Message from the Chairperson, Scientific Committee - OCCUCON 2025

It is with immense pleasure and pride that I extend my warm greetings to all the participants, delegates, and esteemed guests of the 75th National Conference of the Indian Association of Occupational Health (OCCUCON 2025). As the Chairperson of the Scientific Committee, consisting of my fellow committee members—Dr. Kumaran, Dr. Ram Prakash, Dr. Rashima, Dr. Deepak, Dr. Mohan, Dr. Ashok—as well as our esteemed advisors, Dr. Ananthan, Dr. Jayanandan, Dr. Sundararajan, Mr. Jayachandran, and Dr. G.S. Swaminathan I thank all the contributors of scientific papers to this prestigious Journal. This assumes significance, since this is the Diamond Jubilee edition, of our National conference hosted by the Tamil Nadu branch. The papers that have been submitted present a bewildering variety of topics from general medicine, to community-based screening, from ophthalmology to mental health, from environmental hygiene to safety, all of which mark our collective efforts to enhance the health, safety, and well-being of workers across India. What was significant was the large number of papers in Ergonomics. Being an Ergonomist and specialist in Physical medicine and Rehabilitation myself, I feel happy that this new trend throws light on musculoskeletal disorders, posture and the influence of exercise on wellbeing. Overall, I find a genuine interest among medical professionals to work in conjunction with Safety and Environmental Hygiene, realising that protecting the workforce, mitigating risks, and ensuring sustained productivity in the workplace, will develop strategies for a safer and healthier future for all workers. This diverse gathering of academicians, medical professionals, safety experts, and HR representatives reflects our unified commitment to this important cause. Warm regards, DR. S. SUNDER M.D Chairperson, Scientific Committee - OCCUCON 2025 Indian Association of Occupational Health Abstracts for IJOEM Abstract No: 002 Cardiorespiratory Risk among Non-Smoker Metal Fume Exposed Industrial Workers: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study Ankit Viramgami, Sarang Dhatrak, Rakshit Shah, Ankit Sheth Introduction: Workers are exposed to metal fumes through inhalation routes during various metal-cutting operations. Inhalation of heavy metal fumes enhances free radicals and oxidative stress in the biological system, resulting in local and systemic inflammatory responses. Long-term exposure may impair pulmonary function and enhance the risk of cardiovascular disease risk. The study aims to study and compare the cardio-respiratory risk among fume-exposed and un-exposed controls. Methodology: The present cross-sectional study involved 222 male non-smoker participants, 190 exposed (metal cutters) & 32 age-matched unexposed control (admin staff). Relevant socio-demographic, occupational, and medical history was reported on the pre-tested standardized questionnaire. Pulmonary function test performed following American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines. Risk for cardiovascular events assessed through QRISK3 score system. Data was analysed with SPSS version 26.0. Results: The prevalence of cough (15.8%) and dyspnoea (37.4%) were higher among metal cutters in comparison to controls (3.1% & 12.5%, respectively). Compromised pulmonary function test parameters were observed among 17.9% of the metal cutters, the same observed only among 6.2% of the controls. Metal cutters were observed with significantly reduced air conduction parameters (FEV1/FVC & FEF25-75%) in comparison to control (p < 0.05). Observed a significant difference in relative risk (1.52 v/s 1.07) for ischemic heart disease between metal cutters and control groups (p < 0.05). Discussion and Conclusion: The study warrants an urgent need for workplace intervention to reduce the risk of metal fume exposure among metal cutters. Also, it advocates for detailed cardiorespiratory evaluation during occupational health check-ups for early diagnosis of illness. Abstract No: 003 Smoking On-Duty, Ignoring the Safety, Mishaps Occurred Deadly: An Accident Analysis and Case Study Hariraj Sellamuthu Introduction: The informal unorganised sectors encounter serious hazards that might cause mishaps, inability, and even long-term health problems. The risk of accidental fires is greatly increased when a workman smoking in the workplace. Smoking-related fires not only put lives in threat but also seriously damage property and hamper the business. Smoking at work is the hazard in all aspect equally, which maybe health, safety or environment and hence should not be under rated. Case Study: A 26-year-old, painter by occupation. He was smoking a cigarette while working and unclosed paint thinner tin kept above his height, in high shelf, felt on him accidentally. This a case of Deadly Accidental fire with smoking a cigarette at work, where he was succumbed after 9 days. Burning cigarette produce heat of about 400 degrees Celsius and it will increase to 900 degrees Celsius while puff. Also, cigarette contains chemicals, which keep them alighted the fire. Discussion and Conclusion: Heat, fuel and oxygen are the parts of fire triangle. Flash burns produce rapid combustion, when it has contact with heat source and flammable materials. At least 70 of them are proven carcinogens. Even if they do not smoke themselves, workers who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to experience heart problems, lung cancer, and respiratory problems. Also, over time, smoking breaks might accumulate and result in a large loss of productivity. Smokers tend to take longer breaks than non-smokers do on average, which adds up to many hours of missed work every week. This has an impact on team productivity as well as individual performance, particularly in settings where cooperation and teamwork are crucial. To mitigate the risks of unorganized sectors and provide a productive and healthy work environment, it is important to implement organizational structures, promote an orderly culture, and invest in ergonomic solutions. Implementation of smoke free policy at work, which also includes unorganised It the of the and to provide smoking at workplace includes of and Abstract No: A Study on the of Implementation on in a S. Swaminathan Introduction: The study was in a in operations. The hazards under study are and in work and control were after by of hygiene study was with the same after after the of the The of the study is to the work air by and the of hazards in the and after of and Methodology: A cross-sectional study was in of the was to in in The work were for with the occupational and for the of the and hazard was on the The was analysed by the and the and the were < as and were performed to the Results: all the hazards under study in and were and it is to be at of and Discussion and Conclusion: This study has that the air were on the and control It is that is a significant of (p < and after the and it is to be to mitigate the hazard Abstract No: the Safety in the in S. Swaminathan Introduction: The study was in an in India. The various safety were and in work It is to the safety and to the on the and risks in the Methodology: was to a questionnaire. Safety were in the and the of the various of was by The was by the and the Analysis Analysis with and were Results: The that are the that influence safety in an The result of also the among the above and it is to be at of Discussion and Conclusion: This study has that the safety were on the of It is that is a significant of and hence the in has to and more on Occupational Safety & and to & productive work Abstract No: An Study about among and the Introduction: The is of the with more as professionals than and a of among are to the and of the study on the occupational and a on ergonomic intervention to Methodology: this between and were A detailed was that a and for the posture study the was and after the intervention the was with the and the was to the Results: the it was also that the of while for longer for hours a from the of hours and it the of it was that have various with while The score was which that posture and of the it as a and from The of that of and and to from musculoskeletal disorders, the and an ergonomic after and of on the of and by to the Discussion and Conclusion: It was that a with an ergonomic well-being and productivity while stress with work and the of a that it for to the for was Abstract No: of Occupational among Industrial Workers in - An Study Introduction: The is for the of occupational and for the of work from to from the of The the of safety and to workers in in or musculoskeletal and This may be to to or in a while under and in musculoskeletal Methodology: This to Results: This more risks to health for workers with than experience are more to health A higher of in are to Discussion and Conclusion: This study that higher health risks than Abstract No: Physical and - A and in & Introduction: has a significant in workplace as and health It is well that is a disease by that impair to increased risk of and heart it health and it the risk of the of Data in of as Study aims to and of & to and the Methodology: A a of was to and with and was for in was with & were from as Health for with for and with to was the Physical Health with and Results: of or have after the the of was of loss in not only but healthy not only for but it and also the in were in with of Discussion and Conclusion: The are a and same in a with work of Physical and workers were to significant in the of the workers but not significant in Also, a health hazard for a in the Data for the in the of the an in the for Abstract No: Health through during Health in a Introduction: promote health, many develop cardiovascular disease during working Occupational aims to and This study on during health and strategies to reduce and among in a large Methodology: A cross-sectional study of was from to to working in and The the Risk as and smoking medical and stress involved at and the of for The of high risk was by Results: of were over of were with and a than was to of who on the The of the of a at and at the early of cardiovascular disease the of significantly and the Discussion and Conclusion: The from this during medical the of early and the of cardiovascular has proven in long-term health The of and with has to a in cardiovascular health, the of in occupational health Abstract No: of in with in the Introduction: is of the & serious for The of with is of are risk and be in the are to high risk for and should be more likely with and The Risk and score is an to with to risk for events The score was in the in by and & It is also in Indian The study aims to the of score on and of health Methodology: this assessed score for all with at to the of score & up with up for and events as need for or and that with score to of the score Results: in with of were with score of which were under were under risk were under risk of or of of & were and with of intervention in above which were risk or which are also a for the & with of Discussion and Conclusion: The score and The score is an and of in which in of risk in the is as an to medical The score at and high risk for resulting from Abstract No: of among Workers Introduction: are to in of exercise is a general that are among workers they work workers are of Even not workers from they are in is of about of health among them Methodology: to do and for workers above of Results: were of them at least of them were not of health was to them about exercise and up study control of Discussion and Conclusion: The is - in disease is not among workers. Abstract No: and in a Introduction: is a occupational health particularly in and At our a study to the of musculoskeletal among with the of and workplace Methodology: for the on medical that of musculoskeletal A was a standardized musculoskeletal and an ergonomic evaluation of This to the risk to the The study on where were in as the and on the were a work to reduce were on working posture to and were for breaks to and on and posture were and were to ergonomic Results: A after in the well-being of the study reported in musculoskeletal and an increased of posture and The ergonomic and were and to in will be after an to the Discussion and Conclusion: that ergonomic work and posture and reduce musculoskeletal in and will be to ensuring in health and productivity. Abstract No: of in A Case for Introduction: is a health is the cause of in but a of and also be over of are to This study on the prevalence of among in a and the of early to and in and Methodology: following a case of an with a of in our for all to between to between and an intervention that with and and were on the of and and in Results: the of the risk of and This also mitigate among working to a healthier Discussion and Conclusion: in and settings is for the early of intervention through medical and is only this enhance health but it also productivity by and ensuring Abstract No: of in of disease Introduction: An a of his the in and in the least a do is provide him medical is of medical that should be by the a to not only the but to if to health is a of and health check-ups for is a that with a Case Study: This study is about the early disease during the medical of working in for The in his medical up in his which with & to be of - was for the same in and the is in up with the a of he has the with and in Discussion and Conclusion: has not only in workers. It also in early of which the of workers under our where in of work, the of health and well-being be A healthy is not only more productive but also more and Abstract No: of in Indian above of in in Introduction: is a by reduced and of to increased risk. Indian particularly are at a higher risk to of and This study the prevalence of among Indian to working in an with the of and in the in is a health with a serious impact on are with large The of study is to the prevalence of in Methodology: This cross-sectional study to working in an Data on height, and were for and were to the to was assessed to or with were with and for were to in and Results: The prevalence of in this was to be with of the with and were the in and of participants, of with and was a in and with of a to in of the who been with Discussion and Conclusion: The study a high prevalence of among Indian in the to particularly in and were in the study with and in significant in and health, that early and are in in this Abstract No: Association with & Introduction: is to heart function and to future risk for heart for the more than and for To the of test with & the up study of The study aims to stress case & with and to of test in medical Methodology: medical in for above and with of of them have test of 32 of and for 32 of to to up of case with and and on of and up has been Results: 32 with have been of case for and of 32 more than case case 9 case of 32 case case Discussion and Conclusion: not with high high high to in Abstract No: of A in Introduction: by and and in and to a and healthy work environment with commitment by all at all Methodology: a Risk Health Risk and Health Risk with from workers and workplace with to find for mitigating are by and to enhance to a Results: and Risk and risk to for for and in reduce exposure by and from to for and for and An in and Data the and large of as Discussion and Conclusion: occupational health and hygiene to a healthier workplace, productivity and an for Abstract No: and Association with Risk in a in A Study Introduction: disease be as that is in of in the of as or that are with The prevalence of is to be more than and to in the general Indian The higher prevalence is with who are and It may to and if The of the present study is to the prevalence of and with various risk among working in Methodology: A study was on male and above the at occupational health from to The all and The and occupational was during and in was as a to Data was and Results: Study was performed on male with the of The prevalence of was are significantly with with of is between and of is significantly high in who are or more with of was in than workers Discussion and Conclusion: is with with during in early and to reduce risk of Abstract No: to & in the Introduction: to be an important health in India. of of to to to do on to The study aims to for to them healthy to and to for the of Methodology: of health are in but are not with it was that it was for them to or for To that to the of of & of by a by the on with in with version has been to on This is to do of & for and free of & function test as with were and in medical and medical free of through in from to by & and control kept for Results: from to new of of & of during this in of of of & are under & at at & of of of of & are under well Discussion and Conclusion: It is observed that many were not about and healthy new were with were also not for up and same since many This study that health is to Abstract No: Health of Workers of an in of A Cross-Sectional Study on Introduction: have as of and and of in the in about were by and of all are in and and over lives to to increased to be an important health and it includes cardiovascular cancer, respiratory and The of the study was to the health of to find the of prevalence of among them and to study with it and for Methodology: Study A cross-sectional study through health Study workers of an in Study test was for Results: The study of was of them were or with a by and & were from respiratory & was significantly < with and Smoking also significant at < with Discussion and Conclusion: are among the workers. efforts with and should result in an to healthy and in exposure to risk and of The study the need for of community-based with and control stress to among the workers. Abstract No: to An of & at large Introduction: of and and to control exposure is a in lung by The of the study is control and ensuring from risk of and at in Methodology: our Health Risk which is of the and hazards with the performed by the of are exposure exposure of and in exposure groups of and who were more likely to be at risk. The study was from to air were to the of for of workers to the for environment health and as a on the and on the were A was after Analysis and Results: The of among in the was the occupational exposure The were by them were to control team on and the of on This for with in and was as guidelines. Discussion and Conclusion: To reduce exposure among as the of and are and the and are to working and Abstract No: Occupational Safety and Health in An on and Introduction: Occupational safety and health is for the well-being and productivity of workforce, which of workers are in the unorganized and informal they hazards to of and and the of sectors the as this significant of the This study aims to in across sectors in particularly and to for and Methodology: This to and in Occupational Safety and Health with a on A was to and in Data was from various the of and the the Health and the on workplace health and the with were to while of policy for Results: The unorganized in workers to in the safety for informal workers. workplace risks in from Data from a in and in a significant increase in a policy in risks, among informal workers of the the urgent need for safety and Discussion and Conclusion: This study significant in in the unorganized are for safety, and efforts among and workers are for a of safety, and Abstract No: and Health of in in the S. to in is with health assessed the and health of exposure in among and a cross-sectional study with from in and a to an performed the test to between the reported health and performed a at a to the between and health Results: A of and in the were and been for to on exposure to in and not take to exposure to the reported that they and to or reduce that exposure to health that exposure to through and The significant (p between the and work experience of the and A work experience of was with < 0.05). and were the health experience of < < and were with health Conclusion: to a of and to exposure to An occupational that and is Abstract No: and Health of in among in the S. Introduction: to in is with health assessed the and health of exposure in among Methodology: a cross-sectional study with from in and a to an performed the test to between the reported health and performed a at a to the between and health Results: A of and in the were and been for to on exposure to in and not take to exposure to the reported that they and to or reduce that exposure to health that exposure to through and The significant (p between the and work experience of the and A work experience of was with < 0.05). and were the health experience of < < and were with health Discussion and Conclusion: to a of and to exposure to An occupational that and is Abstract No: and A Case study of Workers Shah, Introduction: is for particularly in is a and This study the between and risk on on health and Methodology: A of and a case study was to on the of on during and Results: The study that to mitigate risks reduce risk. who performed at the same and after reported work and musculoskeletal in and Workers in a in and following the of has that between and the enhance ergonomic Discussion and Conclusion: This study that is a in to individual health, and productivity. should the long-term of on musculoskeletal health and strategies for in various work Abstract No: Occupational and among and Introduction: Occupational hazards in and significant risks, evaluation of hazard and the of safety to the Health occupational risks are among the of and with of the to occupational risk than of the is by health and safety with of and occupational This study and occupational hazards in and and for safety Methodology: A cross-sectional of and professionals was A assessed occupational hazard and the of risk safety and and the test were to between Results: The that of occupational hazards as with risks and exposure to reported significant of felt about risks, in were were as by many as for hazard and risk Discussion and Conclusion: safety in and are is to safety through and of and mitigate risks and a safer working environment in this Abstract No: of workplace environment and health hazards among A study in metal Ankit Ankit Viramgami, Introduction: in take in workers to various hazards heat and high of occupational to respiratory and disorders, musculoskeletal and health problems. the need for this study aims to occupational and health risks by and Methodology: A cross-sectional study was among for prevalence with and in Data occupational history and exposure as and air for were Results: occupational health high of musculoskeletal loss and respiratory and are among exposure heat stress to and with exposure but with above particularly during Discussion and Conclusion: are exposed to significant heat high and and at and work to reduce heat and ergonomic health with and with and are to and health of workers in metal Abstract No: in of among to of Introduction: from and in to of of to of The or a the have for this This has reduced the it may have also reduced the of musculoskeletal in the of the of the Methodology: The study was in a was for the and was for the This was by a of & of Results: were on and in the in of were in than who Discussion and Conclusion: may with to and and and also be may the by more on the & risks under our Abstract No: Study of prevalence of disease the at a and of with function and Introduction: disease is a of disease from to to and from disease disease is also This study is to the by by in and with and Methodology: An cross-sectional study was at from to during Health of them were with disease with of with were to to study of and with & < is early Results: of to and the for of that the and were (p < while and were (p 0.05). were higher in of of Discussion and Conclusion: is a for early diagnosis of is the for and this study