A field study of health effects of aircraft noise in adults around Komatsu Air Base (1998)

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the effects of aircraft noise on complaints about life disturbances and on psychological and physical symptoms in adults around Komatsu air base. METHODS: From April to June 1998, a questionnaire was answered by 203 persons (from 89.8% of families) in 2 areas without aircraft noise, and by 412 persons (from 89.0% of families) in 5 areas with a weighted equivalent continuous perceived noise level (WECPNL) of 75 or more. The questionnaire covered age, gender, work location, noise exposure time, past experience with noisy work and ear disease, complaints about noisiness and life disturbances, and psychological and physical symptoms. Multivariate linear models by JMP (SAS institute Inc.) were applied to analyze the relationships between the above factors including noise level and complaints or symptoms. RESULTS: Subjects in the areas with noise had more complaints about noisiness than 5 years before, although replies were less in areas without noise. Subjects in areas with a WECPNL of 75 or more had more complaints and symptoms than those in areas without noise. Moreover, subjects experiencing higher noise levels gave higher responses for most of complaints and symptoms. The JMP linear models showed that aircraft noise was positively related to complaints and symptoms after taking the effects of age, gender and past experience with noisy work and ear disease into consideration. Higher noise levels and longer exposure times were related more strongly to most complaints and symptoms. CONCLUSION: This study shows that aircraft noise with a WECPNL of 75 or more is related to various complaints and psychological and physical symptoms in adults around Komatsu air base, after considering the effects of age, gender and past experience with noisy work and ear disease. It also shows that higher noise levels and longer exposure times are related more strongly to many complaints and symptoms. The results also suggest that responses to aircraft noise have become more severe than in the past.     

1996-2005年云南省个旧市恶性肿瘤死亡的流行病学分析

目的 对1996-2005年云南省个旧市恶性肿瘤死亡率进行流行病学分析,以期为恶性肿瘤的预防和控制提供科学依据.方法 收集1996-2005年云南省个旧市恶性肿瘤死亡资料(共计2641例),使用流行病学研究方法比较分析各年的死亡率变化趋势及城乡分布.结果 1996-2005年云南个旧地区恶性肿瘤死亡率呈缓慢上升趋势,恶性肿瘤死亡率由1996年的53.25/10万上升至2005年70.58/10万.女性恶性肿瘤的死亡率上升趋势比较明显,粗死亡率由1996年的23.76/10万上升至50.57/10万.标化死亡率由1996年的19.04/10万上升至37.78/10万.城市居民恶性肿瘤死亡率分别是农村居民的6倍.结论 云南省个旧市的恶性肿瘤特别是肺癌仍然呈较高死亡率水平,城市居民的恶性肿瘤死亡率比农村居民高.女性恶性肿瘤死亡率上升趋势明显应引起重视,需加强预防控制措施.     

A study regarding the relation between the level of the loss of hearing and educational systems in Romania

Loss of hearing seriously affects individual development. Especially, a profound loss of hearing has effects in the evolution of a child's verbal language. Keeping in mind the level of the loss of hearing, a specific educational and recovering methodology has been adopted: on one hand, the stimulation of the hearing potential and the achieving of the verbal language with the implication of the mimic language or, on the other hand, the development of the communication, making use of the dactylleme and of the mimic language. The acceptance of children with big differences between the level of additive reception in the same educational group stands in the way of the optimum evolution of the most adequate communicational style for each one of them.     

A study regarding the relation between the level of the loss of hearing and educational systems in Romania

Loss of hearing seriously affects individual development. Especially, a profound loss of hearing has effects in the evolution of a child's verbal language. Keeping in mind the level of the loss of hearing, a specific educational and recovering methodology has been adopted: on one hand, the stimulation of the hearing potential and the achieving of the verbal language with the implication of the mimic language or, on the other hand, the development of the communication, making use of the dactylleme and of the mimic language. The acceptance of children with big differences between the level of additive reception in the same educational group stands in the way of the optimum evolution of the most adequate communicational style for each one of them.     

High-frequency-noise-induced hearing loss: a field study on the role of intensity level and accumulated noise dose

Summary Based on audiometric tests in the range of 10 to 20 kHz, of 106 ultrasound operators, as well as on measurements of high-frequency noise, the problem of safety limits for high-frequency noise exposure was investigated. Analyzing the relation between noise levels of 1/3 octave bands at center frequencies of 10, 12.5 and 16 kHz and the accumulated noise dose on the one hand, and changes of hearing at 10 to 12, 11 to 13 and 14 to 16 kHz respectively, on the other hand, a harmless level up to 80 dB and a harmless noise dose up to 1 unit for people not older than 40 years have been found. For older people this level and this noise dose can be dangerous.     

天津市社区居民甲状腺结节流行状况调查及影响因素分析

目的通过调查社区人群甲状腺结节的患病情况,了解其流行病学特征。方法 2012年9—10月采取分层随机抽样方法抽取天津市4个区县成年常住居民506人,以问卷调查个人基本情况,采用直接滴定法检测家中食盐碘(n=225)含量,采用分光光度测定方法检测尿碘(n=506)含量,采用B超仪测量甲状腺情况。以logistic回归分析甲状腺结节的相关因素。结果居民碘盐覆盖率为77.78%,合格碘盐食用率为70.22%;男、女尿碘中位数分别为152.1和160.2μg/L;共检出138例甲状腺结节,患病率为27.27%,标化患病率为19.11%,其中男35例,女103例;多因素logistic回归显示,女性甲状腺结节发生概率明显高于男性(P0.01),B型性格者甲状腺结节发生概率高于A型性格(P0.05),甲状腺结节与是否食用碘盐无关。结论天津市甲状腺结节患病率与国内外其他地区处于相似水平,女性、B型性格易发甲状腺结节。     

阳江天然放射性高本底地区居民血清免疫学调查研究

目的调查广东省阳江天然高本底地区（High Background Radiation Areas,HBRA）健康居民血清免疫学指标的表达情况,探讨慢性低剂量辐射免疫生物学效应及作用机制。方法采用随机抽样方法分别从高本底地区的阳西县塘口镇和对照地区（ControlAreas,cA）的阳西县横陂镇各选取125名健康男性居民。应用常规EI。ISA方法检测其中20名居民血清IL-2的表达水平,85名居民血清sIL-2R的表达水平,剩余20名检测p53的表达水平。实验数据由SPSS16．0统计软件完成。两地区居民血清IL2、sIL2R、p53表达差异进行独立样本t检验,检验水准a=0．05．协方差分析观察高本底辐射、年龄、吸烟、饮酒和医疗照射对IL-2、sIL-2R表达的影响。非条件多因素logistic回归分析地区、年龄和吸烟对p53表达率的影响。结果高本底地区健康居民血清1I。2的浓度略高于对照地区,分别为（13．65±10．96）和（12．18±11．61）ng／I。;对照地区居民血清sIL2R的浓度略高于高本底地区,分别为（2181．9±919．5）和（2151．1±692．1）ng／L,高本底和对照地区居民血清p53浓度分别为（6．26±8．01）和（9．81±7．18）U／ml。上述三个指标的统计结果在两地区之间差异无统计学意义。调整地区,吸烟,饮酒和医用照射因素后,发现年龄对两地区居民血清sIL2R表达水平影响最大,F=13．61,P=0．0003。对地区、年龄和吸烟三因素进行logistic回归分析,结果显示地区是对p53表达率有统计学意义的影响因素,Z=-2．56,P=0．010。结论天然放射性高本底地区居民的免疫功能略强于对照地区,提示长期慢性低剂量电离辐射有增强机体免疫的趋势,但有待进一步探索。     

An approach to the classification and assessment of asbestos-containing wastes: description of a survey conducted in an industrial area]

A survey was conducted in a unused textile plant, located in an urban area, where large quantities of solid wastes were stocked. They resulted from the dismantling of the heating system and contained different types of asbestos. The aim of the survey was to classify the wastes according to the criteria established by Italian law (Presidential Decree No. 915, 1982), which requires that "dusts and free fibres" be accounted for when determining the concentration of asbestos in waste. This legislation leaves two main questions open: i) the choice of the analytical method for asbestos determination that should be used to obtain basic information for waste classification; ii) the criteria to be used to define "free fibres" in waste. A general approach to the solution of these issues is offered and applied to the case in question as a possible practical model of environmental control in this specific field.     

Characterization of indoor particle sources: A study conducted in the metropolitan Boston area

An intensive particle monitoring study was conducted in homes in the Boston, Massachusetts, area during the winter and summer of 1996 in an effort to characterize sources of indoor particles. As part of this study, continuous particle size and mass concentration data were collected in four single-family homes, with each home monitored for one or two 6-day periods. Additionally, housing activity and air exchange rate data were collected. Cooking, cleaning, and the movement of people were identified as the most important indoor particle sources in these homes. These sources contributed significantly both to indoor concentrations (indoor-outdoor ratios varied between 2 and 33) and to altered indoor particle size distributions. Cooking, including broiling/baking, toasting, and barbecuing contributed primarily to particulate matter with physical diameters between 0.02 and 0.5 microm [PM((0.02-0.5))], with volume median diameters of between 0.13 and 0.25 microm. Sources of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters between 0.7 and 10 microm [PM((0.7-10))] included sautéing, cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, and sweeping), and movement of people, with volume median diameters of between 3 and 4.3 microm. Frying was associated with particles from both PM((0.02-0.5)) and PM((0.7-10)). Air exchange rates ranged between 0.12 and 24.3 exchanges/hr and had significant impact on indoor particle levels and size distributions. Low air exchange rates (< 1 exchange/hr) resulted in longer air residence times and more time for particle concentrations from indoor sources to increase. When air exchange rates were higher (> 1 exchange/hr), the impact of indoor sources was less pronounced, as indoor particle concentrations tracked outdoor levels more closely.     

Does exposure to aircraft noise increase the mortality from cardiovascular disease in the population living in the vicinity of airports? Results of an ecological study in France

The impact of aircraft noise on health is of growing concern. We investigated the relationship between this exposure and mortality from cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke. We performed an ecological study on 161 communes (commune being the smallest administrative unit in France) close to the following three major French airports: Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Lyon Saint-Exupéry, and Toulouse-Blagnac. The mortality data were provided by the French Center on Medical Causes of Death for the period 2007-2010. Based on the data provided by the French Civil Aviation Authority, a weighted average exposure to aircraft noise (L_den AEI) was computed at the commune level. A Poisson regression model with commune-specific random intercepts, adjusted for potential confounding factors including air pollution, was used to investigate the association between mortality rates and L_den AEI. Positive associations were observed between L_den AEI and mortality from cardiovascular disease [adjusted mortality rate ratio (MRR) per 10 dB(A) increase in L_den AEI = 1.18; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11-1.25], coronary heart disease [MRR = 1.24 (1.12-1.36)], and myocardial infarction [MRR = 1.28 (1.11-1.46]. Stroke mortality was more weakly associated with L_den AEI [MRR = 1.08 (0.97-1.21]. These significant associations were not attenuated after the adjustment for air pollution. The present ecological study supports the hypothesis of an association between aircraft noise exposure and mortality from cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction. However, the potential for ecological bias and the possibility that this association could be due to residual confounding cannot be excluded.     

Industrial noise and presbyacusia in the determination of hearing damage: studies in chemical industry workers]

An audiometric investigation was carried out on 710 workers of a chemical plant in order to ascertain the role of industrial noise and presbysocio-acusia in causing hearing loss. The workers underwent an audiometric test both aerial and via bone, in a sound-proof chamber, after a 16-hour rest from noise. The subjects also answered a questionnaire on nonoccupational noise exposure and previous hearing and dysmetabolic disorders. Noise exposure was assessed on the basis of a cumulative exposure index obtained for each subject by multiplying the mean daily exposure level by seniority in the job. The results showed that in workers not exposed to high noise levels, industrial noise and presbysocio-acusia induce, via a direct mechanism, either separately or together, only slight damage to social hearing frequencies, i.e., those of normal conversation. At frequencies of 4 and 6 kHz, however, presbysocio-acusia seems to play a more important role than industrial noise in causing hearing loss. The practical implications arising from this study concern the frequencies that should be used for a medicolegal assessment of industrial noise induced hearing loss and the the threshold for these frequencies above which assessment of hearing loss should begin. As regards the first point, the results obtained in this study suggest the use of medicolegal methods based on normal conversation frequencies since presbysocio-acusia should not in any case be taken from these frequencies as it affects them only marginally. As regards the second point, the results show that assessment of hearing loss should begin when the hearing threshold at the above frequencies exceeds 25 dB. The study also showed that in epidemiological investigations on subjects exposed to industrial noise, the cumulative exposure index is better correlated with the rise in hearing threshold at the various frequencies than with seniority.     

Homosexuality in families of boys with early effeminate behavior: An epidemiological study

In the course of a long-term study of 55 boys with early effeminate (crossgender) behavior an effort was also made to ascertain the presence of sexual deviance in their parents, siblings, uncles, and aunts. For most of these groups of relatives, only one to three members in each group were found to be homosexual, equaling 4% male and 1% female for the total test population. Compared to similar studies, the results were not too different except in the case of the siblings of one study where the incidence was much higher. Some evidence is considered for the speculation of a nongenetic, congenital cause of homosexuality.     

An epidemiological study with risk analysis of liver diseases in the general population living in a methyl mercury polluted area.

STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to determine the actual prevalence of liver disease and to investigate the contribution of various risk factors to liver disease among the population in a methyl mercury polluted area. DESIGN--The study was a population based cross sectional mass screening survey. A case-control study was designed to estimate the role of various risk factors for liver diseases. SETTING--The study was confined to a small rural town 10 km north of Minamata City. SUBJECTS--1406 persons aged 50 to 69 years were examined (78.3% of the total population of this age in the locality). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS--Measurements of liver disease were made on the basis of haematological, physical, and ultrasonographic examinations. Data on liver risk factors were collected by questionnaire, and by measurement of body height, weight (obesity), and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The prevalence rate of liver tumour was 0.5% in males, liver cirrhosis was found in 0.5% of males and 0.1% of females, and hepatitis was seen in 5.4% of males and 1.0% of females. Frequency rates of risk factors for liver disease among subjects with obesity were significantly higher in the female patient group, and the frequency rate among subjects with alcoholic drinking habits was significantly higher in the male patient group. The odds ratio of past history of blood transfusion showed the highest value among other related factors (7.73) and the attributable risk for this was very high (87.1%); HBsAg was next in rank (odds ratio 3.04; attributable risk 67.1%). CONCLUSIONS--The prevalence of liver disease in this methyl mercury polluted area was not increased, contrary to what was expected based on the standard mortality ratios. The main risk factors for liver disease in this area appear to be alcoholic drinking habits and a history of blood transfusion.     

Tuberculosis transmission in a high incidence area: a retrospective molecular epidemiological study of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Casablanca, Morocco.

Like in most developing countries, tuberculosis represents a major public health problem in Morocco. This paper describes the first study combining molecular and conventional epidemiology of tuberculosis in Casablanca, the economic capital of this country. Molecular fingerprinting of the genomic DNA recovered from cultures of sputum of 150 patients was performed by MIRU-VNTR. This molecular marker revealed that 53.1% of the total cases were clustered. These cases were classified into 23 clusters ranging in size from 2 to 13 patients, suggesting a rate of 37% of recent transmission in the sample under study. In a multivariate analysis, there were no independent predictors of clustering. However, the clinical form was associated with drug resistance (odds ratio=9.9; P value=0.0006). The phylogenetic analysis showed that the heterogeneity found in this population includes also the members from a same patient family, and that the 2 major families distributed in Casablanca were the Latin-American-Mediterranean (LAM) and Haarlem families. All the results of this work allow to understand better the tuberculosis transmission in Casablanca, and suggest that different clones of M. tuberculosis seem to circulate in this city, and that the reactivation of latent infections would be mainly responsible for the endemic situation of this disease. These findings indicate also that the transmission of TB in Morocco is not optimally controlled, and that efforts for control strategies should be sustained in all developing countries where the incidence of TB is high and still raising.     

An epidemiological study of the health conditions of Milan traffic police with respect to pollution from vehicular traffic]

An investigation on the health effects of occupational exposure to motor vehicle exhaust and environmental pollutants was carried out on traffic wardens in Milan (Italy). Randomized samples of 292 traffic wardens (exposed group) and 60 hospital staff members (control group) underwent a physical examination and laboratory tests. No significant difference was observed between the exposed and control groups as regards general morbidity, apart from musculo-skeletal disorders in females. The mean blood lead level (PbB) among traffic wardens was 15.2 micrograms/dl compared with 11.7 in control (p less than 0.01). The carboxyhaemoglobin concentration (COHb) in traffic wardens at the beginning of the shift was 2.8% for smokers and 1.2% for non-smokers (3.0% and 0.9% respectively in controls). At the end of the shift COHb in the exposed group was 4.3% for smokers and 2.5% for non-smokers (p less than 0.01). PbB was significantly correlated (r = 0.17) with Median Nerve Motor Conduction Velocity (NCV) in the exposed but not in the control group. The same pattern was observed for the correlation of PbB and Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) (r = -0.24). COHb was significantly correlated with HDL cholesterol (r = -0.20) in the exposed group only. It is questionable whether very low PbB levels can affect NCV and SBP directly or rather whether PbB, as well as COHb, should be regarded as tracers of exposure to those urban pollutants leading also to cardiovascular and nervous disorders.