Editorial: Occupational Medicine: Disease Risk Factors and Health Promotion

Occupational Medicine has always been concerned with preventing health problems caused by working conditions, and with promoting and maintaining the highest level of physical, mental, and social wellbeing of workers in all occupations (1–3). In the last few decades, with an aging work population and arise in sickness and absenteeism with the associated financial impacts on organizations, workplace health promotion has become a top priority. Regarding this issue, some research groups have carried out studies on health promotion. In a survey, Di Lorenzo et al. compared healthcare workers with other employees on adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and blood lipid profile; their results showed the preventive contribution in the context of periodic health surveillance by occupational physicians. Research group of Garcia-Rojas carried out a non-randomized company-based trial to evaluate a worksite health promotion program in seven Mexican companies. The investigation confirmed that a promotion activity carried out in an occupational medicine context could be helpful to reduce high blood pressure, in particular, among diabetic workers (Garcia-Rojas et al.). Hanson et al. pointed out that it is appropriate to intervene on some groups of workers such as those working in construction and homecare, who seem to have higher modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors compared to the general population. Hermann et al. and Merati et al. reported that it is appropriate to carry out strategies based on occupational medicine to mitigate the risks that may interfere with the overall health of workers. In Italy, a good practice implemented by Tuscany Region on anti-meningococcal vaccination was highlighted among the healthcare workers (Gattini et al.).