ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

There are few epidemiologic studies dealing with electromagnetic radiation and uveal melanoma. The majority of these studies are exploratory and are based on job and industry titles only. We conducted a hospital-based and population-based case-control study of uveal melanoma and occupational exposures to different sources of electromagnetic radiation, including radiofrequency radiation. We then pooled these results. We interviewed a total of 118 female and male cases with uveal melanoma and 475 controls matching on sex, age, and study regions. Exposure to radiofrequency-transmitting devices was rated as (a) no radiofrequency radiation exposure, (b) possible exposure to mobile phones, or (c) probable/certain exposure to mobile phones. Exposures were rated independently by two of the authors who did not know case or control status. We used conditional logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). We found an elevated risk for exposure to radiofrequency-transmitting devices (exposure to radio sets, OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.4–6.3; probable/certain exposure to mobile phones, OR = 4.2, 95% CI = 1.2–14.5). Other sources of electromagnetic radiation such as high-voltage lines, electrical machines, complex electrical environments, visual display terminals, or radar units were not associated with uveal melanoma. This is the first study describing an association between radiofrequency radiation exposure and uveal melanoma. Several methodologic limitations prevent our results from providing clear evidence on the hypothesized association.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

We conducted a population-based case-control study to evaluate the relation between exposure to drinking water contaminants (total and specific trihalomethanes and certain metals and nitrates) and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We compared 491 cases 0–9 years of age with 491 controls. We developed a municipality-exposure matrix based on municipal and provincial historical data, a tapwater survey in 227 homes, and information about residential history. We used average level of exposure and cumulative average over the period as exposure indices, and we measured risk for the pregnancy period as well as for the postnatal period. We show that risks were generally not increased for the prenatal period nor with average levels of exposure. Postnatal cumulative exposure for total trihalomethanes at above the 95th percentile of the distribution for cases and controls was associated with an odds ratio of 1.54 (95% confidence interval = 0.78–3.03); for that same period, risk associated with exposure to chloroform was increased (odds ratio = 1.63; 95% confidence interval = 0.84–3.19) as well as that for exposure to zinc (odds ratio = 2.48; 95% confidence interval = 0.99–6.24). Risks were also increased for exposure to cadmium and arsenic, but not for other metals nor for nitrates.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Neuroblastoma is the most common neoplasm in children under 1 year of age. We examined the relation between residential exposure to pesticides and neuroblastoma, using data from a case-control study of risk factors for neuroblastoma. Incident cases of neuroblastoma (N = 538) were identified through the Pediatric Oncology Group and the Children’s Cancer Group. One age-matched control was identified for each case by random digit dialing. Telephone interviews with each parent collected information on residential exposure to pesticides. Pesticide use in both the home and garden were modestly associated with neuroblastoma [odds ratio (OR) = 1.6 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.0–2.3, and OR = 1.7 (95% CI = 0.9–2.1), respectively]. Compared with infants [OR = 1.0 (95% CI = 0.6–2.0)], stronger associations were found for garden pesticides in children diagnosed after 1 year of age [OR = 2.2 (95% CI = 1.3–3.6)], which suggests that pesticides may act through a mechanism more common for neuroblastomas in older children. There was no evidence of differential pesticide effects in subgroups of neuroblastoma defined byMYCNoncogene amplification or tumor stage.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Ecological integrity refers to the ability of environmental life-support systems to sustain themselves in the face of human-induced impacts. We used a correlational, aggregate-data study design to explore whether life expectancy, as a general measure of population health, is linked to large-scale declines in ecological integrity. Most of the data were obtained from World Resources Institute publications. Selected surrogate measures of ecological integrity and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (as a socioeconomic confounder) were modeled, for the first time, using linear regression techniques with life expectancy as the health outcome. We found a modest relation between ecological integrity and life expectancy, but the direction of the association was inconsistent. When GDP per capita was controlled, the relation between ecological integrity and life expectancy was lost. GDP per capita was the overwhelming predictor of health. Any relation between ecological integrity and health may be mediated by socioeconomic factors. The effect of declines in ecological integrity may be cushioned by the exploitation of ecological capital, preventing a direct association between measures of exposure and outcome. In addition, life expectancy may be too insensitive a measure of health impacts related to ecological decline, and more sensitive measures may need to be developed.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Between 2 and 11 months of age, the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) declines more slowly in black infants than in infants of other races. This phenomenon might also be a feature of certain non-SIDS causes of death. Identifying these causes may through analogy provide support for the theory that SIDS is a disease of the central nervous system, an unusual consequence of respiratory infection, or a form of suffocation. We used logistic regression analysis on details of infant deaths in the United States, 1985–1991, to examine the difference between the rates of decline with increasing age in the mortality rates of black infants and infants of other races. We defined slower rate of decline in black infants as a positive difference. The magnitude and direction (positive) of the difference for deaths due to respiratory infection were similar to those for SIDS. It is unlikely that this difference in the rates of decline for respiratory infection can be explained by diagnostic cross-misclassification between respiratory infection and SIDS. SIDS appears to be a disease of the respiratory system caused by infection that affects that system’s control centers.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

To examine whether maternal caffeine consumption is associated with the risk of spontaneous abortion, we analyzed data from a population-based prospective study. The study population comprised 575 women delivering singleton livebirths and 75 women who had spontaneous abortions. The subjects were predominantly white, middle-class women enrolled before pregnancy. Study participants were traced to delivery of a liveborn, singleton infant or a spontaneous abortion. Of the 71 women who did not experience nausea, 29.6% had a spontaneous abortion, compared with 7.2% of 514 women who did experience nausea. Maternal caffeine consumption before pregnancy, or in women without nausea, did not increase the risk of spontaneous abortion, whereas maternal caffeine consumption during the first trimester after nausea started might increase risk of spontaneous abortion (risk ratio = 5.4, 95% confidence interval = 2.0–14.6 for caffeine consumption ≥300 mg per day compared with <20 mg per day). These results suggest that maternal caffeine consumption during pregnancy may influence fetal viability in women with nausea.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

We investigated the relations between ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and respirable particles less than 10 &mgr;m in diameter (PM10) and school absenteeism in a cohort of 4th-grade school children who resided in 12 southern California communities. An active surveillance system ascertained the numbers and types of absences during the first 6 months of 1996. Pollutants were measured hourly at central-site monitors in each of the 12 communities. To examine acute effects of air pollution on absence rates, we fitted a two-stage time-series model to the absence count data that included distributed lag effects of exposure adjusted for long-term pollutant levels. Short-term change in O3, but not NO2or PM10, was associated with a substantial increase in school absences from both upper and lower respiratory illness. An increase of 20 ppb of O3was associated with an increase of 62.9% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 18.4–124.1%] for illness-related absence rates, 82.9% (95% CI = 3.9–222.0%) for respiratory illnesses, 45.1% (95% CI = 21.3–73.7%) for upper respiratory illnesses, and 173.9% (95% CI = 91.3–292.3%) for lower respiratory illnesses with wet cough. The short-term effects of a 20-ppb change of O3on illness-related absenteeism were larger in communities with lower long-term average PM10[223.5% (95% CI = 90.4–449.7)] compared with communities with high average levels [38.1% (95% CI = 8.5–75.8)]. Increased school absenteeism from O3exposure in children is an important adverse effect of ambient air pollution worthy of public policy consideration.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Although many studies have shown that airborne particles are associated with increased daily death and hospitalization rates, some have questioned whether these events are occurring in persons who would die or enter the hospital within a few days in any case. This hypothesis is usually called the harvesting effect. Harvesting is postulated to occur because the size of the pool of susceptibles decreases as a result of air pollution. I have developed a framework for examining this hypothesis. I used a smoothing technique that allowed me to examine the association between daily deaths and daily hospital admissions net of any such rebound that occurred within a fixed time scale. By varying that time scale I could look at effects net of rebounds on successively larger time scales, ranging from 15 to 60 days. I examined daily deaths and hospital admissions in Chicago for the years 1988–1993. In baseline analyses, particulate matter less than 10 &mgr;m in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) was associated with increased daily deaths and hospital admissions for heart disease, pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A 10 &mgr;g/m3increase in PM10was associated with a 0.89% increase in daily deaths (95% confidence interval = 0.61–1.16%), for example. Using smoothing to look at effects net of short-term rebounds, the effect-size estimates for daily deaths and for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease admissions more than doubled. They did not change for pneumonia and heart disease admissions. The increased effect size for daily deaths occurred only for deaths outside of the hospital. These results are consistent with air pollution increasing the size of the risk pool and for most of the deaths being advanced by months to years.

ISSN:1044-3983    

出版商:OVID    

年代:2001

数据来源: OVID