Feasibility of an Epidemiologic Study of Submariners Who Received Radium Irradiation Treatment

1996 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. 433-437
Author(s):  
Han K. Kang
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Epidemiologic Study ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Middle Ear Pressure ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Irradiation Treatment ◽  
Radium Treatment ◽  
Effects Of Radiation

Thousands of World War II veterans reportedly received nasopharyngeal irradiation with radium-tipped applicators for treatment of middle ear pressure problems known as aerotitis media. Because of concerns about adverse health effects of radiation exposure, including the increased risk of head and neck cancer, the feasibility of identification of a large number of veterans with documented exposure for an epidemiologic study was investigated. The irradiation treatments were found to have occurred at the New London Naval Medical Research Department, at several Naval Hospitals, and aboard ships during the period from 1945 to 1952. Documentation of the treatment on veterans' medical records was sparse and inconsistent. Only 8 of 668 records reviewed were found to have evidence of the radium treatment: 7 from 33 self-reported veterans and 1 from 635 names on submarine school class rosters and submarine muster rolls. There appears to be no practical way to identify from military service and medical records a large number of submariners who received the treatment.

A war hero or a Hitler soldier?

2019 ◽  
pp. 50-57
Author(s):  
Pavel Gotovetsky
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Third Reich ◽  
National Committee ◽  
World War ◽  
The Third ◽  
The World ◽  
The Third Reich

The article is devoted to the biography of General Pavlo Shandruk, an Ukrainian officer who served as a Polish contract officer in the interwar period and at the beginning of the World War II, and in 1945 became the organizer and commander of the Ukrainian National Army fighting alongside the Third Reich in the last months of the war. The author focuses on the symbolic event of 1961, which was the decoration of General Shandruk with the highest Polish (émigré) military decoration – the Virtuti Militari order, for his heroic military service in 1939. By describing the controversy and emotions among Poles and Ukrainians, which accompanied the award of the former Hitler's soldier, the author tries to answer the question of how the General Shandruk’s activities should be assessed in the perspective of the uneasy Twentieth-Century Polish-Ukrainian relations. Keywords: Pavlo Shandruk, Władysław Anders, Virtuti Militari, Ukrainian National Army, Ukrainian National Committee, contract officer.

scholarly journals Cardiovascular disease in people born to unmarried mothers in two historical periods: The Helsinki Birth Cohort Study 1934–1944

2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110197
Author(s):  
H. Maiju Mikkonen ◽  
Minna K. Salonen ◽  
Antti Häkkinen ◽  
Clive Osmond ◽  
Johan G. Eriksson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
World War ◽  
Unmarried Mothers ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Married Mothers ◽  
Historical Periods

Aims:Socio-economic conditions in early life are important contributors to cardiovascular disease – the leading cause of mortality globally – in later life. We studied coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in adulthood among people born out of wedlock in two historical periods: before and during World War II in Finland. Methods: We compared offspring born out of wedlock before (1934–1939) and during (1940–1944) World War II with the offspring of married mothers in the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. The war affected the position of unmarried mothers in society. We followed the study subjects from 1971 to 2014 and identified deaths and hospital admissions from CHD and stroke. Data were analysed using a Cox regression, adjusting for other childhood and adulthood socio-economic circumstances. Results: The rate of out-of-wedlock births was 240/4052 (5.9%) before World War II and 397/9197 (4.3%) during World War II. Among those born before World War II, out-of-wedlock birth was associated with an increased risk of stroke (hazard ratio (HR)=1.44; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–2.07) and CHD (HR=1.37; 95% CI 1.02–1.86). Among those born out of wedlock during World War II, the risks of stroke (HR=0.89; 95% CI 0.58–1.36) and CHD (HR=0.70; 95% CI 0.48=1.03) were similar to those observed for the offspring of married mothers. The p-values for interaction of unmarried×World War II were ( p=0.015) for stroke and ( p=0.003) for CHD. Conclusions: In a society in which marriage is normative, being born out of wedlock is an important predictor of lifelong health disadvantage. However, this may change rapidly when societal circumstances change, such as during a war.

scholarly journals Dietary Micronutrients and Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease: A Cohort Study with 12 Year Follow-Up

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1517
Author(s):  
Juyeon Lee ◽  
Kook-Hwan Oh ◽  
Sue-Kyung Park
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Kidney Disease ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Kidney Disease ◽  
Epidemiologic Study ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Ckd Stage

We investigated the association between dietary micronutrient intakes and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the Ansan-Ansung study of the Korean Genome and Epidemiologic Study (KoGES), a population-based prospective cohort study. Of 9079 cohort participants with a baseline estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and a urine albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) <300 mg/g and who were not diagnosed with CKD, we ascertained 1392 new CKD cases over 12 year follow-up periods. The risk of CKD according to dietary micronutrient intakes was presented using hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) in a full multivariable Cox proportional hazard models, adjusted for multiple micronutrients and important clinico-epidemiological risk factors. Low dietary intakes of phosphorus (<400 mg/day), vitamin B2 (<0.7 mg/day) and high dietary intake of vitamin B6 (≥1.6 mg/day) and C (≥100 mg/day) were associated with an increased risk of CKD stage 3B and over, compared with the intake at recommended levels (HR = 6.78 [95%CI = 2.18–21.11]; HR = 2.90 [95%CI = 1.01–8.33]; HR = 2.71 [95%CI = 1.26–5.81]; HR = 1.83 [95%CI = 1.00–3.33], respectively). In the restricted population, excluding new CKD cases defined within 2 years, an additional association with low folate levels (<100 µg/day) in higher risk of CKD stage 3B and over was observed (HR = 6.72 [95%CI = 1.40–32.16]). None of the micronutrients showed a significant association with the risk of developing CKD stage 3A. Adequate intake of micronutrients may lower the risk of CKD stage 3B and over, suggesting that dietary guidelines are needed in the general population to prevent CKD.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in Psychosocial Outcomes of Hair Loss Resulting from Childhood Irradiation for Tinea Capitis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7825
Author(s):  
Liat Hoffer ◽  
Netta Achdut ◽  
Shifra Shvarts ◽  
Dorit Segal-Engelchin
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Hair Loss ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Tinea Capitis ◽  
Psychosocial Outcomes ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Psychosocial Needs ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Physical Health Problems ◽  
Physical Bullying

Recent studies have linked hair loss due to childhood irradiation for tinea capitis, a fungal infection of the scalp, to adverse psychosocial and health outcomes in women. However, no study to date has examined gender differences in the outcomes of this type of hair loss. The current study aimed to investigate gender differences in health and psychosocial outcomes of hair loss resulting from childhood irradiation for tinea capitis, and to identify the risk factors associated with depression in both men and women. Medical records held at the archives of the Israel National Center for Compensation of Scalp Ringworm Victims were retrospectively reviewed for 217 women and 105 men who received maximum disability compensation due to severe hair loss resulting from irradiation for tinea capitis. We found that women were at increased risk of developing psychosocial symptoms, including depression. Gender emerged as a significant predictor of depression, distinct from other predictors, such as marital status, age at radiation, exposure to verbal and physical bullying, low self-esteem, social anxiety, and physical health problems. Thus, the psychosocial needs of patients, particularly female patients, who were irradiated for tinea capitis during childhood need to be taken into account by the healthcare professionals treating them.

scholarly journals Cortisol, DHEAS, their ratio and the metabolic syndrome: evidence from the Vietnam Experience Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 162 (5) ◽  
pp. 919-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna C Phillips ◽  
Douglas Carroll ◽  
Catharine R Gale ◽  
Janet M Lord ◽  
Wiebke Arlt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Fasting Blood Glucose ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
The Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Vietnam Era

ObjectivesThe aim of these analyses was to examine the association of cortisol, DHEAS and the cortisol:DHEAS ratio with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components.DesignThe analyses were cross-sectional.MethodsParticipants were 4255 Vietnam era US army veterans. From military service files, telephone interviews and a medical examination, occupational, socio-demographic and health data were collected. MetS was ascertained from data on body mass index; fasting blood glucose or a diagnosis of diabetes; blood pressure or a diagnosis of hypertension; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; and triglyceride levels. Contemporary morning fasted cortisol and DHEAS concentrations were determined. The outcomes were MetS and its components. Analysis was by logistic regression, first adjusting for age and then additionally for an array of candidate confounders.ResultsCortisol, although not in the fully adjusted analysis, and DHEAS were both related to MetS. Whereas high cortisol concentrations were associated with an increased risk of MetS, high DHEAS concentrations appeared protective. By far, the strongest associations with MetS were observed for the cortisol:DHEAS ratio; the higher the ratio, the greater the risk of having MetS. The ratio was also significantly related to four of the five MetS components.ConclusionsThe cortisol:DHEAS ratio is positively associated with MetS. Prospective analyses are needed to help untangle direction of causality, but this study suggests that the cortisol:DHEAS ratio is worthy of further study in this and other health contexts.

Preterm Pulmonary Hemorrhage Is Associated with Multiple Births but Not with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection: A Cohort Study on Medical Records

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 1087-1092
Author(s):  
Stefanie Stierling ◽  
Ralf-Dieter Hilgers ◽  
Sonja Trepels-Kottek ◽  
Konrad Heimann ◽  
Thorsten Orlikowsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Ductus Arteriosus ◽  
Pulmonary Hemorrhage ◽  
Multiple Births ◽  
Preterm Neonates ◽  
Increased Risk

Objective Pulmonary hemorrhage (PH) is a severe complication in preterm neonates. This study aims to identify risk factors and comorbidities of PH. Study Design A single-center cohort study on medical records including all preterm neonates of <30 weeks' gestational age was conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit of Universitätsklinikum Aachen, Germany. The occurrence of PH served as a primary end point. Gestational age, birthweight, sex, multiple births, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), intubation, surfactant, antenatal steroids, intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), amniotic infection syndrome, and persistent ductus arteriosus were studied as risk factors. Results In this study, 344 preterm neonates were included, of whom 36 suffered from PH (10.5%). The mean time of the first occurrence was the third day of life (standard deviation [SD]: 1.2). On average, the patients suffered from 1.5 incidents (SD: 0.8) of PH, of whom 50% were severe. Preterm neonates born as multiples (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.1, 26.9) and those who suffered from IVH (95% CI: 2.7, 18.9) had a significantly increased risk of PH. ICSI was not an independent risk factor. Conclusion PH is significantly associated with IVH and multiple births but not with ICSI. The identification of patients at risk allows to apply prophylactic strategies of ventilation and pharmacological treatment.

scholarly journals Veterinary education in South Africa : the Classes of 1930 and 1931 : short historical communication

2007 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
R.D. Bigalke
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
South African ◽  
Private Practice ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Government Service ◽  
The South ◽  
Commanding Officer

With only two students in the final year, the class of 1930 was the 2nd smallest in the history of the Onderstepoort Faculty. Noteworthy is that the class photograph is composed of individual shots of the graduates and that 1 photograph was taken several years after qualification. The photograph of the Class of 1931 is the more customary composite one. The Dean, Prof. P J du Toit, does not feature in either. Concise descriptions are given of the life histories of the 8 graduates. Again their careers show considerable variation. Two devoted their entire pre-retirement careers to South Africa's Division of Veterinary Services as state veterinarians, both reaching very senior positions. A third died shortly after leaving government service for private practice. None made a career out of research at Onderstepoort, although 2 had short stints at the Institute. One, said to have been the youngest veterinarian in the British Empire, spent the latter part of his relatively short life in a large Johannesburg practice as a specialist surgeon. Another was in military service for virtually his entire career. One had a very varied career, which included government service, private practice, research, public health and the pharmaceutical industry. One spent most of his impressive career in the Colonial Service in Swaziland and Tanganyika (now Tanzania) but eventually returned to private practice in South Africa, whereas another was similarly, but less conscientiously, involved in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Swaziland. Two saw military service during World War II, one as Commanding Officer of a Regiment in the South African Artillery and the other in the South African Veterinary Corps.

scholarly journals Estimating cancer risk in relation to tritium exposure from routine operation of a nuclear-generating station in Pickering, Ontario

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Wanigaratne ◽  
E Holowaty ◽  
H Jiang ◽  
TA Norwood ◽  
R Pietrusiak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Proportional Hazards ◽  
Dispersion Model ◽  
Atmospheric Dispersion ◽  
Female Breast Cancer ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards ◽  
Tritium Concentration ◽  
Cox Models ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Risk Of Cancer

Introduction Evidence suggests that current levels of tritium emissions from CANDU reactors in Canada are not related to adverse health effects. However, these studies lack tritium-specific dose data and have small numbers of cases. The purpose of our study was to determine whether tritium emitted from a nuclear-generating station during routine operation is associated with risk of cancer in Pickering, Ontario. Methods A retrospective cohort was formed through linkage of Pickering and north Oshawa residents (1985) to incident cancer cases (1985–2005). We examined all sites combined, leukemia, lung, thyroid and childhood cancers (6–19 years) for males and females as well as female breast cancer. Tritium estimates were based on an atmospheric dispersion model, incorporating characteristics of annual tritium emissions and meteorology. Tritium concentration estimates were assigned to each cohort member based on exact location of residence. Person-years analysis was used to determine whether observed cancer cases were higher than expected. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine whether tritium was associated with radiation-sensitive cancers in Pickering. Results Person-years analysis showed female childhood cancer cases to be significantly higher than expected (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] = 1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08–3.38). The issue of multiple comparisons is the most likely explanation for this finding. Cox models revealed that female lung cancer was significantly higher in Pickering versus north Oshawa (HR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.23–4.46) and that tritium was not associated with increased risk. The improved methodology used in this study adds to our understanding of cancer risks associated with low-dose tritium exposure. Conclusion Tritium estimates were not associated with increased risk of radiation-sensitive cancers in Pickering.

scholarly journals An Objective Search for Unrecognized Bias in Validated COVID-19 Prediction Models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Estiri ◽  
Zachary Strasser ◽  
Sina Rashidian ◽  
Jeffrey Klann ◽  
Kavishwar Wagholikar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Models ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Protected Group ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Bias Evaluation ◽  
Algorithmic Bias

The growing recognition of algorithmic bias has spurred discussions about fairness in artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) algorithms. The increasing translation of predictive models into clinical practice brings an increased risk of direct harm from algorithmic bias; however, bias remains incompletely measured in many medical AI applications. Using data from over 56 thousand Mass General Brigham (MGB) patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we evaluate unrecognized bias in four AI models developed during the early months of the pandemic in Boston, Massachusetts that predict risks of hospital admission, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and death after a SARS-CoV-2 infection purely based on their pre-infection longitudinal medical records. We discuss that while a model can be biased against certain protected groups (i.e., perform worse) in certain tasks, it can be at the same time biased towards another protected group (i.e., perform better). As such, current bias evaluation studies may lack a full depiction of the variable effects of a model on its subpopulations. If the goal is to make a change in a positive way, the underlying roots of bias need to be fully explored in medical AI. Only a holistic evaluation, a diligent search for unrecognized bias, can provide enough information for an unbiased judgment of AI bias that can invigorate follow-up investigations on identifying the underlying roots of bias and ultimately make a change.

scholarly journals Remote Work and the Environment: Exploratory Analysis of Indoor Air Quality of Commercial Offices and the Home Office

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamrie Sarnosky ◽  
Mark Benden ◽  
Leslie Cizmas ◽  
Annette Regan ◽  
Garett Sansom
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Indoor Air Pollution ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
Total Volatile Organic Compounds

Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated an already existing trend of individuals increasingly working remotely. With the growing popularity of remote working, specifically in a home office, there is a critical need to better understand and characterize the potential environmental differences between these two spaces. Indoor air pollution can have adverse health effects and impair cognitive functioning. Methods: This small pilot cohort study (N=22) recruited home and office workers to better understand the indoor air quality between these spaces. Air contaminants collected and assessed included PM10 and PM2.5, carbon dioxide (CO2), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs). Results: Findings showed a strong statistically significant increase in all measured variables within homes in comparison to traditional offices (p<0.001). For instance, The mean PM2.5 level in the traditional office space was 1.93 µg/m3 whereas it was more than twice this amount (5.97 µg/m3) in home offices.Conclusion: These results indicate that those who work from home are at increased risk due to longer exposures to higher levels of certain contaminants, the importance to better develop interventions to mitigate this reality is underscored by the fact that many workers will be moving to home-based offices in the coming years.

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