

Health interventions often do not reach blue-collar workers. Citizen science engages target groups in the design and execution of health interventions, but has not yet been applied in an occupational setting. This preliminary study determines barriers and facilitators and feasible elements for citizen science to improve the health of blue-collar wo...

Objective To estimate the incidence of, trends in and effect of change in reporting rules on occupational diseases (ODs) in the Italian agricultural sector. Methods Over a 14-year period (2004–2017), ODs among Italian agricultural workers were diagnosed by physicians and reported to the National Institute for Insurance against Workplace Accidents...

Occupational diseases are broadly defined as diseases with a specific clinical diagnosis associated with work-related factors[...]

Objective: Workers' health surveillance (WHS) is an important preventive activity to prevent work-related diseases. This study aimed to get insight in the implementation of WHS by occupational physicians (OPs). Methods: A survey was conducted among 128 OPs, in which the actual implementation of WHS, OP's needs, knowledge, skills and motivation o...

Background: Occupational stress-related disorders are complex to diagnose and prevent, due to their multifactorial origin. We developed an e-learning programme aimed at supporting occupational physicians when diagnosing and preventing occupational stress-related disorders. In order to explore the extent to which a developed e-learning prototype wa...