摘要:

We investigated a possible causal relation between exposure to organic solvents in Danish workers (housepainters, typographers/printers, carpenters/cabinetmakers) and onset of multiple sclerosis. Data on men included in the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Register (3,241 men) were linked with data from the 1970 census from the National Bureau of Statistics in Denmark, which has data on occupational status for 1,768,846 men between 15 and 74 years of age. From this census, we ascertained a group of 124,766 “solvent-exposed” men and an “unexposed” group of 87,501 male electricians, bricklayers, and butchers. Over a follow-up period of 20 years, we observed no increase in the incidence of multiple sclerosis among men presumed to be exposed to organic solvents. It was not possible to obtain data on potential confounders, and the study design has some potential for selection bias. Nevertheless, the study does not support existing hypotheses regarding an association between occupational exposure to organic solvents and multiple sclerosis.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

An association between inclement weather and hip fractures has been documented, but specific subgroups of the population at particular risk have not been identified. We obtained information that included hospitalization data on all hip fractures in Montreal from 1982 to 1992, and meteorologic data on the amount of snow, rain, and freezing rain and the temperature on each day of study. We used a cross-level design to examine the association between the rate of hip fractures and the meteorologic conditions on the day of the accident in both sexes and five age strata. There were a total of 18,455 hip fractures over the 4,018-day study period. We found a cyclical pattern in occurrence of hip fractures, with the peak occurring in mid-December among women and the first week of January among men. The pattern was less pronounced among women than men, with peak-to-trough ratios of 1.2 and 1.4, respectively. Days with lower temperatures, snow, and freezing rain were associated with increased rates of hip fracture. The meteorologic condition carrying the greatest risk was freezing rain. The association between inclement weather and hip fractures was stronger among younger persons, both women and men. After adjusting for meteorologic variables, there remained increases in winter of 5% among women and 12% among men. The residual effect of winter may be related to cold temperatures or due to an accumulation of ice and snow even on fine days. Other possible mechanisms to explain the residual effect of winter include slower reaction times and winter bone loss, both of which could affect indoor as well as outdoor falls.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

We studied whether common shared environmental or behavioral risk factors, other than tobacco smoking, underlie both atherosclerotic diseases and cancer. We identified a group of 96,891 one-year survivors of acute myocardial infarct through the Danish Hospital Discharge Register between 1977 and 1989. We calculated the incidence of cancer in this group by linking it to the Danish Cancer Registry for the period 1978–1993. There was no consistent excess over the expected figures for any of the categories of cancer not related to tobacco smoking. Specifically, the rates of colorectal cancer in acute myocardial infarct patients were similar to those of the general population, as were the rates for hormone-related cancers, including endometrial and postmenopausal breast cancers. We found a moderate increase in the risk for tobacco-related cancers, which was strongest for patients with early onset of acute myocardial infarct and for female patients. Overall, there do not seem to be major shared environmental or behavioral risk factors for acute myocardial infarct and cancers, except for smoking, and there seems to be no common inherited susceptibility to the development of these diseases.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

To evaluate prospectively the effect on mortality of wine drinking in Eastern France, we conducted an analysis on 34,014 consecutive middle-aged men coming for a comprehensive health appraisal between 1978 and 1983. We evaluated education, physical activity, smoking, and drinking habits by a questionnaire. Electrocardiogram, blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, and γ-glutamyltransferase level were routinely measured. Seventy-seven per cent of the subjects drank wine; there was little difference between social classes in this proportion. We evaluated mortality over 10–15 years of follow-up. We estimated the relative risk (RR) of death by Cox proportional hazard models using nondrinkers as the reference and adjusting for six covariables. For an intake of 22–32 and 33–54 gm of alcohol per day, the RR of all-cause death was 0.70 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.59–0.82] and 0.76 (95% CI = 0.66–0.87), respectively. The lower mortality resulted from fewer deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Above 128 gm per day of alcohol consumption, the RR was 1.37 (95% CI = 1.16–1.61). A moderate intake of wine (2–5 glasses per day) was associated with a 24–31% reduction in all-cause mortality, a proportion that was similar for smokers, ex-smokers, and nonsmokers.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Animal studies have shown evidence of prenatal hormonal interaction between unlike sexed fetuses, including reduced fertility among females. We evaluated whether the fecundability of female twins is different from that of singletons and whether it differs according to the sex of the co-twin. The study was based on a questionnaire survey of 12,681 female twins born in the period 1953–1976 and an interview survey of 760 female controls born in the period 1953–1966, both in Denmark. Outcome of the first try ever to become pregnant (pregnant, still trying, stopped trying, pregnant despite contraception, and never tried) and the waiting time to pregnancy distribution did not differ among monozygotic, dizygotic same sexed, and dizygotic unlike sexed twins. More twins had a waiting time of less than 2 months, compared with singletons. This difference probably reflects an artifact due to the data collection method, because it disappeared when the cutoff point was changed to include 2 months for singletons, and we found no difference for longer waiting times. Hence, we found no increase in fecundability for twins compared with singletons, nor any reduced fecundability among female twins from unlike sexed pairs.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

We sought to determine the effects of cigarette smoking on menstrual function using prospectively recorded menstrual data in a cohort study of women ages 37–39 years. Eighty-three current smokers and 275 nonsmokers provided menstrual data for analysis. Smoking was associated with decreased duration of bleeding, increased daily amount of bleeding (subjectively scored), and increased duration of dysmenorrhea. These effects were most pronounced in the heaviest smokers. Smoking was not associated with cycle length, but we found some evidence for increased variability of cycle length among heavier smokers. We conclude that cigarette smoking affects menstrual function, most importantly by increasing the duration of dysmenorrhea.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

About 5% of babies are born postterm (that is, delivered after 42 completed weeks of gestation). Postterm infants experience more morbidity and mortality than term infants, prompting routine (and expensive) antenatal testing and active management of postterm pregnancies. This article reviews the epidemiology of postterm delivery. A few congenital conditions associated with disruption of the fetal-pituitary-adrenal axis as well as a rare maternal enzyme deficiency have long been identified with postterm delivery. In recent literature, environmental pollution, diet, and pharmaceutical agents have been associated with postterm birth. Very little systematic research has focused on identifying risk factors for this poorly understood birth outcome.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

We conducted a case-control study of the protective effect of appendectomy on the development of ulcerative colitis. We calculated the risk of ulcerative colitis in 716 incident cases of ulcerative colitis and 2,747 controls according to appendectomy status, using data from the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database. We also studied a random sample of 100 cases and 100 controls to validate the subject's history of appendectomy. Fifteen cases (2%) and 109 (4%) controls had a computer-recorded history of appendectomy [odds ratio (OR) = 0.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.3–0.9]. In the sample, the OR was 0.3 (95% CI = 0.1–0.9). Appendectomy appears to protect against ulcerative colitis.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

We used data from the 1993 Italian Household Multipurpose Survey, based on a sample of 46,693 subjects ages 15 years or over, to analyze the relation between frequency of vegetable consumption and prevalence of 12 chronic diseases. We observed little association with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and allergy. There were inverse relations between vegetable consumption and myocardial infarction [odds ratio (OR) = 0.79 for the highest tertile], angina pectoris (OR = 0.89), chronic bronchitis (OR = 0.69), bronchial asthma (OR = 0.70), peptic ulcer (OR = 0.74), gallstones (OR = 0.92), liver cirrhosis (OR = 0.71), kidney stones (OR = 0.68), and arthritis (OR = 0.84). Adjustment for alcohol and tobacco use made little difference.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1998

数据来源: OVID