The Most Common Occupational Injuries Suffered by American Workers

Dr. Michael Klein worked as a staff physician at Texas Health Center for close to two decades. At the Victoria, Texas-based facility, Michael Klein, MD, treated patients who had suffered occupational illnesses.

Occupational illnesses are conditions caused by or exacerbated by workplace events or exposures. In June 2016, researchers from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) released a report outlining the most common occupational lung, skin, and musculoskeletal illnesses suffered by Americans. 

According to the report, the most common occupational lung disorder affecting people in industrialized countries is occupational asthma. It makes up 15 percent of new adult asthma cases and is caused either by sensitizers like animals, plants, bioaerosols, drugs, and latex or irritants like smoke, chlorine, and construction-work dust. Occupational chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is another common lung disorder. COPD is the fourth largest cause of death in the world with 15 percent of new cases attributable to occupational exposures. Implicated causative agents include vapors, fumes, gases, and dust. 

The most prevalent occupational skin disorder is occupational contact dermatitis. Every year, over 13 million American workers are exposed to chemicals that have the potential to get absorbed through the skin. Some of these exposures lead to contact dermatitis. 

Common occupational musculoskeletal disorders include carpal tunnel syndrome caused by compression of the median nerve and epicondylitis brought about by the overuse of tendons. Both are repetitive motion injuries.

Ministries with Local Church

Dr. Michael Klein holds a doctor of medicine from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, from which he graduated cum laude. A staff and emergency-room physician at Texas Health Center, Dr. Michael Klein also treats patients at Refugio County Memorial Hospital.

Klein, MD, regularly participates in medical mission trips. Most recently, he visited the colonias of Laredo, Texas, and Grand Goave, Haiti, with a local Christian church located in Pearland, Texas, it has offered a range of ministries.

In addition to world missions to spread the news of Jesus Christ, The Church offers community-service ministries that aid people in need and support first responders and foster families. The church also organizes small prayer groups known as LifeGroups, as well as the Champions Club, which ministers to children with special needs. Further, events specifically for men, women, and children are frequently held. Dr. Michael Klein cannot wait to embark on a new medical mission trip as he is passionate in helping others. 

Helping Teens Say No to Cigarettes

A physician by profession, Dr. Michael Klein most recently served the Texas Health Center as a staff physician. Michael Klein, MD, enjoys learning about child development and parenting in his free time.

Many parents hope to help their adolescent children avoid peer pressure, particularly as it regards harmful behaviors such as smoking. Children typically receive and internalize anti-smoking messages when they are young, as evidenced by consistently reported negative thoughts about smoking in children under 12 years of age. However, as these children age, they can succumb to messages from their friends, who become increasingly influential to an adolescent, that smoking increases social acceptance.

Over the years, a number of studies have investigated whether it is possible to “inoculate” children against such peer messages, just as a doctor would inoculate them against disease. 

In medicine, an inoculation presents the body with a weakened version of the disease. Social inoculation uses a similar model in that it presents a child with potential pro-smoking arguments and allows them to role-play responses in a safe setting. In one study, after high school students guided middle school children in such role-playing, the younger participants were 50 percent less likely to become smokers.

Experts remind parents to be careful of how they present and practice these counter-arguments. If they come across as pressure or an application of power, the child may engage in the unhealthy behavior. Because the intervention aims to empower the child, any adult providing guidance must do so with an attitude of helping and supporting the child's own healthy decision.