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Biomedical subjects

C Osmond

Publications and source records attributed to C Osmond.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Mortality of workers exposed to styrene in the manufacture of glass-reinforced plastics.

Epidemiologic studies have suggested an increased risk of leukemia and lymphoma among workers exposed to styrene. In a further exploration of this possible hazard, an analysis was conducted of the mortality among 7,949 men and women employed during 1947-1984 in eight British companies manufacturing glass-reinforced plastics. The subjects were identified from company files and traced to the end of 1984 through National Health Service and National Insurance records. The overall mortality in the cohort was less than in the national population (693 deaths observed, 830.1 expected) as was mortality from cancer (181 deaths observed, 223.7 expected). In particular, there was a deficit of deaths from lymphoid and hemopoietic cancer (6 observed, 14.9 expected). The small excess of lung cancer (89 deaths observed, 80.1 expected) was not statistically significant and can probably be attributed to chance. Among 3,494 hand laminators (the job with the highest exposure to styrene) there was one death from lymphoma and none from leukemia. The findings do not exclude the possibility that styrene is a human carcinogen, but give no support to the hypothesis that it causes leukemia and lymphoma.

Female↗
PubMed1986

Childhood respiratory infection and adult chronic bronchitis in England and Wales.

The high mortality from chronic bronchitis in England and Wales and the excess of urban over rural mortality are unexplained. On dividing England and Wales into 212 local authority areas a strong geographical relation was found between death rates from chronic bronchitis and emphysema in 1959-78 and infant mortality from bronchitis and pneumonia during 1921-5. It was concluded that this relation provided strong evidence of a direct casual link between acute lower respiratory infection in early childhood and chronic bronchitis in adult life. Regression analysis suggested that infection in early childhood had a greater influence than cigarette smoking in determining the geographical distribution of chronic bronchitis. National time trends reflected the influence of both factors. Chronic air pollution in adult life may be less important a cause of chronic bronchitis than previously supposed.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Infant mortality, childhood nutrition, and ischaemic heart disease in England and Wales.

Although the rise in ischaemic heart disease in England and Wales has been associated with increasing prosperity, mortality rates are highest in the least affluent areas. On division of the country into two hundred and twelve local authority areas a strong geographical relation was found between ischaemic heart disease mortality rates in 1968-78 and infant mortality in 1921-25. Of the twenty-four other common causes of death only bronchitis, stomach cancer, and rheumatic heart disease were similarly related to infant mortality. These diseases are associated with poor living conditions and mortality from them is declining. Ischaemic heart disease is strongly correlated with both neonatal and postneonatal mortality. It is suggested that poor nutrition in early life increases susceptibility to the effects of an affluent diet.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Diet and coronary heart disease in England and Wales during and after the second world war.

During the second world war there were large changes in consumption of fats, fibre, and sugar in Britain. These changes matched recent recommendations made by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA) with the object of reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). It is widely believed that CHD mortality fell during the war. This paper re-examines CHD mortality among middle-aged people in England and Wales from 1931 to 1967. After allowance for changes in the rules for coding cause of death, and for the sharp increase in all-causes mortality in 1940, there is little to suggest that time trends in CHD were much influenced by the war. Because of confounding variables, this does not argue against the COMA report. However, it gives no support to the view that compliance with the recommendations on fat, fibre, and sugar will lead, by itself, to an appreciable fall in CHD mortality in middle-aged people.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1986

A survey of cancer and occupation in young and middle aged men. I. Cancers of the respiratory tract.

In a search for clues to previously industrial carcinogens the occupational and smoking histories of young and middle aged men with different types of cancer were compared. The study population comprised men aged 18-54 and resident in the counties of Cleveland, Humberside, and Cheshire (including the Wirral). From hospital and cancer registration records 2942 members of the study population in whom cancers were diagnosed during the period 1975-80 were identified retrospectively. The occupational and smoking histories of these patients were sought by a postal questionnaire addressed either to the patients themselves or, if they had died, to their next of kin. The overall response rate to the questionnaire was 52.1%. Additionally, limited occupational information was obtained for 89% of cases from their hospital notes. Analysis of these data suggests that no serious bias arose as a consequence of the incomplete response to the questionnaire. This paper concentrates on the results for cancers of the respiratory tract and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma was found to cluster in laggers, electricians, and shipyard workers, and nasal carcinoma in woodworkers. Carcinomas of the larynx and of the bronchus were examined by formal statistical techniques, each being compared with a control group made up of all other cancers combined. Several interesting occupational and industrial associations were shown, in particular, an excess of bronchial carcinoma in the leather industry (RR = 2.6, CI 1.2-6.0), in building labourers (RR = 1.7, CI 1.0-2.9) and other construction workers (RR = 1.8, CI 1.0-3.0), in bakers and pastry cooks (RR = 3.6, CI 1.3-10.4). and in cooks (RR = 2.5, CI 1.2-5.1). In addition, a small cluster of lung tumours was observed in men who had worked as dental mechanics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

A survey of cancer and occupation in young and middle aged men. II. Non-respiratory cancers.

In a search for clues to previously unrecognised industrial carcinogens the occupational and smoking histories of young and middle aged men with different types of cancer have been compared. The study population comprised men aged 18-54 and resident in the counties of Cleveland, Humberside, and Cheshire (including the Wirral). Within this population 2942 patients in whom cancers were first diagnosed during the period 1975-80 were identified retrospectively from hospital and cancer registration records. Lifetime occupational and smoking histories were then sought from these subjects (or if they had died by proxy from their next of kin), using a postal questionnaire. The overall response rate was 52.1%. Analysis of limited occupational data obtained from the hospital notes of 89% of the patients suggests that no serious bias arose from the incomplete response to the questionnaire. The present paper describes the findings for non-respiratory cancers. Some tumours did not occur with sufficient frequency to warrant formal statistical analysis. Nevertheless, examination of the histories of patients with these cancers showed several interesting occupational clusters. In particular, five out of 29 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia had worked in electrical trades. The more common cancers were studied by statistical techniques. A large number of possible occupational associations were examined, and some will probably have achieved conventional levels of statistical significance by chance. The results should therefore be interpreted with caution, taking into account evidence from other studies and the biological plausibility of suggested hazards. Among the more interesting findings were an excess of bladder cancer in lorry drivers (RR=1.6, CI 1.0-2.4) and in men employed in the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (RR = 4.8, CI 1.8-12.9).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Analysis of trends in cancer mortality in Italy 1951-1978; the effects of age, period of birth, and period of death.

We describe trends in cancer mortality in Italy between 1951 and 1978 for 6 different sites (esophagus, lung, breast, cervix uteri, testis, and bladder) as well as all cancers. This is done using a statistical model which separates the contributions associated with age, period of birth and period of death. The results are related to equivalent analyses in England and Wales and also to trends in lifestyle in Italy (alcohol consumption, cigarette consumption, birth rates).

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Using age, period and cohort models to estimate future mortality rates.

A description of a table of age- and period-specific mortality rates may be provided by the use of age, period and cohort models. These may be extended to produce estimates of future mortality rates that allow for trends related to both birth cohort and period of death. Lung cancer mortality rates for women in England and Wales are used as an example. The period 1951-70 is used to estimate mortality rates for 1971-80 and comparisons are made with the observed values. The technique is then used to estimate mortality rates until the year 2000 based upon 1951-80. The range of conditions for which this method is appropriate is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Biplot models applied to cancer mortality rates.

"A graphical method developed by Gabriel to display the rows and columns of a matrix is applied to tables of age- and period-specific cancer mortality rates. It is particularly useful when the pattern of age-specific rates changes with time. Trends in age-specific rates and changes in the age distribution are identified as projections. Three examples [from England and Wales] are given."

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1984

Formaldehyde in the British chemical industry. An occupational cohort study.

This paper reports the mortality experience of a cohort of 7680 men who had first been employed before 1965 in one of six factories in the British chemical or plastics industry where formaldehyde had been manufactured or used. All the jobs undertaken by each man were classified, on the basis of subjective information, into four categories in terms of exposure to formaldehyde. More than 98% of the workforce were traced to the end of 1981. No deaths from nasal cancer were reported (1.07 expected), and no excess mortality was found for cancers at any of the sites previously reported to be possibly associated with formaldehyde. In one factory a significantly high mortality from lung cancer was found (standardised mortality ratio 124; 95% confidence limits 104, 148) when the mortality rates of England and Wales were used as a standard, but not when an adjustment was made based on the local area mortality. Within the factory the increased mortality was limited to men who had been exposed to "high" levels of formaldehyde. There were no trends of increasing mortality with duration of work or interval since first exposure. This result may be a chance finding or reflect the influence of smoking or some other factor. Although a carcinogenic action of formaldehyde seems less likely as an explanation it cannot be excluded. The statistical power of the study to detect various risks of nasal cancer is described.

Chemical Industry↗
PubMed1983

Trends in induced abortion in England and Wales.

Analysis of routinely published abortion and fertility data for England and Wales between 1968 and 1980 shows that the age-specific abortion rates increased from 1968 until about 1973 when the rates peaked for all ages; rates then declined until 1977 but have subsequently returned to higher levels. Two factors are implicated: (1) the recent changes are related to parallel changes in the fertility rate; but (2) there is also a tendency for recent cohorts of women to resort to abortion more readily. These relationships are derived from analyses of fertility rates and abortion ratios, the proportion of conceptions that result in abortions. The results are discussed in terms of attitudes and practices related to birth control.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1983

Interpretation of disease time trends: is cancer on the increase? A simple cohort technique and its relationship to more advanced models.

Analysis of trends in mortality from respiratory cancer among women shows that, contrary to previous interpretation, there is no suggestion of any increase over time which might be due to recent increases in exposures to carcinogens. Although there are upward trends in the number of deaths, the crude death rate, and the age standardised rate, these are shown to be related to the aging of earlier cohorts of women who have experienced high mortality rates. More recent cohorts, born since the middle 1920s, show a decline. A simple technique to identify trends in different cohorts is described, and it is shown to be linked to the age-period-cohort modelling approach to investigating time trends. Dangers inherent in ignoring either period or cohort effects when describing one of these factors are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Mortality from thyrotoxicosis in England and Wales and its association with the previous prevalence of endemic goitre.

The distribution of mortality from thyrotoxicosis among women in England and Wales during 1968-78 correlates with the previous prevalence of endemic goitre. Mortality from the disease rose to a peak in the decade 1931-40 and then declined. This peak affected all age groups and can be attributed to the high fatality from surgery before the introduction of preoperative iodine to prevent thyroid crisis. An apparent cohort effect, whereby cohorts born from 1871 to 1886 experienced the highest mortality, may be explained by generations with a high prevalence of endemic goitre becoming exposed to increasing dietary iodine intake in later life.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Analysis of trends in cancer mortality in England and Wales during 1951-80 separating changes associated with period of birth and period of death.

Cancer mortality rates in England and Wales were analysed so to describe simultaneously changes affecting successive generations--that is, associated with period of birth--as well as changes associated with the period of which the deaths took place. When mortality from all cancers was considered the analysis implied that, contrary to a widely held view, the rate of death from cancer had been declining in each sex in successive generations. For men the decline had occurred in generations born since 1900, whereas for women the peak came in the 1925 birth group. On the other hand, there had been little decline in the rates associated with period of death. Five examples of cancers of specific organs for which the trends contrasted are shown.

Adolescent↗