Work‐related repetitive strain injury and leisure‐time physical activity

Objective

To investigate the relationship between leisure‐time physical activity and work‐related repetitive strain injury (RSI), adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and work‐related physical and stress factors.

Methods

The data source was the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey, a national cross‐sectional survey of 134,072 respondents. The analysis was limited to a sample of the survey population reporting full‐time work during the past 12 months (n = 58,622). The outcome of interest was work‐related RSI of the upper body. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the outcome and leisure‐time physical activity level, adjusted for sociodemographic, health, and occupational characteristics. The potential effect of leisure‐time physical activity with a high upper‐body load was investigated in a secondary analysis.

Results

The prevalence of upper‐body work‐related RSI was 5.9% in the Canadian population in 2003. An active lifestyle during leisure time was associated with a lower prevalence of work‐related upper‐body RSI (odds ratio 0.84, 99% confidence interval 0.75–0.95), after adjustment for work physical demands and other covariates. Female sex, obesity, smoking, age, work‐related stress, and work physical demands were associated with RSI. In the secondary analysis, we did not find that participating in leisure‐time activities with a high upper‐body load was a risk factor for RSI.

Conclusion

Our study results indicate that being physically active during leisure time is associated with a decreased risk of upper‐body occupational RSI, adding another potential health benefit to participation in leisure‐time physical activity.     

Does influenza pandemic preparedness and mitigation require gain‐of‐function research?

The risk and benefits of gain‐of‐function studies on influenza A have been widely debated since 2012 when the methods to create two respiratory transmissible H5N1 mutant isolates were published. Opponents of gain‐of‐function studies argue the biosecurity risk is unacceptable, while proponents cite potential uses for pandemic surveillance, preparedness and mitigation. In this commentary, we provide an overview of the background and applications of gain‐of‐function research and argue that the anticipated benefits have yet to materialize while the significant risks remain.     

Point‐of‐care testing as a tool for screening for diabetes and pre‐diabetes

Aim To determine the utility of finger‐prick point‐of‐care testing (POCT) of blood glucose for the detection of dysglycaemia. Methods A fasting POCT and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) with laboratory assays were performed as part of the baseline screening for 5309 participants enrolled in the Te Wai o Rona Diabetes Prevention Strategy. Participants were aged 46 ± 19 years with no self‐reported diabetes. Dysglycaemia, including diabetes, was defined using World Health Organization criteria. Agreement between the two fasting plasma glucose measurements and their screening properties (with sensitivity and specificity for cut points) were compared using receiver operator characteristic analysis. Results A total of 3225 participants had both capillary and venous fasting blood sampled within 30 min and then underwent OGTT. New diabetes was found in 161 participants (5.0%) and pre‐diabetes in 414 [impaired glucose tolerance 299 (9.3%), impaired fasting glucose 115 (3.6%)]. The mean difference in capillary and venous measures was 0.02 mmol/l (95% confidence interval ?0.04 to +0.01; limits of agreement –1.37 to 1.33 mmol/l). Capillary POCT was a poorer predictor of dysglycaemia and impaired glucose tolerance and new diabetes (area under curve 0.76 and 0.71) than venous laboratory analysis (area under curve 0.87 and 0.81 respectively). Optimal screening criteria were best at a venous glucose of 5.4 mmol/l; 77% sensitivity/specificity. Conclusions POCT significantly underestimated the true blood glucose at diagnostic levels for diabetes. POCT cannot be recommended as a means of screening for or diagnosing diabetes or pre‐diabetes.     

Indian‐born patients attending a sexual health clinic in Australia have differing characteristics to their Australian‐born counterparts

We report a retrospective cross‐sectional study from Western Sydney that assessed the sexual health characteristics of Indian‐born patients attending sexual health services compared with Australian‐born controls. The sexual health needs of Indian‐born patients differed significantly from controls with those born in India reporting more sexual dysfunction and controls having more sexually transmitted infections (STI). These issues should be considered when delivering services to people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.