Alcohol and nicotine dependence in French seafarers

Background. To study the relationship between alcohol abuse or dependence as diagnosed by the CAGE questionnaire, and nicotine dependence as diagnosed by Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND) in French seamen. Materials and methods. French seamen were recruited from a stratified survey of 19 ports in France. The subjects completed a questionnaire during their annual medical check-up with occupational physicians and nurses of the Occupational Health Department (Service de santé des gens de mer). Findings. Approximately forty-four per cent of male subjects were current smokers, and approximately sixty-three per cent of these were nicotine dependent according to FTND. More than 11% of male subjects drank alcohol every day. About 16% of these were alcohol dependent according to CAGE. A strong positive relationship has been shown between alcohol dependence and nicotine dependence. There was a highly significant difference between alcohol dependent and non-alcohol dependent subjects in the FTND. Conversely, nicotine dependent and non-nicotine dependent subjects significantly differed regarding several alcohol-related variables. Conclusions. Alcohol and nicotine consumption is a major public health issue in seamen. A strong positive correlation was found between alcohol abuse or dependence and nicotine abuse or dependence. Some alcohol-related behaviours were associated with nicotine dependence, and some tobacco-related behaviours were also associated with alcohol dependence. These findings are novel for this kind of population in France. In view of these results, combined smoking cessation and alcohol consumption reduction policies should be developed in this population. Finally, future studies could analyze the work environment, which seems to be associated with consumption and dependency

Assessment of Personal Occupational Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields in Libraries and Media Libraries, Using Calibrated On-Body Exposimeters

WOS:000473750500021International audienceBackground and Objectives: With the spread of Wifi networks, safety concerns have arisen, with complaints of somatic disorders, notably in traditional libraries and media libraries. The aim of the present study was to describe the conditions and levels of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields in the real-life occupational conditions of those working in traditional libraries and media libraries.Methods: Dynamic measurements, using an exposimeter, were taken in 20 radiofrequency bands from 88 to 5850 MHz. The activity of 28 library workers was analyzed on a space-time budget. An audit of exposure sources and static measurements enabled the work-places to be mapped.Results: In seven libraries, 78,858 samples were taken over the 20 radiofrequency bands from 88 to 5850 MHz. Exposure was described for 28 working days. The median total field was 0.071 V/m (10th percentile: 0.022 V/m, 90th percentile: 0.534 V/m) and for Wifi the median field was 0.005 V/m (10th percentile: 0.005 V/m, 90th percentile: 0.028 V/m). Median individual exposure to Wifi frequency waves ranged from 0.005 to 0.040 V/m.Conclusions: Overall, the occupational exposure in this sector was close to the exposure in the general population. Peaks were due to the use of walkie-talkies by security staff. Exposure due to external sources depended on geographic location. Exposure in this occupation is well below the general occupational exposure levels, notably as regards Wifi

Using software-modified smartphones to validate self-reported mobile phone use in young people : A pilot study

A newly developed smartphone application was piloted to characterize and validate mobile phone use in young people. Twenty-six volunteers (mean age 17.3 years) from France, Spain, and the Netherlands used a software-modified smartphone for 4 weeks; the application installed on the phone recorded number and duration of calls, data use, laterality, hands-free device usage, and communication system used for both voice calls and data transfer. Upon returning the phone, participants estimated their mobile phone use during those 4 weeks via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results indicated that participants on average underestimated the number of calls they made, while they overestimated total call duration. Participants held the phone for about 90% of total call time near the head, mainly on the side of the head they reported as dominant. Some limitations were encountered when comparing reported and recorded data use and speaker use. When applied in a larger sample, information recorded by the smartphone application will be very useful to improve radiofrequency (RF) exposure modeling from mobile phones to be used in epidemiological research. Bioelectromagnetics. 36:538-543, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Radio-frequency electromagnetic field exposure and contribution of sources in the general population: an organ-specific integrative exposure assessment

In order to achieve an integrated radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) dose assessment, detailed information about source-specific exposure duration and output power is needed. We developed an Integrated Exposure Model (IEM) to combine energy absorbed due to use of and exposure to RF-EMF sources and applied it to a sample of the general population to derive population RF-EMF estimates. The IEM used specific absorption rate transfer algorithms to provide RF-EMF daily dose estimates (mJ/kg/day) using source-specific attributes (e.g. output power, distance), personal characteristics and usage patterns. Information was obtained from an international survey performed in four European countries with 1755 participants. We obtained median whole-body and whole-brain doses of 183.7 and 204.4 mJ/kg/day. Main contributors to whole-brain dose were mobile phone near the head for calling (2G networks) and far-field sources, whereas the latter together with multiple other RF-EMF sources were main contributors for whole-body dose. For other anatomical sites, 2G phone calls, mobile data and far-field exposure were important contributors. The IEM provides insight into main contributors to total RF-EMF dose and, applied to an international survey, provides an estimate of population RF-dose. The IEM can be used in future epidemiological studies, risk assessments and exposure reduction strategies

Radio-frequency electromagnetic field exposure and contribution of sources in the general population : an organ-specific integrative exposure assessment

In order to achieve an integrated radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) dose assessment, detailed information about source-specific exposure duration and output power is needed. We developed an Integrated Exposure Model (IEM) to combine energy absorbed due to use of and exposure to RF-EMF sources and applied it to a sample of the general population to derive population RF-EMF estimates. The IEM used specific absorption rate transfer algorithms to provide RF-EMF daily dose estimates (mJ/kg/day) using source-specific attributes (e.g. output power, distance), personal characteristics and usage patterns. Information was obtained from an international survey performed in four European countries with 1755 participants. We obtained median whole-body and whole-brain doses of 183.7 and 204.4 mJ/kg/day. Main contributors to whole-brain dose were mobile phone near the head for calling (2G networks) and far-field sources, whereas the latter together with multiple other RF-EMF sources were main contributors for whole-body dose. For other anatomical sites, 2G phone calls, mobile data and far-field exposure were important contributors. The IEM provides insight into main contributors to total RF-EMF dose and, applied to an international survey, provides an estimate of population RF-dose. The IEM can be used in future epidemiological studies, risk assessments and exposure reduction strategies

Radio-frequency electromagnetic field exposure and contribution of sources in the general population: an organ-specific integrative exposure assessment

In order to achieve an integrated radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) dose assessment, detailed information about source-specific exposure duration and output power is needed. We developed an Integrated Exposure Model (IEM) to combine energy absorbed due to use of and exposure to RF-EMF sources and applied it to a sample of the general population to derive population RF-EMF estimates. The IEM used specific absorption rate transfer algorithms to provide RF-EMF daily dose estimates (mJ/kg/day) using source-specific attributes (e.g. output power, distance), personal characteristics and usage patterns. Information was obtained from an international survey performed in four European countries with 1755 participants. We obtained median whole-body and whole-brain doses of 183.7 and 204.4 mJ/kg/day. Main contributors to whole-brain dose were mobile phone near the head for calling (2G networks) and far-field sources, whereas the latter together with multiple other RF-EMF sources were main contributors for whole-body dose. For other anatomical sites, 2G phone calls, mobile data and far-field exposure were important contributors. The IEM provides insight into main contributors to total RF-EMF dose and, applied to an international survey, provides an estimate of population RF-dose. The IEM can be used in future epidemiological studies, risk assessments and exposure reduction strategies

Radio-frequency electromagnetic field exposure and contribution of sources in the general population: an organ-specific integrative exposure assessment

In order to achieve an integrated radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) dose assessment, detailed information about source-specific exposure duration and output power is needed. We developed an Integrated Exposure Model (IEM) to combine energy absorbed due to use of and exposure to RF-EMF sources and applied it to a sample of the general population to derive population RF-EMF estimates. The IEM used specific absorption rate transfer algorithms to provide RF-EMF daily dose estimates (mJ/kg/day) using source-specific attributes (e.g. output power, distance), personal characteristics and usage patterns. Information was obtained from an international survey performed in four European countries with 1755 participants. We obtained median whole-body and whole-brain doses of 183.7 and 204.4 mJ/kg/day. Main contributors to whole-brain dose were mobile phone near the head for calling (2G networks) and far-field sources, whereas the latter together with multiple other RF-EMF sources were main contributors for whole-body dose. For other anatomical sites, 2G phone calls, mobile data and far-field exposure were important contributors. The IEM provides insight into main contributors to total RF-EMF dose and, applied to an international survey, provides an estimate of population RF-dose. The IEM can be used in future epidemiological studies, risk assessments and exposure reduction strategies

Exposure to loud noise and risk of vestibular schwannoma: results from the INTERPHONE international case-control study

Deltour I, Schlehofer B, Massardier-Pilonchery A, et al. Exposure to loud noise and risk of vestibular schwannoma: results from the INTERPHONE international case-control study. SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF WORK ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH. 2019;45(2):183-193.Objective Studies of loud noise exposure and vestibular schwannomas (VS) have shown conflicting results. The population-based INTERPHONE case-control study was conducted in 13 countries during 2000-2004. In this paper, we report the results of analyses on the association between VS and self-reported loud noise exposure. Methods Self-reported noise exposure was analyzed in 1024 VS cases and 1984 matched controls. Life-long noise exposure was estimated through detailed questions. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using adjusted conditional logistic regression for matched sets. Results The OR for total work and leisure noise exposure was 1.6 (95% CI 1.4-1.9). OR were 1.5 (95% CI 1.3-1.9) for only occupational noise, 1.9 (95% CI 1.4-2.6) for only leisure noise and 1.7 (95% CI 1.2-2.2) for exposure in both contexts. OR increased slightly with increasing lag-time. For occupational exposures, duration, time since exposure start and a metric combining lifetime duration and weekly exposure showed significant trends of increasing risk with increasing exposure. OR did not differ markedly by source or other characteristics of noise. Conclusion The consistent associations seen are likely to reflect either recall bias or a causal association, or potentially indicate a mixture of both