Adequacy of health and safety training among young Latino construction workers

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the adequacy of safety training provided to young Latino immigrant construction workers. The study posited that, because of their youth and immigrant status, these workers would be less likely to receive adequate training. METHODS: We interviewed 50 youths aged < or =21 who had worked at least 10 days in construction in the previous year. The in-person interview included 140 questions covering a range of construction work and health and safety experiences. RESULTS: Participants reported performing a range of hazardous tasks, some while under the age of 18. Of these, 68% to 72% reported receiving some training, but median training time was only 1 hour. Only 24% reported receiving written training material. Those with less English ability received less training. CONCLUSIONS: Young Latino immigrants in this study received inadequate training given the hazardous work they performed. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Results of this research, especially the relatively low level of English communication skills among young Latino workers, point to the need for increased bilingual services not just in worker safety training programs, but also in medical clinics and emergency rooms that treat Latino workers.     

Congenital hemangiomas: rapidly involuting and noninvoluting congenital hemangiomas

While infantile hemangiomas are a very common lesion seen in infants and young children, congenital hemangiomas are much more rare and have been only recently described. Two types of congenital hemangiomas exist: rapidly involuting congenital hemangiomas and noninvoluting congenital hemangiomas. The goal of this article is to describe rapidly involuting and noninvoluting congenital hemangiomas as they differ from infantile hemangiomas in their presentation, natural history, histopathologic features, and treatment.     

Sleep disturbances in pediatric dialysis patients

Sleep disorders are common in adult dialysis patients, with a prevalence of 60%–80%. To date, sleep disturbances have not been assessed in the pediatric dialysis population. Therefore, the objective of this study is to describe the prevalence of sleep disturbance symptoms in a pediatric dialysis population. We conducted a telephone- or clinic-based interview of 21 children (aged 6–20 years) and their parents in our academic tertiary pediatric dialysis center with questionnaires that assessed four symptom domains of sleep disorders: (1) sleep-disordered breathing, (2) restless leg syndrome or period limb movements (RLS/PLMs), (3) excessive daytime sleepiness, and (4) inadequate sleep time. The presence of a sleep disturbance was defined by positive responses in any of the four symptom domains. Overall, 18 (86%) of the children undergoing dialysis [mean age (SD) 14.2 years (1.1), gender (M/F) 11/10] endorsed sleep disturbance symptoms: sleep-disordered breathing (46%), RLS/PLMs (29%), and excessive daytime sleepiness (60%). We conclude that sleep disturbances are very common in pediatric dialysis patients, but may be underrecognized. Given the adverse neurocognitive and physiological outcomes associated with poor sleep, it is important for practitioners caring for children on dialysis to anticipate and screen for treatable sleep conditions.     

Food acceptability in field studies with US army men and women: relationship with food intake and food choice after repeated exposures

Laboratory data with single exposures showed that palatability has a positive relationship with food intake. The question addressed in this study is whether this relationship also holds over repeated exposures in non-laboratory contexts in more natural environments. The data were collected in four field studies, lasting 4-11 days with 307 US Army men and 119 Army women, and comprised 5791 main meals and 8831 snacks in total. Acceptability was rated on the nine point hedonic scale, and intake was registered in units of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or 1 or more times of the provided portion size. Correlation coefficients between individual acceptability ratings and intakes varied from 0.22 to 0.62 for the main meals (n=193-2267), and between 0.13 and 0.56 for the snacks (n=304-2967). The likelihood of choosing a meal for the second time was positively related to the acceptability rating of the meal when it was consumed for the first time. The results reinforce the importance of liking in food choice and food intake/choice behavior. However, the magnitude of the correlation coefficients between acceptability ratings and food intake suggest that environmental factors also have an important role in determining intake and choice.