Occupational diseases arising as a direct consequence of exposure to hazardous and noxious impacts witnessed at workplaces still represent a major global, yet not duly recognised and duly appreciated ...health issue. Therefore, one has every reason to tag them as "a silent epidemic of our times". This article brings relevant occupational disease statistics and summarises the key health, economic and social aspects of this problem, together with a global solving strategy viewed as the most appropriate by the institutions of merit.
Firefighting duties are performed under special conditions, thus candidates are selected for the job via a strict professional selection procedure. The objective of the study was to determine the ...work ability index and morbidity profile across a sample of 300 firefighters (male, average age 43+/- 7.84, average years of employment 18.5 +/- 7.67 years, years in firefighting 14.9 +/- 6.44 years). The data used in the study came from the firefighters' medical records and the WAI questionnaire. Qualitative variables were described using absolute and relative frequencies, and quantitative ones using central tendency and dispersion parameters, tested for the distribution normality using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The Cronbach α; of 0.050 was deemed statistically significant. The percent-shares of hypertension (7.1%) and cardiovascular diseases (2%) were found to be lower than in the general population. Vision impairments were found in 6.7% and hearing & balance impairments in 2% of subjects. Obesity was found in 39.6% of subjects, increased sugar levels in 14.8% and increased creatinine serum levels in 7.1% of the subjects. The subjects ranked their work ability as high and were not inclined to absenteeism. The selection procedure currently in place helps in achieving the ''healthy worker effect.'
This study was performed with the aim of evaluating the justifiability of serial application of nailfold capillaroscopy, digital dermothermometry and digital photoplethysmography in the diagnosis of ...vascular radiolesions in subjects occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation. Thirty-eight exposed examinees, as well as 30 control persons, were included in the study. In order to establish the condition of the peripheral blood flow, each subject was examined by all the three methods. The results of this work and their statistical evaluation showed the nailfold capillaroscopy and digital dermothermometry to be the most suitable combination of methods for detection of initial changes on the smallest skin blood vessels, subsequent to skin irradiation, while the use of photoplethysmography should be limited to such cases where alterations of digital arterioles are expected.
When studying the course and etiopathological mechanisms underlying human lung disorders caused by external factors, it is extremely important to extend the investigations by using an experimental ...animal model. The advantage of such a model, in respect to well-known ethical limits involved in a human study. Is that one can precisely design the experiment, keep the relevant parameters under strict control and limtate the pathological conditions to be studied. Bronchoalveolar lavage Is a useful toxicological modality for gaining access to the constituents of the lower respiratory tract. Analyses of both soluble and Insoluble contents of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid are now increasingly being used to monitor the course of lung disorders. The use of an appropriate animal Instillation model provides an insight into the kinetics of the substance in between free lung cells and lung compartments. The bronchoalveolar lavage assay following intratracheal instillation of an experimental animal has proven to be a useful and fast technique for the detection of lung injury caused by toxicants.
The aim of the study was to assess health hazards induced by environmental exposure to asbestos using urban dogs as biological indicators. Samples of the lung tissue taken from 36 randomly chosen ...urban dogs were examined. In the group of dogs aged up to four years (n = 15) ferruginous bodies were identified in only two. In the dogs older than four years (n = 21) 17 were ferruginous body positive. According to Fisher's exact test the difference between the two groups was significant (P < 0.001). The presence of asbestos bodies in the lungs of dogs is considered to be evidence of serious contamination of urban areas with respirable mineral fibres. The more frequent presence of asbestos bodies in the lungs of the older dogs indicates long-term accumulation of mineral fibres exceeding 10 microns in length. Continuous environmental exposure of the city's population to respirable mineral fibres may therefore pose a health risk.
The aim of the study was to establish a correlation between biomarkers of exposure and cytogenetic test results in workers occupationally exposed to benzene and toluene, with special reference to ...confounding factors influencing the outcome of the cytogenetic test. The incidence of structural chromosome aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges was studied in the peripheral blood lymphocytes cell genome of 49 female shoe-makers, mean age 38 years, mean length of occupational exposure 17 years and in a group of 27 well-matched controls. Workers were exposed to concentrations of benzene up to 15ppm and of toluene up to 50ppm. The presence of benzene and toluene in the workers' blood samples, and the presence of phenol in pre-and post-shift urine were considered proof of occupational exposure. Chromosomal aberration analysis revealed a significant increase in dicentric incidence in the exposed group compared to the controls (P=0.004). However, significant correlation between cytogenetic test results and the exposure biomarkers was not established. On the contrary, correlation between the cytogenetic test results and data on confounding factors (e.g. age and alcohol consumption), was marked. The major point raised by this study is the influence of confounding factors on the cytogenetic test outcome. This imposes the need for caution in the interpretation of cytogenetic test results, and ultimately in the estimation of individual genotoxicity risk related to low level benzene exposure.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the genotoxic risk to medical personnel concurrently exposed to ionizing radiation and antineoplastics, using changes in their lymphocyte cell genome as a ...bioindicator. The study comprised 12 female nurses employed in the nuclear medicine hospital department and an equal number of matched controls. For each examinee, both conventional structural chromosomal aberration analysis and sister chromatid exchange test (SCE) were carried out. According to Student's t-test, neither the incidence of structural chromosomal aberrations (p > 0.6) nor the mean SCE-frequency rate (p > 0.3) were significantly increased among the exposed subjects. Nevertheless, in those exposed, irreparable chromosomal damages and wide SCE-ranges were observed. Such findings suggest the possibility of genotoxic implications of concurrent occupational exposure to ionizing radiation and antineoplastic drugs.
The aim of this paper is to point out the purpose and possibilities of practical application of capillaroscopy in the peripheral blood vessel alterations diagnosis and follow-up. The paper gives a ...detailed technical description of the method as well as the capillaroscopic findings interpretation criteria. A special attention has been paid to the most important external factors as well as to the diseases that may affect the peripheral blood flow condition.
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