Trucking organization and mental health disorders of truck drivers

There are over 3 million truck drivers employed in the commercial transportation and material moving occupations, one of the largest occupational groups in the United States. Workers in this large and growing occupational segment are at risk for a range of occupational health-induced conditions, including mental health and psychiatric disorders due to high occupational stress, low access and use of health care, and limited social support. The purpose of this study was to explore male truck drivers' mental health risks and associated comorbidities, using a cross-sectional and quantitative design. Data were collected from a random sample of 316 male truckers between the ages of 23 and 76 at a large truck stop located within a 100-mile radius of Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, using a self-administered 82-item questionnaire. Surveyed truckers were found to have significant issues affecting their mental health, such as loneliness (27.9%), depression (26.9%), chronic sleep disturbances (20.6%), anxiety (14.5%), and other emotional problems (13%). Findings have potential to help researchers develop interventions to improve the emotional and occupational health of truck drivers, a highly underserved population. Mental health promotion, assessment, and treatment must become a priority to improve the overall trucking environment for truckers, the transportation industry, and safety on US highways.     

Fear of cancer recurrence in survivor and caregiver dyads: differences by sexual orientation and how dyad members influence each other

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to identify explanatory factors of fear of recurrence (FOR) in breast cancer survivors of different sexual orientations and their caregivers and to assess the directionality in the survivor and caregiver dyads’ FOR.

Methods

We recruited survivors of non-metastatic breast cancer of different sexual orientations and invited their caregivers into this study. Using a telephone survey, we collected data from 167 survivor and caregiver dyads. Using simultaneous equation models and a stepwise selection process, we identified the significant determinants of survivors’ and caregivers’ FOR and determined the directionality of survivors’ and caregivers’ FOR. Weighting the model by the inverse propensity score ensured that differences by sexual orientation in age and proportion of life in the caregiver-survivor relationship were accounted for.

Results

Caregivers’ FOR predicted survivors’ FOR, and sexual orientation had a significant effect on survivors’ FOR, in that sexual minority women reported less FOR than heterosexual women. Other determinants of survivors’ FOR included their medical characteristics, coresidence with caregivers, and caregivers’ social support and use of counseling. Caregivers’ FOR was related to their social support and survivors’ medical characteristics.

Conclusions

This study suggests a need for caregiver interventions. Because survivors’ FOR is affected by caregivers’ FOR, caregiver interventions will likely benefit survivors’ FOR.

Implications for cancer survivors

Both sexual minority and heterosexual breast cancer survivors’ FOR are affected by their caregivers’ FOR, which suggests that the caregivers of breast cancer survivors are central for the survivors’ well-being and shall therefore be integrated into the care process.

     

A novel COVID-19 based truck driver syndemic? Implications for public health,safety, and vital supply chains

U.S. long-haul truck drivers traverse great distances and interact with numerous individuals, rendering them vulnerable to acquiring and transmitting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Together, the unique co-occurrence of pronounced health disparities and known COVID-19 infection, morbidity, and mortality risks suggest the possibility of a novel COVID-19 based truck driver syndemic due to advanced driver age and endemic health issues. In turn, COVID-19 sequelae may perpetuate existing health disparities. The co-occurrence of afflictions may also result in compromised safety performance. To curb the likelihood of a COVID-19 based truck driver syndemic, several action stepsare needed. First, key COVID-19 metrics need to be established for this population. Second, relationships between long-haul trucker network attributes and COVID-19 spread need to bedelineated. Third, mutually reinforcing interactions between endemic health disparities and COVID-19 vulnerability need to be elucidated. Finally, grounded in the aforementioned steps, policies and interventions need to be identified and implemented.     

DNA PLOIDY IN 1,2-DIMETHYL-HYDRAZINE-INDUCED RAT TUMORS

The DNA content of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced intestinal tumors of male Wistar rats was analyzed by using flow cytometry. All adenomas and carcinomas were DNA diploid. S-phase fractions of tumors showed no significant difference from those of normal mucosae. Histological evidence of adenoma-carcinoma sequence was observed in our series. The lack of DNA aneuploidy is one of the principal differences between the DMH model and human colorectal cancers.     

DNA-repeat instability is associated with colorectal cancers presenting minimal chromosome rearrangements

The DNA-repeat [(CA)n] instability of colorectal cancer cells was studied relative to our previously defined classification based on chromosome alterations. Of the 23 tumors analyzed, 13 belonged to the “monosomic” type (MT) characterized by simultaneous loss of chromosome 18 and chromosome arm 17p, and many structural rearrangements, 7 to the “trisomic” type (TT) with many chromosome gains but few rearrangements, and 3 had a normal karyotype (NT). (CA)n repeat sequences were examined on chromosomes 2, 5, 11, 13, 18, and 20. We found sequence alterations in 12 tumors at 1 or several loci, 9 of which (1/13 MT, 5/7 TT, and 3/3 NT) exhibited a typical shift in allele size defined as microsatellite instability. Furthermore, a single alteration was observed for the MT tumor, whereas one NT tumor displayed instability on two and all the other tumors on three or more loci. These results suggest an inverse relationship between the occurrence of chromosome structural rearrangements and microsatellite instability, providing another argument for the subdivision of colorectal cancers into groups of distinct oncogenic pathways.