Category: Uncategorized
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Immune Functions And Resistance To Infections
Immune suppression caused by lack of nutrients has been called nutritionally acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or NAIDS. Lack of zinc, of which only about 1 mg is needed every day to replace losses, leads to virtual disappearance of the thymus, a key immunological organ. Thus micronutrient deficiencies often increase risk and severity of infectious diseases. Since…
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Trends In Overweight/Obesity
In the United States, as in most other countries, the prevalence of adult overweight/obesity has risen steadily in recent decades, chiefly due to marked increases in obesity. Based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, the age-adjusted prevalence of overweight among adults ages 20–74 years increased from 47.4% in 1976–80 to 66.0%…
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Selected Epidemiologic Concepts In Observational Studies Confounding
The possibility of confounding, which is especially likely to occur in observational studies, usually needs to be considered when trying to interpret associations between exposures and diseases. A confounding variable is a variable that (a) alters the risk of the disease or condition under study independent of the exposure or characteristic of primary interest, and…
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Some Uses Of Observational Epidemiology
Some Uses Of Observational Epidemiology One use of observational studies is to determine the magnitude and impact of diseases or other conditions in populations or in selected subgroups of the population. Such data are useful in setting priorities for investigation and control, in deciding where preventive efforts should be focused, and in determining what type…
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Approaches To Studying And Obtaining Information On Work-Related Injury And/Or Disease
Most of the studies of work-related fatal injury are essentially cohort studies of the population of interest, with the population being all working persons or subgroups of the population identified by characteristics such as occupation, industry, age, or sex. However, other approaches have been used (e.g., case-control studies, capture-recapture studies, and proportional mortality studies) or…
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Occupational Versus Nonoccupational Injuries
Many injury causes that are common in the workplace are also common in other environments. Transportation events, violence, falls, and being struck by objects are examples of injury causes that are common in multiple settings. Others are more common to the workplace, such as machinery, electrocutions, and explosions. Strategies for reducing and preventing injuries in…
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Analyzing Occupational Injury And Illnesses By Categories
To devise methods of reducing the burden of illness and injury arising from employment and the work environment, it is essential to analyze patterns of disease outcomes in ways that reflect the mechanisms by which the injury or illness may have occurred. The three most useful broad categories are industry classification, occupational group, and health…
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General Statistical Measures Of Occupational Injury And Illness
In this section we provide a brief overview of the extent of occupational illness and injury. Much of our focus is on the United States, where conditions and production processes are comparable to those in developed industrialized nations worldwide. Both the nature of work, the distribution of jobs in various workplaces, the extent of exposure,…
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Potentially Malignant (Precancerous) Clinical Lesions
Some potentially malignant (precancerous) clinical lesions that can progress to OSCC include especially: Erythroplasia (erythroplakia): The most likely lesion to progress to severe dysplasia or carcinoma. Erythroplastic lesions are velvety red plaques, which in at least 85% of cases show frank malignancy or severe dysplasia. Carcinomas are seen 17 times more frequently in erythroplakia than…
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Environmental Contamination And Human Exposure
PCBs entered the air, water, and soil during the manufacture and use in a variety of applications. PCB wastes are placed in landfills. PCBs also entered the environment from accidental spills and leaks during the transport of PCB-containing materials. Once in the environment, PCBs do not readily break down and therefore remain there for a…