Mortality among Coast Guard Shipyard workers: A retrospective cohort study of specific exposures

<p>In a previous analysis of a cohort of shipyard workers, we found excess mortality from all causes, lung cancer, and mesothelioma for longer work durations and in specific occupations. Here, we expand the previous analyses by evaluating mortality associated with 5 chemical exposures: asbestos, solvents, lead, oils/greases, and wood dust. Data were gathered retrospectively for 4,702 workers employed at the Coast Guard Shipyard, Baltimore, MD (1950–1964). The cohort was traced through 2001 for vital status. Associations between mortality and these 5 exposures were calculated via standardized mortality ratios (SMRs). We found all 5 substances to be independently associated with mortality from mesothelioma, cancer of the respiratory system, and lung cancer. Findings from efforts to evaluate solvents, lead, oils/greases, and wood dust in isolation of asbestos suggested that the excesses from these other exposures may be due to residual confounding from asbestos exposure.</p

Sweetened Beverages, Coffee, and Tea and Depression Risk among Older US Adults

<div><p>Sweetened beverages, coffee, and tea are the most consumed non-alcoholic beverages and may have important health consequences. We prospectively evaluated the consumption of various types of beverages assessed in 1995–1996 in relation to self-reported depression diagnosis after 2000 among 263,923 participants of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were derived from multivariate logistic regressions. The OR (95% CI) comparing ≥4 cans/cups per day with none were 1.30 (95%CI: 1.17–1.44) for soft drinks, 1.38 (1.15–1.65) for fruit drinks, and 0.91 (0.84–0.98) for coffee (all <i>P</i> for trend<0.0001). Null associations were observed for iced-tea and hot tea. In stratified analyses by drinkers of primarily diet versus regular beverages, the ORs were 1.31 (1.16–1.47) for diet versus 1.22 (1.03–1.45) for regular soft drinks, 1.51 (1.18–1.92) for diet versus 1.08 (0.79–1.46) for regular fruit drinks, and 1.25 (1.10–1.41) for diet versus 0.94 (0.83–1.08) for regular sweetened iced-tea. Finally, compared to nondrinkers, drinking coffee or tea without any sweetener was associated with a lower risk for depression, adding artificial sweeteners, but not sugar or honey, was associated with higher risks. Frequent consumption of sweetened beverages, especially diet drinks, may increase depression risk among older adults, whereas coffee consumption may lower the risk.</p></div

Odds ratios^a and 95% confidence intervals of depression according to baseline beverage consumption in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 1995–2006.

<p>Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio;</p>a<p>Adjusted for age at baseline, sex, race, education, marital status, smoking, alcoholic beverage intake, physical activity, body mass index, and energy intake.</p>b<p>Numbers may not add up to total due to missing.</p

Odds ratios^a and 95% confidence intervals of depression according to baseline consumption of caffeinated or decaffeinated beverages in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 1995–2006.

<p>Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.</p>a<p>Adjusted for age at baseline, sex, race, education, marital status, smoking, alcoholic beverage intake, physical activity, body mass index, and energy intake.</p>b<p>Numbers may not add up to total due to missing.</p

Alcohol Consumption, Types of Alcohol, and Parkinson’s Disease

<div><p>Background</p><p>The epidemiologic evidence on alcohol consumption and Parkinson’s disease (PD) is equivocal. We prospectively examined total alcohol consumption and consumption of specific types of alcoholic beverage in relation to future risk of PD.</p><p>Methods</p><p>The study comprised 306,895 participants (180,235 male and 126,660 female) ages 50–71 years in 1995–1996 from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Consumption of alcoholic beverages in the past 12 months was assessed in 1995–1996. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained from logistic regression models.</p><p>Results</p><p>A total of 1,113 PD cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2006 were included in the analysis. Total alcohol consumption was not associated with PD. However, the association differed by types of alcoholic beverages. Compared with non-beer drinkers, the multivariate ORs for beer drinkers were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.92) for <1 drink/day, 0.73 (95% CI: 0.50, 1.07) for 1–1.99 drinks/day, and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.60, 1.21) for ≥2 drinks/day. For liquor consumption, a monotonic increase in PD risk was suggested: ORs (95% CI) were 1.06 (0.91, 1.23), 1.22 (0.94, 1.58), and 1.35 (1.02, 1.80) for <1, 1–1.99, and ≥2 drinks/day, respectively (P for trend <0.03). Additional analyses among exclusive drinkers of one specific type of alcoholic beverage supported the robustness of these findings. The results for wine consumption were less clear, although a borderline lower PD risk was observed when comparing wine drinkers of 1–1.99 drinks/day with none drinkers (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.53, 1.02).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Our results suggest that beer and liquor consumption may have opposite associations with PD: low to moderate beer consumption with lower PD risk and greater liquor consumption with higher risk. These findings and potential underlying mechanisms warrant further investigations.</p></div

Baseline population characteristics of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 1995–2006.

<p>Baseline population characteristics of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 1995–2006.</p

Odds ratios^a and 95% confidence intervals of depression according to types of sweetener added to coffee or tea in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 1995–2006.

<p>Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio;</p>a<p>Adjusted for age at baseline, sex, race, education, marital status, smoking, alcoholic beverage intake, physical activity, body mass index, and energy intake.</p

Odds ratios^a and 95% confidence intervals of depression according to baseline consumption of regular or diet sweetened beverages in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 1995–2006.

<p>Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.</p>a<p>Adjusted for age at baseline, sex, race, education, marital status, smoking, alcoholic beverage intake, physical activity and body mass index, and energy intake.</p>b<p>Numbers may not add up to total due to missing.</p

Odds Ratios of Parkinson’s Disease According to Consumption of Total Alcohol and Specific Types of Alcoholic Beverages, NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 1995–2006.

<p>CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio; PD = Parkinson’s disease.</p>a<p>Adjusted for age.</p>b<p>Additional adjustment for sex, race, education, marital status, smoking, caffeine intake, physical activity, and self-evaluated health status.</p>c<p>Based on Model 2, individual types of alcoholic beverages were adjusted simultaneously.</p

Odds Ratios of Parkinson’s Disease According to Exclusive Drinkers of a Specific Type of Alcoholic Beverage, NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, 1995–2006.

<p>CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio; PD = Parkinson’s disease.</p>a<p>Adjusted for age.</p>b<p>Additional adjustment for sex, race, education, marital status, smoking, caffeine intake, physical activity, and self-evaluated health status.</p