Qat Consumption Among Women Living in Yemen

[No abstract available

DDT exposure in early childhood and female breast cancer: Evidence from an ecological study in Taiwan

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Researchers still lack consensus on the association between exposure to DDT and the risk of breast cancer. One reason could be that the measurements of DDT obtained during or near the time of diagnosis may not reflect exposure during the etiologically relevant time period in a woman's life. This study undertook an ecological analysis to investigate whether exposure to DDT among cohort born between 1951 and 1959 (i.e. age 0–5 years) and who reached the age 50–54 years during 2001–2013 had an increased risk of breast cancer in adulthood. To do this, we used the number of DDT sprays in each township during the anti-malaria campaign in Taiwan in the 1950s as a proxy for direct DDT exposure. The DDT sprays were then linked to the township female breast cancer incidence rate in the 2000s when the birth cohorts had reached age 50–54 years. Insurance claims data were used to identify breast cancer cases during 1996–2013. Zero-Inflated Poisson regression was performed to estimate the effect of DDT sprays on the breast cancer incidence rate. The analysis was based on a total of 9 birth cohorts (1951–1959) in 349 townships who had lived at least up to age 50. On average, one DDT spray experienced during age 0–5 years was associated with an increase of 8 more female breast cancer cases per 100,000 during age 50–54. The effect appears to increase with the number of sprays. Our finding suggests that DDT exposure in early childhood could raise the risk of breast cancer in adulthood

Regional research priorities in brain and nervous system disorders

The characteristics of neurological, psychiatric, developmental and substance-use disorders in low-and middle-income countries are unique and the burden that they have will be different from country to country. Many of the differences are explained by the wide variation in population demographics and size, poverty, conflict, culture, land area and quality, and genetics. Neurological, psychiatric, developmental and substance-use disorders that result from, or are worsened by, a lack of adequate nutrition and infectious disease still afflict much of sub-Saharan Africa, although disorders related to increasing longevity, such as stroke, are on the rise. In the Middle East and North Africa, major depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder are a primary concern because of the conflict-ridden environment. Consanguinity is a serious concern that leads to the high prevalence of recessive disorders in the Middle East and North Africa and possibly other regions. The burden of these disorders in Latin American and Asian countries largely surrounds stroke and vascular disease, dementia and lifestyle factors that are influenced by genetics. Although much knowledge has been gained over the past 10 years, the epidemiology of the conditions in low-and middle-income countries still needs more research. Prevention and treatments could be better informed with more longitudinal studies of risk factors. Challenges and opportunities for ameliorating nervous-system disorders can benefit from both local and regional research collaborations. The lack of resources and infrastructure for health-care and related research, both in terms of personnel and equipment, along with the stigma associated with the physical or behavioural manifestations of some disorders have hampered progress in understanding the disease burden and improving brain health. Individual countries, and regions within countries, have specific needs in terms of research priorities.Fil: Ravindranath, Vijayalakshmi. Indian Institute of Science; IndiaFil: Dang, Hoang Minh. Vietnam National University; VietnamFil: Goya, Rodolfo Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata ; ArgentinaFil: Mansour, Hader. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. Mansoura University; EgiptoFil: Nimgaonkar, Vishwajit L.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Russell, Vivienne Ann. University of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Xin, Yu. Peking University; Chin

Household and occupational exposure to pesticides and risk of breast cancer

The association between breast cancer in women and the use of household or occupational pesticides was examined in a population-based case-control study. This study was conducted in Western Australia in 2009–2011and included 1,789 controls and 1,205 cases. Information on household pesticide exposure was collected from questionnaires. For occupational pesticide exposure, job-specific modules (JSMs) were used. To evaluate potential recall bias, we stratified the analysis by belief about whether pesticides contribute to breast cancer. Unconditional logistic regression wasused to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Women’s exposures to pesticides in households and workplaces were not related to increased risk of breast cancer (OR = 1.10; CI: 0.86–1.37) and (OR = 0.77; CI: 0.45–1.32), respectively. The prevalence of occupational exposure to pesticides among women in our study was low. In the stratified analyses, the odd ratios associated with household pesticide use were similar among participants who believed pesticides increased breast cancer risk and those who did not. The results of our study did not showassociations between breast cancer and household or occupational exposure to pesticides

Dermal Exposure Associated With Occupational End Use of Pesticides and the Role of Protective Measures

Background: Occupational end users of pesticides may experience bodily absorption of the pesticideproducts they use, risking possible health effects. The purpose of this paper is to provide a guide forresearchers, practitioners, and policy makers working in the field of agricultural health or other areaswhere occupational end use of pesticides and exposure issues are of interest.Methods: This paper characterizes the health effects of pesticide exposure, jobs associated with pesticide use, pesticide-related tasks, absorption of pesticides through the skin, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for reducing exposure.Conclusions: Although international and national efforts to reduce pesticide exposure through regulatorymeans should continue, it is difficult in the agricultural sector to implement engineering or systemcontrols. It is clear that use of PPE does reduce dermal pesticide exposure but compliance among themajority of occupationally exposed pesticide end users appears to be poor. More research is needed onhigher-order controls to reduce pesticide exposure and to understand the reasons for poor compliancewith PPE and identify effective training methods

Qualité physico-chimique des eaux usées de la station d’épuration de la ville de S’anaa (Yémen)

Dans le souci de reduire le flux des polluants presents dans les eaux usees des agglomerations urbaines de la republique de Yemen, une etude preliminaire a ete entreprise au niveau de la station dfepuration de laville de SfANAA (Yemen). Cette etude avait comme premier objectif dfestimer la pollution physico-chimique globale dans les effluents de la STEP. Il sfagissait dfabord, dfidentifier les sources et les origines de pollution a lfentree de la station, et ensuite dfetudier les performances epuratoires de la station dfepuration. Le but est deramener les teneurs des elements polluants dans lfeau en dessous des valeurs fixees par les normes internationales. Des mesures d'indicateurs de qualite ont ete effectuees pendant six mois sur des echantillonspreleves suivant une frequence de quatre fois par mois. Les rendements epuratoires moyens atteignent 90,99% en DBO5, 89,99% en DCO et 86,4% en MES. L'elimination des orthophosphates est assez elevee avec un rendement moyen de 68%. De maniere globale, les teneurs moyennes en sels restent assez elevees par rapport a la limite tolerable pour un rejet de raffinerie des eaux usees dans un milieu recepteur. Par ailleurs, on arevele une moyenne de 100,5 mg/l (} 12,02) pour les NH4 avec un taux dfabattement de 33% et une moyenne de 2152,75 ƒÊs/cm (} 151,49) pour les conductivites electriques

Case-control study to assess the association between colorectal cancer and selected occupational agents using INTEROCC job exposure matrix.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent cancer in the world and is twice as common in developed countries when compared with low-income and middle-income countries. Few occupational risk factors for colorectal cancer have been identified. This case-control study aimed to assess the association between colorectal cancer and occupational exposure to selected solvents, combustion products, metals, dusts and other agents. METHODS: Cases (n=918) were enrolled from the Western Australian Cancer Registry from June 2005 to August 2007. Controls (n=1021) were randomly selected from the Western Australian electoral roll. We collected lifetime occupational history from cases and controls, in addition to their demographic and lifestyle characteristics. We applied the INTEROCC job exposure matrix to convert the occupational history to occupational exposure for 18 selected agents. Three exposure indices were developed: (1) exposed versus non-exposed; (2) lifetime cumulative exposure; and (3) total duration of exposure. The associations between colorectal cancer and the selected agents were estimated using logistic regression models adjusting for sex and age. RESULTS: None of the 18 selected agents showed an association with colorectal cancer. No dose-response relationships with lifetime cumulative exposure or duration of exposure were observed. CONCLUSION: There was no evidence to suggest that occupational exposure to 18 selected agents increased the risk of colorectal cancer