Engagement in sex work does not increase HIV risk for women who inject drugs in Ukraine

Background We studied the association between sex in exchange for money, drugs or goods and HIV for women who inject drugs (WWID) in Ukraine, as previous data on this association from the post-USSR region are contradictory. Methods Data come from the Integrated Bio-Behavioral Survey of Ukrainian people who inject drugs collected in 2011 using respondent-driven sampling. Participants were interviewed and tested with rapid HIV tests. Results The sample included 2465 WWID (24% HIV positive); 214 (8.7%) of which reported having had exchange sex during the last 90 days. Crude analysis showed no association between exchange sex and HIV (OR = 0.644; 95% CI 0.385–1.077). No confounders were found to alter this result in a multivariable analysis. Further modeling showed that exchange sex modifies association between HIV and alcohol use: no association between HIV and daily alcohol use was found for those women who exchanged sex (OR = 1.699, 95% CI 0.737–3.956); while not engaging in sex work and daily using alcohol reduced odds to be HIV infected (OR = 0.586, 95% CI 0.389–0.885). Conclusions Exchange sex may have less impact on the HIV status of WWID who are exposed to injecting risks. The finding that daily alcohol use appears protective against HIV among WWID who do not exchange sex requires more research.</p

Engagement in sex work does not increase HIV risk for women who inject drugs in Ukraine

Background We studied the association between sex in exchange for money, drugs or goods and HIV for women who inject drugs (WWID) in Ukraine, as previous data on this association from the post-USSR region are contradictory. Methods Data come from the Integrated Bio-Behavioral Survey of Ukrainian people who inject drugs collected in 2011 using respondent-driven sampling. Participants were interviewed and tested with rapid HIV tests. Results The sample included 2465 WWID (24% HIV positive); 214 (8.7%) of which reported having had exchange sex during the last 90 days. Crude analysis showed no association between exchange sex and HIV (OR = 0.644; 95% CI 0.385–1.077). No confounders were found to alter this result in a multivariable analysis. Further modeling showed that exchange sex modifies association between HIV and alcohol use: no association between HIV and daily alcohol use was found for those women who exchanged sex (OR = 1.699, 95% CI 0.737–3.956); while not engaging in sex work and daily using alcohol reduced odds to be HIV infected (OR = 0.586, 95% CI 0.389–0.885). Conclusions Exchange sex may have less impact on the HIV status of WWID who are exposed to injecting risks. The finding that daily alcohol use appears protective against HIV among WWID who do not exchange sex requires more research.</p

Down Syndrome: Interaction between Culture, Demography, and Biology in Determining the Prevalence of a Genetic Trait

The incidence of Down syndrome (DS) at conception is highly dependent upon the maternal age distribution and age-specific pregnancy rates. Live-birth prevalence of DS reflects these factors and fetal deaths. Since the introduction of prenatal diagnosis in the early 1970s, the role of fetal deaths in the equation has increased. Between 1920 and the early 1980s, DS live-birth prevalence decreased in many populations due to declining fertility rates, particularly among older women. In the late-1970s the trend reversed, as the median age of populations and birth rates among older women steadily increased. This paper illustrates these interactions using data we have analyzed for New York State (NYS) and comparative data obtained from the literature. Between 1983 and 1997 DS live-birth prevalence in NYS remained stable at about 9.9 per 10,000 live births. The number of prenatal tests performed increased by 158%, and the number of DS fetuses detected prenatally more than quadrupled. Fertility rates of women aged 35–49 continued to increase. The proportion of DS cases born to these older mothers increased from 23% in 1985 to 43% in 1997. We estimated that without prenatal diagnosis, DS live-birth prevalence would have been 17.0 per 10,000 live births by 1995. Cultural factors influence demographic trends, birthing technologies, physician practices, and women’s decision-making regarding prenatal screening and diagnosis for DS

Hazardous waste as environment pollutant and risk factor of employees

Copyright: Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

A systematic critical review of epidemiological studies on public health concerns of municipal solid waste handling

AIMS : The ultimate aim of this review was to summarise the epidemiological evidence on the association between municipal solid waste management operations and health risks to populations residing near landfills and incinerators, waste workers and recyclers. To accomplish this, the sub-aims of this review article were to (1) examine the health risks posed by municipal solid waste management activities, (2) determine the strengths and gaps of available literature on health risks from municipal waste management operations and (3) suggest possible research needs for future studies.METHODS : The article reviewed epidemiological literature on public health concerns of municipal solid waste handling published in the period 1995-2014. The PubMed and MEDLINE computerised literature searches were employed to identify the relevant papers using the keywords solid waste, waste management, health risks, recycling, landfills and incinerators. Additionally, all references of potential papers were examined to determine more articles that met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS : A total of 379 papers were identified, but after intensive screening only 72 met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Of these studies, 33 were on adverse health effects in communities living near waste dumpsites or incinerators, 24 on municipal solid waste workers and 15 on informal waste recyclers. Reviewed studies were unable to demonstrate a causal or non-causal relationship due to various limitations. CONCLUSION : In light of the above findings, our review concludes that overall epidemiological evidence in reviewed articles is inadequate mainly due to methodological limitations and future research needs to develop tools capable of demonstrating causal or non-causal relationships between specific waste management operations and adverse health endpoints.http://pph.sagepub.comhb2017School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH