ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Learning ObjectivesRecall the frequency and severity of chronic pulmonary, ocular, and cutaneous lesions in this study of 34,000 Iranians exposed in war to mustard agent and followed up after 13 to 20 years.Relate the physical and chemical properties of mustard agents to their biological effects in exposed persons.Describe the chronic clinical sequelae of mustard exposure as observed in the lungs, eyes, and skin.Describe a categorizing method for determining the severity of lung, eye, and skin lesions based on clinical criteria.Approximately 34,000 Iranians known to have sustained mustard agent exposure during the Iran–Iraq war of 1980–1988 and survived over a decade afterwards were screened for distribution of the most commonly occurring medical problems. In order of greatest incidence, these include lesions of the lungs (42.5%), eyes (39.3%), and skin (24.5%). Within each subpopulation, patients were ranked according to severity of lesions. Twenty-three percent to 37% of patients exhibited at least mild coverage, with 1.5% to 4.5% classed as moderate, and a much smaller population (0.023–1.0%) of the 34,000 patients exhibiting extensive (severe) lesional coverage. These results provide a comprehensive overview of the medical problem most common among mustard victims and could serve as a predictor of the likely impact of these weapons on health status of populations exposed to them during ongoing military conflicts.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Learning ObjectivesExplain the merits of estimating lead levels in bone as well as in blood when examining relationships between body lead stores and psychiatric symptoms.Recall the relationships, if any, between bone and blood lead levels and scores on a range of psychiatric symptom scales.Discuss possible mechanisms by which high lead levels may induce or magnify psychiatric symptoms.Blood and bone lead levels were used to investigate lead’s potential effect on psychiatric symptoms among middle-aged to elderly men from the Normative Aging Study. Symptoms were assessed using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and analyzed as individual outcomes as well as a measure that combined anxiety, depression, and phobic anxiety. Blood and bone lead averaged 6.3 &mgr;g/dL (standard deviation [SD] = 4.16), 21.9 &mgr;g/g (SD = 13.5), and 32.1 &mgr;g/g (SD = 19.8) for blood, tibia, and patella lead, respectively. In logistic regression models that adjusted for age, alcohol intake, employment status, and education status, we found that patella bone lead was significantly associated with an increased risk of phobic anxiety and the combined outcome measure at theP≤ 0.05 level. Tibia and blood lead had similar associations. We conclude that cumulative lead exposure, which bone lead levels reflect, could be a risk factor for psychiatric symptoms even at modest levels of exposure.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Learning ObjectivesDiscuss the epidemiological aspects of perchloroethylene (PCE) pollution and its potential to cause disease and the indices for monitoring PCE exposure.Report on how closely estimates of PCE in blood, urine, and alveolar air correlate with ambient levels, and how well these estimates correlate with one another.Compare the merits and drawbacks of monitoring PCE exposure by measuring its concentration in alveolar air, blood, or urine.We studied the reliability of biologic indices for monitoring perchlorethylene (PCE) exposure at low environmental solvent concentrations. Environmental monitoring was performed by personal sampling, biologic monitoring by measuring PCE in alveolar air (PCE-Alv), blood (PCE-B), and urine (PCE-U) in 26 low-exposed dry-cleaners. Correlation coefficients (r) between environmental PCE and PCE-B, PCE-Alv, and PCE-U were 0.94, 0.81, and 0.67 respectively. A high correlation was also found among biologic indices:rvalue was 0.96 between PCE-B and PCE-Alv, 0.95 between PCE-B and PCE-U, and 0.87 between alveolar PCE-Alv and PCE-U. The examined biologic indices proved sensitive enough for biologic monitoring of low exposure to PCE and can give substantially similar information in terms of exposure evaluation. PCE-Alv offers some advantages because it correlated better with exposure and is analytically simpler.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Unemployment has been associated with poor psychologic well-being. Using data from the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we examined relationships between unemployment and frequent mental distress (FMD), defined as 14 or more mentally unhealthy days during the previous 30 days, among 98,267 men and women aged 25–64 years. The age-standardized prevalence of FMD was 6.6% (standard error, 0.14) among employed adults, 14.0% (2.00) among adults unemployed >1 year, and 15.5% (1.18) among those unemployed <1 year. After adjustment, the relative odds of FMD were 2.09 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.75–2.50) for adults unemployed <1 year and 1.88 (95% CI = 1.31–2.71) for adults unemployed >1 year compared with employed adults. Similar patterns were observed across gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, and area unemployment groups. Unemployed persons are a population in need of public health intervention to reduce the burden of mental distress. Public health officials should work with government officials to incorporate the health consequences of unemployment into economic policymaking.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Considering feco-oral transmission of hepatitis E virus (HEV), the risk of the infection was assessed among sewage workers. On the basis of the close contact with sewage, the participants (n= 147) were divided into sewage workers (n= 92) and others (n= 55); none used personal protective equipment (eg, coveralls, boots, gloves) Age-matched individuals from lower socioeconomic status and without any exposure to sewage were used as controls. IgG-anti-HEV positivity in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was significantly higher (P< 0.01) among staff members (83/147, 56.5%) than the controls (19%). A significant rise in anti-HEV positivity (P< 0.05) was recorded in sewage workers working for >5 years. Multivariate regression analysis identified contact with sewage as the independent variable associated with anti-HEV positivity. Strict adherence to good working practices must take top priority for protection of these workers from sewage pathogens.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The construction industry is associated with high rates of work-related injury. We used workers compensation data to describe the injuries and illnesses, claim rates, and claim costs associated with wood framing activities in construction. From 1993 to 1999, there were 33,021 accepted state fund workers compensation claims with direct costs of over $197 million. The average annual claim rate was 45 per 100 full-time equivalent. Statistically significant downward trends were noted in claim rates for all injuries and illnesses, compensable time loss claims, eye and fall injuries. However, these trends were not statistically significantly different from those observed in all other construction risk classes combined. The information in this report can be used to guide prevention efforts and to evaluate the effectiveness of Washington state initiatives to reduce injury and illness rates in wood frame construction.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

The Work Productivity Short Inventory (WPSI) was developed to quickly estimate decrements in productivity associated with 15 common disease conditions. Three versions of the WPSI were developed that differed according to the length of the recall period (12 months, 3 months, or 2 weeks). The content, predictive, and construct validity of metrics generated from the WPSI were assessed based on response patterns found in the 3 versions and via comparison to information in national data sources or in the subject company’s medical care claims and short-term disability program files. The WPSI provided evidence of content and construct validity to support its intended purpose. Evidence for predictive validity was weaker but still present. The WPSI can be used to provide information on the relative importance of health conditions that affect productivity at work for a large group of employees.

ISSN:1076-2752    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2003

数据来源: OVID