Epidemiology and Health

COVID-19: Original Article

Lack of compensation for COVID-19-related overtime work and its association with burnout among EMS providers in Korea: Ji-Hwan Kim, Jaehong Yoon, Soo Jin Kim, Ja Young Kim, Jinwook Bahk, Seung-Sup Kim; Epidemiol Health. 2023;45:e2023058. Published online June 15, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2023058

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Abstract Summary PDF Supplementary Material: Abstract
OBJECTIVES
This study examined the association between lack of compensation for COVID-19-related overtime work (LCCOW) and burnout among emergency medical service (EMS) providers in Seoul, Korea.
METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 693 EMS providers in Seoul, Korea. Participants were classified into 3 groups according to their experience of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related overtime work and LCCOW: (1) “did not experience,” (2) “experienced and was compensated,” and (3) “experienced and was not compensated.” Burnout was measured using the Korean version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, which has 3 subdomains: personal burnout (PB), work-related burnout (WRB), and citizen-related burnout (CRB). Multiple linear regression was applied to examine whether LCCOW was associated with burnout after adjusting for potential confounders.
RESULTS
In total, 74.2% of participants experienced COVID-19-related overtime work, and 14.6% of those who worked overtime experienced LCCOW. COVID-19-related overtime work showed a statistically non-significant association with burnout. However, the association differed by LCCOW. Compared to the “did not experience” group, the “experienced and was not compensated” group was associated with PB (β=10.519; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.455 to 17.584), WRB (β=10.339; 95% CI, 3.398 to 17.280), and CRB (β=12.290; 95% CI, 6.900 to 17.680), whereas no association was observed for the “experienced and was compensated” group. Furthermore, an analysis restricted to EMS providers who worked overtime due to COVID-19 showed that LCCOW was associated with PB (β=7.970; 95% CI, 1.064 to 14.876), WRB (β=7.276; 95% CI, 0.270 to 14.283), and CRB (β=10.000; 95% CI, 3.435 to 16.565).
CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that LCCOW could be critical in worsening burnout among EMS providers who worked overtime due to COVID-19.; Summary

Korean summary
본 연구는 2021년에 진행된 서울시 구급대원 693 명의 설문조사 자료를 이용해서 COVID-19으로 인한 초과근무 경험에 대한 보상 부족과 번아웃의 연관성을 살펴보았다. 초과근무 경험이 없었던 구급대원의 번아웃 점수와 비교할 때, 초과근무 경험이 있고 항상 적절한 보상을 받은 구급대원의 번아웃 점수는 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 관찰되지 않았지만, 초과근무 경험이 있고 적절한 보상을 받지 못한 적이 있는 구급대원의 번아웃 점수는 통계적으로 유의하게 높게 나타났다. 초과근무를 경험한 구급대원으로 한정한 분석에서는 적절한 보상을 항상 받은 구급대원에 비해서 적절한 보상을 받지 못한 적이 있는 구급대원의 번아웃 점수가 통계적으로 유의하게 높았다.

Key Message
Using a survey of 693 EMS providers in Seoul, Korea, we examined the association between lack of compensation for COVID-19-related overtime work (LCCOW) and burnout. Higher scores of burnouts were observed among those with LCCOW, but not among those without LCCOW, compared to the EMS providers who did not experience overtime work due to COVID-19. Furthermore, in the analysis restricted to EMS providers who had worked overtime due to COVID-19, LCCOW was associated with burnout.

Original Article

Long working hours and the risk of hypothyroidism in healthy Korean workers: a cohort study: Yesung Lee, Woncheol Lee, Hyoung-Ryoul Kim; Epidemiol Health. 2022;44:e2022104. Published online November 8, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2022104

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1 Web of Science
1 Crossref

Abstract Summary PDF Supplementary Material

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Long working hours have been reported to cause various health problems, but are currently practiced in many countries. Building upon a previous cross-sectional study, the authors aimed to elucidate the causal relationship between long working hours and hypothyroidism through a longitudinal study.

METHODS

Data were collected at baseline from 45,259 participants without thyroid disease and with consistent weekly working hours (36-40, 41-52, 53-60, and >60 hours) during the follow-up period. Hypothyroidism was defined using the reference limits of serum thyroid-stimulating hormone and free thyroxine levels. By estimating hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, the risk of incident hypothyroidism was evaluated with 36-40 hours of work per week as the reference.

RESULTS

During 138,261.7 person-years of follow-up, 2,914 participants developed hypothyroidism (incidence density, 2.11/102 person-years). The multivariable-adjusted HRs of incident hypothyroidism for 41-52 hours, 53-60 hours, and >60 hours of work per week were 1.13 (95% CI, 1.03 to 1.24), 2.53 (95% CI, 2.17 to 2.95), and 2.57 (95% CI, 2.09 to 3.15), respectively. In dose-response analyses, long working hours had an approximately linear relationship with hypothyroidism incidence. The risk of incident hypothyroidism in those who worked 53-60 hours and >60 hours per week compared with the reference group was significantly higher among the older age group (≥36 years, stratified by median age), men, and daytime workers.

CONCLUSIONS

This large-scale cohort study demonstrated the association between long working hours and an increased risk of incident hypothyroidism with a dose-response relationship.

Summary

Korean summary
대규모 코호트연구를 통해 장시간노동을 수행한 노동자들에서 갑상선기능저하증의 위험이 높아지는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 특히 연령, 성, 교대근무 유무에 따라 층화하여 분석한 결과에서 고연령, 남성, 교대근무를 하지 않는 노동자에서 관련성의 크기가 증가하였다.

Key Message
This large-scale cohort study (The Kangbuk Samsung Health Study), which used 45,259 participants without thyroid disease at baseline and estimated hazard ratios (HRs) using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, demonstrated the association between long working hours and an increased risk of incident hypothyroidism with a dose-response relationship especially in older age group, men, and daytime workers.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Association between shift work and the risk of hypothyroidism in adult male workers in Korea: a cohort study
Seonghyeon Kwon, Yesung Lee, Eunhye Seo, Daehoon Kim, Jaehong Lee, Youshik Jeong, Jihoon Kim, Jinsook Jeong, Woncheol Lee
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2023;[Epub] CrossRef

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