查看更多>>摘要：Day laborers in Chicago are often hired for hazardous jobs and have little access to basic health care. In this study, the researchers offered tetanus vaccinations and blood lead tests to workers waiting on street corners, who then completed a survey on hazardous job tasks (N = 92). All participants were male, 97% were foreign-born, and 93% had performed demolition and rehabilitation, window removal and installation, or paint removal in the previous month. Most were not current with tetanus immunization. The geometric mean blood lead level was 3.8 mug/dL. Nonparametric statistical analysis showed a significant association (p < .05) between blood lead level and country of origin. The results demonstrate the feasibility of hazard surveillance and health intervention at street corner hiring sites.
查看更多>>摘要：In this article, the authors describe the self-reported eye conditions, eyecare history, and eye safety practices of migrant farmworkers in eastern North Carolina. The authors administered interviews to 79 farmworkers recruited at migrant clinics. Data collected included eye-related complaints and diagnoses, self-assessed visual acuity, eye symptoms, use of protective gear during work, and attitudes toward eye protection gear. Fair or poor eyesight was reported by 21.3%. Only 4 (5.1%) reported wearing glasses or contact lenses. More than 11% reported difficulty in recognizing a friend across the street, and 19.5% reported difficulty in reading. About 20% reported each of several eye symptoms. Fewer than 1 in 10 wore eye protection at work. Of all, 38% reported never having visited any eyecare professional. Farmworkers have a high level of unmet need for both routine preventive eye care and treatment or correction of vision problems.
查看更多>>摘要：The authors' objective was to determine whether residential proximity to an industrial park (IP) is associated with increased perinatal mortality (PM). This semiecological study included 63,850 delivered births with 840 cases of PM (1995-2000). The authors categorized the study populations by ethnicity (ie, Bedouin and Jewish) and type of locality. Residential distance from the IP served as a surrogate indicator of exposure. Among Bedouin newborns, proximity to the IP was associated with increased PM rates (relative risk = 1.45; 95% confidence interval = 1.22-1.72). The excess in PM was not related to maternal or newborn physical characteristics that the authors observed. The risk of PM and its components in the Jewish localities was not associated with IP proximity. The association between residential proximity to the IP and excess in PM among only Bedouin newborns may be related to vulnerability caused by the nomadic nature of the society.
查看更多>>摘要：The authors aimed to evaluate traffic noise level and noise annoyance in Beijing and the impact of the noise on the quality of life of the residences. The authors performed a cross-sectional study in a 12-floor college dormitory near 4th Ring Road in Beijing, China. The north-side rooms of the building were noisy and had windows facing the road. The authors measured both indoor and outdoor noise. Using both a 5-item verbal scale and a 0-10 numerical scale, they questioned a sample of 1,293 college students living in the dormitory about road-traffic noise annoyance. The results showed that the average outdoor day-to-night noise level was 79.2 dB(A) in the noisy rooms and 64.0 dB(A) in the quiet rooms. Nearly 39% of the respondents living in the noisy rooms indicated that they were highly annoyed by traffic noise according to the response on the verbal scale, and 50% of the respondents living in the noisy rooms were highly annoyed according to the numerical scale.
查看更多>>摘要：The authors collected saliva samples from 15 married couples and 13 women staying with a female companion (N = 43) during an 8-day stay at a spa resort in Nagano, Japan. To examine changes in endocrinological stress markers, the authors evaluated participants' levels of salivary cortisol and chromogranin A (CgA) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. By the eighth day, women staying with their husbands had significantly increased levels of cortisol and CgA. During the protocol, the authors observed no significant variation in levels of cortisol or CgA for either the women who were staying with same-sex companions or the male spouses. These findings suggest that the effects of long-term stays in a spa resort are more beneficial for married women staying with their husbands than for either married men or women staying with female companions.
查看更多>>摘要：Cockroaches are detected ashore worldwide. At present, little is known about cockroach infestation on ships. The authors' objective in this study was to assess the current prevalence of cockroach infestation on seagoing vessels. In August 2005, port officials investigated cockroach infestation on 59 ships in Hamburg's port via standardized procedures (ie, illuminating hiding places and using pyrethrum spray). About 3 minutes after illumination or chemical provocation, the inspectors counted the number of insects escaping from their hiding places. The examination revealed cockroach presence in the galley or mess room of 6 ships (10.2%). These ships were bigger than 10,000 gross register tons (GRT) and older than 7 years. Inspectors detected the cockroach species Blattella germanica on 5 ships and Blatta orientalis on 1 ship. The standardized use of pyrethrum spray more frequently detected cockroaches than did inspection or illumination of their hiding places.
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