Workplace status and risk of hypertension among hourly and salaried aluminum manufacturing employees

An inverse relationship between workplace status and morbidity is well established; higher job status has been associated with reduced risks of heart disease, hypertension, and injury. Most research on job status, however, has focused on salaried populations, and it remains unclear whether job status operates similarly among hourly workers. Our objectives were to examine whether hourly status itself influences risk of hypertension after adjustment for socioeconomic confounders, and to explore the role of fine-scale job grade on hypertension incidence within hourly and salaried groups. We examined data for 14,999 aluminum manufacturing employees in 11 plants across the U.S., using logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity and other individual characteristics. Propensity score restriction was used to identify comparable groups of hourly and salaried employees, reducing confounding by sociodemographic characteristics. Job grade (coded 1 through 30, within hourly and salaried groups) was examined as a more refined measure of job status. Hourly status was associated with an increased risk of hypertension, after propensity restriction and adjustment for confounders. The observed effect of hourly status was stronger among women, although the propensity-restricted cohort was disproportionately male (96%). Among salaried workers, higher job grade was not consistently associated with decreased risk; among hourly employees, however, there was a significant trend, with higher job grades more protective against hypertension. Increasing the stringency of hypertension case criteria also increased the risk of severe or persistent hypertension for hourly employees.     

Indoor 222Rn levels in New York State, North Carolina, and South Carolina

Results are presented from approximately 9000 Rn measurements made in New York state, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The estimated statewide geometric mean concentrations were 28.1 Bq m-3 and 55.8 Bq m-3 for basements in New York state, 27.5 Bq m-3 for living rooms and 108.9 Bq m-3 for basements in North Carolina, and 25.0 Bq m-3 for living rooms in South Carolina.     

Weight reduction interventions for persons with a chronic illness: findings and factors for consideration

Obesity in persons with a concomitant chronic illness poses complex issues relating to the choice of appropriate interventions. More recent emphasis on modification of risk factors has resulted in the need to prescribe complex therapeutic regimens with multiple treatment goals. The traditional approach to weight reduction in such persons has been nutrition education. Studies have shown, however, that knowledge alone does not translate into self-care behaviors that in turn result in weight loss and weight maintenance. Although the latter outcomes continue to be primary goals of therapy in obese individuals with a chronic illness, improvement in the physiologic parameters associated with the illness is also a desired outcome. Behavior therapy and group support appear to be enabling factors that go beyond knowledge to facilitate behavior change and subsequent changes in health-related indexes. This article describes various approaches to the problem of combined interventions for patients education and weight reduction. Findings and factors are discussed about whether the primary goal of weight reduction interventions for persons with a chronic illness should focus on pounds lost or improvement in metabolic or physiologic status.     

Spinal canal narrowing during simulated frontal impact

Between 23 and 70% of occupants involved in frontal impacts sustain cervical spine injuries, many with neurological involvement. It has been hypothesized that cervical spinal cord compression and injury may explain the variable neurological profile described by frontal impact victims. The goals of the present study, using a biofidelic whole cervical spine model with muscle force replication, were to quantify canal pinch diameter (CPD) narrowing during frontal impact and to evaluate the potential for cord compression. The biofidelic model and a sled apparatus were used to simulate frontal impacts at 4, 6, 8, and 10 g horizontal accelerations of the T1 vertebra. The CPD was measured in the intact specimen in the neutral posture (neutral posture CPD), under static sagittal pure moments of 1.5 Nm (pre-impact CPD), during dynamic frontal impact (dynamic impact CPD), and again under static pure moments following each impact (post-impact CPD). Frontal impact caused significant (P<0.05) dynamic CPD narrowing at C0-dens, C2-C3, and C6-C7. The narrowest dynamic CPD was observed at C0-dens during the 10 g impact and was 25.9% narrower than the corresponding neutral posture CPD. Interpretation of the present results indicate that the neurological symptomatology reported by frontal impact victims is most likely not due to cervical spinal cord compression. Cord compression due to residual spinal instability is also not likely.     

Single parent women

Summary While there has been considerable interest in the problems of single parent families, no study has yet determined if the problems are due to increased risk of specific psychiatric disorders in single parents as compared to their married counterparts. Data collected as part of the National Institute of Mental Health Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Project are presented to compare the psychiatric as well as economic and social functioning of single vs. married parent women ages 18–44, based on a probability sample of members of the greater New Haven community. The major finding between groups is their relative similarity in psychiatric as well as social functioning. The major difference is economic. Single parents, both Black and White, more frequently are less educated and poorer. While many are on welfare, single compared to married female parents are more likely to be working and to report insufficient income to meet their needs. There are no appreciable differences in social contacts, use of health services or six-month prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders including major depression, alcohol or drug abuse. The data suggest that the problems faced by single parent women and their children may be a reflection of poverty and stress in families and not of psychiatric disorders or poor social relations in mothers.     

Clinical oncology—A new era

Rapid growth in biomedical research coupled with dramatic advancement in biotechnology has significantly improved our understanding of the molecular basis involving cancer development and progression. This improvement has led to the discovery of new molecular markers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis as well as new molecular targets for cancer treatment and intervention. Continuous emergence of some new developing area in molecular profiling, new therapeutic agents, tissue microenvironment and systems biology have made significant progress in clinical oncology. Clinical research and investigation that focus on these new developments have begun to show exciting results that indicate future promises in improving patient management and survival.