The influence of psychosocial work-related factors on the conventional risk factors of ischemic heart disease (IHD), particularly on the lipid changes and their effect on homocysteine is studied in ...this paper. Employed males aged 35 to 55 with angina pectoris or a myocardial infarction (IHD group) were compared to a group of individuals without ischemic heart disease (Control Group). Psychosocial factors were assessed using a Swedish Theorell questionnaire. The IHD Group was found to be at a higher risk of IHD due to higher work demands (OR = 1.25), worse job control (OR = 1.23), frequent smoking (OR = 2.2), leadership positions (OR = 3.97), higher BMI (p = 0.059) and higher levels of triglycerides (p = 0.005) and LDL-cholesterol (OR = 1.65). The level of HDL-cholesterol was significantly lower (1.0 vs. 1.4 mmol/L, p < 0.001, OR = 1.64), while the level of C-reactive protein (9.1 vs. 1.8 mg/L) and Interleukin-6 (6.5 vs. 1.6 ng/L) was higher. Homocysteine levels showed borderline significance (p = 0.056). Our study suggests a possible influence of psychosocial work-related factors on IHD risk factors, most of all on low HDL-cholesterol. No connection was found between psychosocial factors and the homocysteine level, shown to be an IHD risk factor at lower levels of approximately 10 micromol/L.
Lead is known to cause harmful effects in the haematopoietic, nervous, digestive, renal, and other organ systems, inhibiting a number of enzymes in the biosynthesis of haem, as well as other enzymes ...with haematological significance. Our study involved 151 employees involved with the cutting of crystal, i.e. leaded glass, who had been found using eco-monitoring to have been exposed to above normal levels of lead. Our bio-monitoring process followed the values of lead, delta-ALAD and EPP.The highest level of lead detected was 276 μg/L, the lowest level of delta-ALAD was 99 nkat/L), and the highest level of EPP was 14.2 nmol/gHb). We had found that contrary to expectations, lead levels were not correlated to haemoglobin levels, or to gender or age, but were instead based only on the post of the employee and their time spent working at the glassworks. The levels of haematopoiesis were directly proportional to the levels of lead, however, the correlation was not statistically significant or had perhaps been masked by the exposure due to the employee’s post and gender. We had also found a significant correlation of lead levels to the levels of renal function. The study had indicated some health impacts of lead on the exposed glass workers, but also at least partly diverged from the results of previous studies, prompting us to continue our research.
The ICRP Publication 65 recommends 200-600 Bq x m(-3) as the indoor radon action level for the general public. In Slovenia, a value of 400 Bq x m(-3) has been proposed but not yet approved. In a ...nation-wide radon project financed by the Health Inspectorate of Slovenia, it was discovered that the elementary school named "S3" belongs to a group of schools with elevated winter indoor radon concentrations up to 7,000 Bq x m(-3). Opening windows and doors during classes substantially decreased radon concentrations, but very seldom below 1,000 Bq x m(-3). Yearly effective doses for pupils, estimated according to ICRP 65, ranged from 7 to 11 mSv. Because the pupils have been subjected to the elevated radon concentrations, special preventive health checks have been performed. The examination protocol included mutagenetic tests, one for structural chromosomal aberrations and the other a micronucleus test. Altogether 85 pupils (37 girls and 48 boys) from the first four grades between the ages of 9 and 12 y were examined. An increase in cytogenetic damage was found for these pupils, compared to the control group, composed of pupils of the same age from another area with indoor radon concentrations in their school of below 400 Bq x m(-3). The incidence of structural chromosomal aberrations reached 2.0% (0.5-4) and micronucleus test was 6.52 per 500 cells with a maximum of 15 in some cases. In the control group structural chromosomal aberrations varied from 0.5 to 2.5%, while the maximum incidence of micronucleus was 9 micronucleus per 500 CB cells. The results obtained are preliminary and suggest a need to expand the study. A long-term radon survey, at least over a year, of the homes and wider residential environment of the pupils would be necessary to assess the correlation between radon exposure and both structural chromosomal aberrations and micronucleus findings.
Blood biomarkers of alcohol abuse Bilban, Marjan; Vrhovec, Sonja; Karlovsek, Majda Zorec
Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju
54, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The biological, clinical and social effects of alcohol abuse call for objective and specific biomarkers of alcohol-related diseases and early detection of alcohol consumers at risk. Alcohol abusers ...may exhibit several clinical and/or chemical changes. Changes in parameters such as gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) may serve as biomarkers of chronic alcoholism. All available biomarkers have two drawbacks. The first is that they indicate adverse effects in a particular organ, but tell little about their aetiology. The second is that they are not sensitive enough to detect abuse before it results in organic impairment. The 1990s have seen the introduction of a new diagnostic biomarker, carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT). Reduced concentrations of this biomarker are found in serum after regular high alcohol intake. Relying on literature and their own clinical experience, the authors conclude that CDT seems to meet the clinical criteria of reliability and specificity.
The objective of this study was to examine the influence of isokinetic training and low-frequency electrostimulation in three groups of male athletes (N = 20, each group). Three different training ...methods have been compared: isokinetic training (IT) alone, training with low-frequency electrostimulation (LEFS), and the combination of the two methods. Maximal muscle power was measured before and at the end of the training programs, using a REV 9000 isokinetic dynamometer. The findings indicate that all training methods result in significant increase in muscle strength. However, the largest training effect was due to the combination of IT and LFES.
Brojni su čimbenici pridonijeli porastu broja starijih ljudi u razvijenim društvima. Pri tome se susrećemo i s rastućim udjelom starijih vozača – vozača sa svim bolestima i teškoćama što ih donosi ...starost. Strukturalne i funkcionalne promjene u vrijeme starenja već fiziološki dovode do slabljenja percepcije. Kod starijih osoba važni su također mišićno–koštani problemi, pad intelektualnih funkcija, a isto tako i usporavanje psihomotoričkih funkcija – produžava se npr. reakcijska brzina. U istraživanjima koja su obuhvatila sve prouzročitelje i sudionike cestovnih prometnih nesreća u Sloveniji u razdoblju od 1998. do 2000. godine željeli smo prikazati razlike u pojavnosti i posljedicama cestovnih prometnih nesreća osoba starijih od 55 godina, koje zapravo uzrokuju bitno manje nesreća nego prometno najbrojnija dobna skupina od 18 do 54 godine, ali su posljedice nesreća starijih ljudi, ako ih prouzroče ili u njima sudjeluju, bitno tragičnije – prije svega u smislu najteže ozlijeđenih i mrtvih. Postavljamo pitanje ispravnosti zdravstvene selekcije starijih osoba te odluke zakonodavca da je prvi kontrolni zdravstveni pregled starije osobe tek pri navršenoj 80. godini života. Sposobnost upravljanja motornim vozilom kao sredstvom zadovoljavanja osobnih potreba i uključivanja u društvo zauzima središnje mjesto u samostalnosti mnogih starijih osoba. Zato se zauzimamo za zaštitu prava pojedinca da upravlja motornim vozilom samo onda kada ima za to potrebne psihofizičke sposobnosti.
Age Affects Drivers’ Response Times Bilban, Marjan; Vojvoda, Alenka; Jerman, Janez
Collegium antropologicum,
07/2009, Volume:
33, Issue:
2
Paper
Open access
In Slovenia the number of drivers over 65 is increasing every year. With age comes a decrease in psychophysical abilities, which include sensory and motoric functions and the ability of processing ...visual information. These changes increase the response time and decrease the driving capacity. The aim of this study was to establish a correlation between age and response time and to determine the difference in response times between men and women. In the research participated 573 randomly chosen drivers aged 19–80 with a valid driving license. We measured their response times, when stimulated by a red traffic light, on a simulator. The results clearly demonstrate that a correlation between age and the response time exists. The results show that a significant increase in response times occurs after the age of 65. In all age groups, except the oldest, women achieved longer response times than men.
The influence of psychosocial work-related factors on the conventional risk factors of ischemic heart disease (IHD),
particularly on the lipid changes and their effect on homocysteine is studied in ...this paper. Employed males aged 35 to 55
with angina pectoris or a myocardial infarction (IHD group) were compared to a group of individuals without ischemic
heart disease (Control Group). Psychosocial factors were assessed using a Swedish Theorell questionnaire. The IHD
Group was found to be at a higher risk of IHD due to higher work demands (OR = 1.25), worse job control (OR = 1.23),
frequent smoking (OR = 2.2), leadership positions (OR = 3.97), higher BMI (p = 0.059) and higher levels of triglycerides
(p = 0.005) and LDL-cholesterol (OR = 1.65). The level of HDL-cholesterol was significantly lower (1.0 vs. 1.4
mmol/L, p < 0.001, OR =1,64), while the level of C-reactive protein (9.1 vs. 1.8 mg/L) and Interleukin-6 (6.5 vs. 1.6 ng/L)
was higher. Homocysteine levels showed borderline significance (p = 0.056). Our study suggests a possible influence of
psychosocial work-related factors on IHD risk factors, most of all on low HDL-cholesterol. No connection was found between
psychosocial factors and the homocysteine level, shown to be an IHD risk factor at lower levels of approximately 10
mmol/L.
Biološka, klinička i socijalna stanja alkoholičara već dugo iziskuju objektivne i specifične pokazatelje poremećaja uzrokovanih uživanjem alkohola u svrhu što ranijeg otkrivanja rizičnih uživalaca. ...Uživaoci prekomjernih količina alkohola mogu pokazivati nekoliko kliničko-kemijskih promjena od kojih se neke upotrebljavaju kao pokazatelji alkoholizma. To su ponajprije promjene u aktivnostima jetrenih enzima gama-glutamiltransferaze (GGT), aspartat aminotransferaze (AST) i alanin aminotransferaze (ALT) te promjene srednjeg volumena eritrocita (MCV). Svi ti pokazatelji imaju dvije slabe strane. S jedne strane, mogu odražavati poremećaj ili bolest određenog organa s nepouzdanom specifičnošću prepoznavanja etiologije bolesti. S druge strane, nisu dovoljno osjetljivi za otkrivanje kroničnog alkoholičara prije nastajanja organskih komplikacija. Tijekom posljednjeg desetljeća uveden je u dijagnostiku kroničnog alkoholizma novi biokemijski pokazatelj sni.eni ugljikohidratni transferin (carbohidrate deficient transferrin, CDT). To je glikoprotein koji prenosi željezo u tijelu i koji se stvara i oslobađa iz jetre. Iako razlozi još nisu sasvim rasvijetljeni, u osoba koje redovito uživaju veće količine alkohola koncentracija sniženog ugljikohidratnog transferina u serumu redovito je povišena.
U radu su dani odabrani relevantni literaturni podaci o biokemijskim pokazateljima u.ivanja alkohola i dijagnosticiranja kroničnog alkoholizma. Usto, autori su i sami procjenjivali do koje mjere uobičajeni krvni biopokazatelji alkohola odražavaju štetne učinke uživanja alkoholnih pića u skupini vlastitih ispitanika tijekom periodičkih medicinskih pregleda. Pritom su se posebno usredotočili na novi biokemijski parametar postotak CDT-a (%CDT).
Na temelju pregleda literaturnih podataka i vlastitog opa.anja, autori su zaključili da %CDT kao biopokazatelj alkohola u krvi u velikoj mjeri udovoljava postavljenim kliničkim kriterijima pouzdanosti i specifičnosti.
