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Many U.S. workers fatigued on the job

HUNT VALLEY, Md., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Nearly 40 percent of U.S. workers experience fatigue, a problem that carries billions of dollars in costs from lost productivity, a study found.

Judith A. Ricci of Caremark in Hunt Valley, Md., analyzed data from a nationwide study of the relationship between health and productivity at work.

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Of the nearly 29,000 employed adults interviewed, 38 percent said they had experienced "low levels of energy, poor sleep, or a feeling of fatigue" during the past two weeks.

With adjustment for other factors, fatigue was more common in women than men, in workers less than 50 years old, and in white workers compared with African-Americans.

Workers with "high-control" jobs -- relatively better-paid jobs with decision-making responsibility -- also reported higher rates of fatigue, according to the study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The study looked at the effects of fatigue on health-related lost productive time: not just absenteeism but also "presenteeism," or days the employee was at work but performed at less than full capacity because of health reasons.

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