Biomedical subjects

Dennis Nowak

Publications and source records attributed to Dennis Nowak.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Air contaminants in different European farming environments.

Farmers are known to be at high risk from the development of occupational airway disease. The first stage of the European farmers' study has shown that pig farmers in Denmark and Germany, poultry farmers in Switzerland and greenhouse workers in Spain were at highest risk for work-related respiratory symptoms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine exposure levels at relevant farm workplaces. Dust and endotoxin levels as well as microbiological concentrations were determined in 213 crop and animal farming environments by personal sampling. The highest total dust concentrations were found in poultry houses in Switzerland with median concentrations of 7.01 mg/m(3). The median airborne endotoxin concentrations in total dust ranged between 0.36 ng/m(3) in Spanish greenhouses and 257.58 ng/m(3) in poultry houses in Switzerland. Likewise, the highest median concentrations of total (2.0 x (7) cells/m(3)) and active fungi (4.4 x (5) cfu/m(3)) have been found in Swiss poultry houses. The predominant fungus taxa discovered in poultry houses were Eurotium spp. and thermophilic fungi. Cladosporium and Botrytis were mainly detected in greenhouses. The exposure level found in this study might put the farmers at risk from respiratory diseases.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2002

Prevalence and risk factors for airway diseases in farmers--summary of results of the European Farmers' Project.

The aim of the European Farmers' Project was to determine prevalence and risk factors of respiratory diseases in farmers across Europe. A cross-sectional study in 7 centres was carried out. In the first stage of the study, nearly 8,000 farmers in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and Spain answered a standardised questionnaire on farming characteristics and respiratory symptoms. The second stage of the study included exposure assessment and lung function measurements in 4 of the centres. Within the group of farmers, pig farmers were at high risk of asthma-like syndrome as compared to farmers keeping other kinds of animals. Among plant farmers, greenhouse workers were at higher risk for symptoms of asthma. The prevalence of symptoms of allergies were significantly lower among animal farmers as compared to the population of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. In contrast, animal farmers had a significantly higher prevalence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis. The major risk factor for respiratory symptoms was shown to be ventilation of the animal houses and greenhouses. Intervention studies are now warranted to test the effectiveness of improved ventilation on respiratory health. The reasons for the low prevalence of allergic diseases among farmers are currently under study.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Psychiatric disorders of environmental outpatients--results of the standardized psychiatric interview (CIDI) from the German multi-center study on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)].

BACKGROUND: A nationwide, environmental outpatient-based multi-center two-phase study on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) was conducted from 1999 until 2004. The aim of the study was to characterize more precisely the health-complaints relevant for the MCS-phenomenon. A standardized psychiatric interview (CIDI), used to identify frequency, character and duration of psychiatric disorders and their chronological relation to the environment-related health complaints of the patients, formed part of the extensive diagnostic procedure. METHOD: 251 (86.3%) of the 291 attendees of the environmental outpatient departments in Aachen, Berlin, Bredstedt, Freiburg, Giessen and Munich, were examined using the German version (M-CIDI/DIA-X) of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. RESULTS: 83.7% (lifetime prevalence rate) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of at least one psychiatric disorder, with the 12-month and 4-week prevalence rates being 76.5% and 64.5%, respectively. Environmental outpatients, in all prevalence periods, had significantly higher rates of psychiatric disorders than the comparable general population. Somatoform disorders were most frequently diagnosed, followed by depressive and phobic disorders. For 81.2% of the patients the psychiatric disorder started long before the environment-related health complaints (average 17 years). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the results of earlier studies, i.e. that patients with environment-related health complaints suffer from psychiatric disorders more frequently than the general population. The high environmental outpatients really suffer from psychosomatic complaints, but attribute the causes to the environment. Application of specific therapeutic regimen is recommended for those patients, whose psychiatric disorders are safeguarded diagnostically and for whom a relevant exposure is unlikely.

Adult↗