Smoking, environmental tobacco smoke, and risk of renal cell cancer: a population-based case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Kidney and renal pelvis cancers account for 4% of all new cancer cases in the United States, among which 85% are renal cell carcinomas (RCC). While cigarette smoking is an established risk factor for RCC, little is known about the contribution of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to RCC incidence. This study assesses the role of smoking and ETS on RCC incidence using a population-based case-control design in Florida and Georgia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Incident cases (n = 335) were identified from hospital records and the Florida cancer registry, and population controls (n = 337) frequency-matched by age (+/- 5 years), gender, and race were identified through random-digit dialing. In-person interviews assessed smoking history and lifetime exposure to ETS at home, work, and public spaces. Home ETS was measured in both years and hours of exposure. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using logistic regression, controlled for age, gender, race, and BMI.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cases were more likely to have smoked 20 or more pack-years, compared with never-smokers (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 0.93 – 1.95). A protective effect was found for smoking cessation, beginning with 11–20 years of cessation (OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.18–0.85) and ending with 51 or more years of cessation (OR: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03–0.39) in comparison with those having quit for 1–10 years. Among never-smokers, cases were more likely to report home ETS exposure of greater than 20 years, compared with those never exposed to home ETS (OR: 2.18; 95% CI: 1.14–4.18). Home ETS associations were comparable when measured in lifetime hours of exposure, with cases more likely to report 30,000 or more hours of home ETS exposure (OR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.20–4.69). Highest quartiles of combined home/work ETS exposure among never-smokers, especially with public ETS exposure, increased RCC risk by 2 to 4 times.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings confirm known associations between smoking and RCC and establish a potential etiologic role for ETS, particularly in the home. Differences in methods of retrospective measurement of lifetime smoking and ETS exposure may contribute to discrepancies in measures of associations across studies, and should be addressed in future research.</p

Developing a trapping assay to assess the viability of Trogodermavariabileas a behavioral surrogate species for the biosecurity threat, Trogodermagranarium(Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

The Khapra beetle (KB), Trogoderma granarium, is a pest that threatens the biosecurity of the United States. This species has not established itself in this country, however in the past few years there has been an alarming increase in the number of interceptions of adults at borders and ports in the U.S. Because researchers in the U.S. are only able to work with KB in specially designated APHIS quarantine facilities, understanding the full extent of the threat from this species would proceed much faster if a behavioral surrogate species could be used that was already widespread in the country. One potential surrogate species is Trogodermavariabile, the warehouse beetle (Fig. 1), which is closely related to KB, occurs throughout the U.S., and is a destructive pest of stored products in its own right

Monitoring ocular hypertension, how much and how often? : A cost-effectiveness perspective

Funding This work was part of the Surveillance for Ocular Hypertension study funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment Programme (07/46/02).Peer reviewedPostprin

WAFER trial: a study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial comparing wide-awake local anaesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) to general and regional anaesthesia with tourniquet for flexor tendon repair

Introduction: Flexor tendons are traditionally repaired under either general anaesthesia (GA) or regional anaesthesia (RA), allowing for the use of an arm tourniquet to minimise blood loss and establish a bloodless surgical field. However, the use of tourniquets exposes the patient to certain risks, including skin, muscle and nerve injuries. A recent advancement in anaesthesia delivery involves the use of a wide-awake approach where no sedation nor tourniquets are used (wide-awake local anaesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT)). WALANT uses local anaesthetic with epinephrine to provide pain relief and vasoconstriction, reducing operative bleeding. Several studies revealed potential benefits for WALANT compared with GA or RA. However, there remains a paucity of high-quality evidence to support the use of WALANT. As a result of this uncertainty, the clinical practice varies considerably. We aim to evaluate the feasibility of WALANT as an alternative to GA and RA in patients undergoing surgical repair of flexor tendon injuries. This involves addressing factors such as clinician and patient support for a trial, clinical equipoise, trial recruitment and dropout and the most relevant outcomes measures for a future definitive trial. // Methods and analysis: WAFER is a multicentre, single-blinded, parallel group, randomised controlled trial (RCT) to assess the feasibility of WALANT versus RA and GA. The target population is patients with acute traumatic flexor tendon injuries, across 3 major hand surgery units in England involving a total of 60 participants. Outcome assessors will be blinded. The primary outcome will be the ability to recruit patients into the trial, while secondary outcomes include difference in functional outcome, patient-reported outcome measures, health-related quality of life, cost-effectiveness and complication rates. // Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained from the London—City and East Research Ethics Committee (22/PR/1197). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication, conferences, patient information websites and social media networks

Anthropometric indices of Gambian children after one or three annual rounds of mass drug administration with azithromycin for trachoma control.

BACKGROUND: Mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin, carried out for the control of blinding trachoma, has been linked to reduced mortality in children. While the mechanism behind this reduction is unclear, it may be due, in part, to improved nutritional status via a potential reduction in the community burden of infectious disease. To determine whether MDA with azithromycin improves anthropometric indices at the community level, we measured the heights and weights of children aged 1 to 4 years in communities where one (single MDA arm) or three annual rounds (annual MDA arm) of azithromycin had been distributed. METHODS: Data collection took place three years after treatment in the single MDA arm and one year after the final round of treatment in the annual MDA arm. Mean height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height z scores were compared between treatment arms. RESULTS: No significant differences in mean height-for-age, weight-for-age or weight-for-height z scores were found between the annual MDA and single MDA arms, nor was there a significant reduction in prevalence of stunting, wasting or underweight between arms. CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not provide evidence that community MDA with azithromycin improved anthropometric outcomes of children in The Gambia. This may suggest reductions in mortality associated with azithromycin MDA are due to a mechanism other than improved nutritional status

Prevalence of Childhood Asthma in Korea: International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood

Childhood asthma is a major concern because it leads to more hospital visits and a heavy economic burden. Proper management and prevention strategies for childhood asthma must be based on correct evaluation of prevalence and risk factors for its development. In Korea, nationwide studies were conducted in 1995 and 2000 on students from 68 elementary schools (age, 6-12 years) and junior high schools (age, 12-15 years) by the Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Diseases. We used the Korean version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) written and video questionnaires at the same schools during the same period (October-November). The prevalence of asthma in junior high school children seemed to increase over 5 years. However, in elementary school children, the prevalence of asthma symptoms decreased, although the prevalence of 'diagnosis of asthma, ever' and 'treatment of asthma, last 12 months' increased. In addition, it was found that various factors, such as obesity, passive smoking, dietary habits, raising pets at home, and fever/antibiotic use during infancy were associated with childhood asthma. When prevalence of asthma in Korea was compared with that in different regions, the prevalence changes in the 6-7 years age group did not seem to be consistent between regions, whereas similar trends were observed among children aged 13-14 years. To conduct another epidemiological study to evaluate the time trend over time, a third nationwide survey is planned in 2010, and we anticipate ISAAC Phase 3 will explore recent changes in the prevalence of childhood asthma and assess its risk factors in Korean children. On the basis of accurate data on the current status of childhood asthma in 2010, we will be able to establish proper management strategies

The ethics of digital well-being: a multidisciplinary perspective

This chapter serves as an introduction to the edited collection of the same name, which includes chapters that explore digital well-being from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including philosophy, psychology, economics, health care, and education. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to provide a short primer on the different disciplinary approaches to the study of well-being. To supplement this primer, we also invited key experts from several disciplines—philosophy, psychology, public policy, and health care—to share their thoughts on what they believe are the most important open questions and ethical issues for the multi-disciplinary study of digital well-being. We also introduce and discuss several themes that we believe will be fundamental to the ongoing study of digital well-being: digital gratitude, automated interventions, and sustainable co-well-being