ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The extent of health effects and exposure to environmental contaminants among workers and residents indirectly affected by the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate concerns related to health effects and occupational exposures three months after the WTC disaster among a population of employees working in a building close to the disaster site. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed of Federal employees working near the WTC site in New York City (NYC) and a comparison group of Federal employees in Dallas, Texas. An industrial hygiene evaluation of the NYC workplace was conducted. Constitutional and mental health symptoms were reported more frequently among workers in NYC compared to those in Dallas; level of social support was inversely related to prevalence of mental health symptoms. Post-September 11thcounseling services were utilized to a greater degree among workers in NYC, while utilization of other types of medical services did not differ significantly between the groups. No occupational exposures to substances at concentrations that would explain the reported constitutional symptoms were found; however, we were unable to assess potential occupational exposures in the time immediately after the WTC disaster. There is no evidence of ongoing hazardous exposure to airborne contaminants among the workers surveyed. Specific causes of reported constitutional health symptoms have not been determined. Health care providers and management and employee groups should be aware of the need to address mental health issues as well as constitutional symptoms among the large number of workers in the NYC area who have been indirectly affected by the WTC disaster.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Pain and other symptoms associated with work-related upper extremity disorders (WRUEDs) can lead to significant distress, lost function, and disability. Identifying factors associated with decreased upper extremity function may lead to the development of more effective interventions. In this study, participants were 165 government employees (127 female, 38 male) with an accepted workers’ compensation claim (<90 days from claim filing) for a WRUED who were unable to perform their normal work. Participants completed baseline measures of upper extremity functional limitation, symptoms, general health status, problem solving orientation, pain coping, and workplace factors. After controlling for pain and gender in a multiple regression analysis, greater functional limitation was further explained by: (1) upper extremity symptoms other than pain (eg, sleep disturbance, numbness and tingling), (2) symptoms in one or both hands, (3) feeling overwhelmed by pain, (4) low confidence in problem solving abilities, and (5) higher ergonomic risk factor exposures at work. The final model accounted for 47.4% of the variance in upper extremity function, F(7157) = 4.33, P < 0.05. Mental health status was related to functional limitation in univariate, but not multivariate analyses. These results suggest that improving function in this population may require: (1) pain coping techniques and active problem solving to overcome functional barriers, and (2) reduction of workplace ergonomic risk exposure.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

In response to concerns about cancer stemming from drinking water contaminated with ammonium perchlorate and trichloroethylene, we assessed observed and expected numbers of new cancer cases for all sites combined and 16 cancer types in a California community (1988 to 1998). The numbers of observed cancer cases divided by expected numbers defined standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and 99% confidence intervals (CI). No significant differences between observed and expected numbers were found for all cancers (SIR, 0.97; 99% CI, 0.93 to 1.02), thyroid cancer (SIR, 1.00; 99% CI, 0.63 to 1.47), or 11 other cancer types. Significantly fewer cases were observed than expected for cancer of the lung and bronchus (SIR, 0.71; 99% CI, 0.61 to 0.81) and the colon and rectum (SIR, 0.86; 0.74 to 0.99), whereas more cases were observed for uterine cancer (SIR, 1.35; 99% CI, 1.06 to 1.70) and skin melanoma (SIR, 1.42; 99% CI, 1.13 to 1.77). These findings did not identify a generalized cancer excess or thyroid cancer excess in this community.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Recalll the index of respiratory morbidity used in this study, prevailing air pollutant levels, and the sources of air pollution in São Paulo.Review the study findings, emphasizing which pollutants correlate most closely with respiratory illness.Discuss the implications of these findings for individual health and public health.The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of daily air pollution levels (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter with an aerodynamic profile ≤10 &mgr;m ) on morbidity by using the daily number of emergency room visits due to chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD) in people older than 64 years of age in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, from 1996 to 1998. Generalized additive Poisson regression models adjusted for long-time trend and weather (nonparametric functions), weekdays (dummy variable), and daily number of nonrespiratory admissions were adopted. Ozone and sulfur dioxide were the pollutants statistically associated with CLRD visits. Interquartile range increases in the 6-day moving average of sulfur dioxide (11.82 &mgr;g/m3) and in the 4-day moving average of ozone(35.87 &mgr;g/m3) increased CLRD emergency room visits in 18% and 14%, respectively. These results reinforce the idea that air pollution may promote adverse health effects in the elderly.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Learning ObjectivesIdentify the economic consequences of depression and the likely ways in which depression influences performance at the workplace.Appreciate the prevalence of short-term disability with and without depression, and the influence of gender, age, and past history on depression-related disability.Recognize how the outcome of depression-related short-term disability is influenced by gender, age, and the number of depressive symptoms.There has been a growing realization that the number of workplace disability claims for mental and nervous disorders is increasing. Yet, little is known about the working population disabled by these disorders. Absence of basic information describing this population makes it virtually impossible to plan effective workplace programs. Using administrative data collected from three major Canadian financial/insurance sector employers, we focus on one group of disorders—depression. In this study, we report the prevalence of short-term disability due to depression and describe the characteristics of workers affected and their disability outcomes. We observed that compared with other nervous and mental disorders, depression-related short-term disability generally affected more employees, lasted longer, and had a higher rate of recurrence. In addition, at the end of their episodes more than three quarters of workers returned to work. These estimates suggest that the potential magnitude of the impact of short-term disability should be a concern for employers. This study helps identify the main characteristics of workers who develop depression-related disability. It also helps clarify what happens to those on short-term disability.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Learning ObjectivesDiscuss why and how this study was carried out and the characteristics of the radiation to which nuclear reactor workers in Finland are exposed.Describe the findings, focusing on the relationship, if any, between cancer incidence and cumulative radiation exposure.Recognize the possible influence of other cancer risk factors on the findings of this study.Because of their well-documented exposures to repeated low doses of ionizing radiation, nuclear reactor workers offer an opportunity to assess cancer risk from low-dose radiation. A cohort of all 15,619 Finnish nuclear reactor workers was established through dose-monitoring records. A questionnaire survey revealed no substantial differences in consumption of tobacco or alcohol between different exposure groups nor between nuclear power company employees and contract workers. In the follow-up for cancer incidence, no clear excess in cancer incidence was observed overall, nor was any observed in any of the specific cancer types studied. There was little evidence for an association between cancer incidence and cumulative radiation dose, but the statistical power was limited. More precise estimates will be available from an international collaborative study of nuclear industry workers, including our cohort.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are the most common cause of illness and death in children in the developing world. This review focuses on outdoor air pollutants associated with pediatric ARI mortality and morbidity. Studies were identified using MEDLINE and other electronic databases. Four studies showed an increase in infant mortality in relation to outdoor air pollution. Short-term follow-up and time-series studies suggest that air pollutants act as risk factors for respiratory infection. Air pollution exposure increases the incidence of upper- and lower-respiratory infections in children. Because complex pollution mixtures are present in the studied urban areas, pollutant levels at which ARI risk would be expected to increase cannot be determined. Children may be at greater risk, given the poor environmental and nutritional conditions prevalent in developing countries.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

In a case–control study, we examined whether parental occupational exposures were related to neural tube defect (NTD)–affected pregnancies among Mexican Americans living along the Texas–Mexico border. Case women were 184 Mexican-American women with NTD-affected pregnancies; control women were 225 study-area residents who delivered normal babies during the same period as the case women. The women were interviewed in person about maternal and paternal occupations and work exposures during the periconceptional period. Compared with control women, case women were more likely to have had occupational exposures to solvents (odds ratio [OR], ∞; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.4−∞) and also were more likely to have worked in cleaning (OR 9.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 82.2) or health care occupations (OR 3.0; 95% CI, 1.0 to 9.0) than control women. No compelling associations were found between paternal work exposures or occupations and NTDs in offspring in this population.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2002

数据来源: OVID