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Biomedical subjects

E B Gold

Publications and source records attributed to E B Gold.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

United States cancer reporting laws: structure and utility.

Authorities in 52 United States jurisdictions were contacted to determine the existence and structure of cancer reporting laws and registration systems. Of the 52 US reporting areas examined; 30 (58 per cent) had a law requiring cancer reporting; 36 (69 per cent) of the reporting areas had at least one centralized cancer registry covering a geographically defined population. Among the 30 areas with cancer reporting laws, 26 had population-based registries; of the 22 areas with no cancer reporting law, 10 had a population-based registry. Among the 30 areas with cancer reporting laws, 12 required one reporting source (hospital, physician, laboratory), 11 required two reporting sources, four required three reporting sources, two areas gave the health department the authority to designate reporting sources, and one did not specify any reporting source. While 11 of the laws provided legal protection for both the data provider and the cancer patient, eight did not specify any such legal protection. While 13 laws made provisions for research uses of cancer reporting data, 17 did not do so. None of the laws had ever been legally tested at or beyond the State Appellate Court level.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1984

Methodologic concerns in cancer control in occupational settings.

Interest in cancer control in occupational settings has heightened in recent years due to several factors, including: the dramatic increase in chemicals in use in industry, public anxiety about carcinogenic risks associated with industrial waste, the ongoing discovery of occupational cancers, and chemically-induced cancers in laboratory animals. This paper discusses methodologic concerns in assessing the need to undertake primary and secondary prevention activities and short-term test procedures, such as cytogenetic analysis for cancer control in occupational settings. Some of the guidelines and considerations used in such assessments by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and by the International Agency for Research on Cancer are also discussed. The need for multidisciplinary efforts to assess the evidence regarding occupational cancer risks and available preventive measures to determine appropriate cancer control activities is also presented.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

A method for estimating the potential effects of primary and secondary prevention activities in high risk populations.

There is an increasing need to plan and assess cancer control programs based on quantitative data. In this paper a model is presented to help planners design cancer control programs to meet the needs of defined high-risk populations. This model can be applied to demographically defined segments of the U.S. population, to geographically defined populations, and to demographic subpopulations within geographically defined areas. It is intended to allow planners to assess the cancer control needs of high risk populations in terms of lowering cancer risks using available primary and secondary prevention techniques. This model represents only one of many quantitative factors that should be integrated into planning cancer control activities.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1982

Parental occupations and cancer in children--a case-control study and review of the methodologic issues.

The findings of a number of published reports have been conflicting with regard to the role of parental occupation in the occurrence of cancer in children. In the present study, the occupations and occupational exposures of parents before and after the birth of a child who later developed leukemia or a brain tumor (cases) were compared with the occupational experience of parents of children with other cancers and of normal children. Forty-three children diagnosed with leukemia from 1969 through 1974 and 70 children diagnosed with brain tumors from 1965 through 1974 in the Baltimore Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area were ascertained. The findings of the present study do not demonstrate a relationship between parental occupation and occurrence of leukemia or brain tumors in the offspring. The results of this and other studies are evaluated in the context of a number of important but difficult methodologic issues that arise in studies of this potentially significant subject area.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1979

Patterns of incidence of brain tumors in children.

A population-based community-wide study of the incidence of brain tumors in children from 1960 through 1974 was conducted in the Baltimore area. Incidence rates in boys declined from 1960 to 1974 and were higher in whites than in blacks in all age groups except children under 5 years. A peak in incidence rates was observed in white 5- to 9-year-olds and in blacks from 0 to 4 years of age. In addition, incidence rates tended to be higher in boys than in girls at all ages except at puberty-the 10- to 14-year-old age group-when rates in girls exceeded those in boys. The findings suggest that both host and environmental factors may be involved in the cause of brain tumors in children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Determinants of survival in children with brain tumors.

A study was conducted in metropolitan Baltimore to examine time trends in survival and factors which influence survival of children with brain tumors. One hundred eighty-four cases diagnosed from 1960 to 1975 were identified; 76.5% occurred in white children and 48% were girls. Five-year survival rates were 35% for children diagnosed in 1960-64, 34% in 1965-69, and 49% in 1970-74. Girls had consistently better survival rates than boys. White children experienced consistently better survival rates than blacks. Of those who survived the first year, children with supratentorial tumors had better five-year survival rates (46%) than those which with infratentorial tumors (27%). Of those who survived the first year, children with astrocytomas had better survival rates than those with other types of tumors.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Classification of adverse reproductive effects can be improved by measurements of multiple biomarkers for ovarian toxicity and early fetal loss.

Hormone assays have been developed and applied for monitoring reproductive function using self-collected urine samples in non-clinical populations of women. Early pregnancy loss, menstrual dysfunction, reduced fertility as well as the site of toxicity can now be assessed using daily early morning urine samples. The understanding of the specific limitations of individual assay systems is important, however, to make the best use of these systems. The use of multiple end-points and computer algorithms is suggested to avoid misclassification of adverse reproductive events.

Algorithms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Introduction: rationale for an update. Reproductive hazards.

More than 104,000 chemical and physical agents have been identified in the workplace, but the effects on reproduction of at least 95% of them have not been assessed. Here, the editors of this volume describe changing demographics in the workplace, which underscore the need for evaluating potential hazards to reproduction. They also review findings regarding occupational reproductive hazards to men and women that have been reported over the past decade.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Occupational hazards to fertility and pregnancy outcome.

Occupational reproductive hazards to women have been studied frequently despite the fact that many female reproductive endpoints are not readily observable or routinely recorded in occupational medical records (subfertility, delayed conception, early pregnancy loss, menstrual cycle dysfunction). However, a number of outcomes are fairly readily observable (low birthweight, clinically observed SAB, preterm labor) and medically recorded although they are not generally recorded in the occupational setting. In addition, techniques for observing reproductive outcomes in women are generally less invasive than those in men, particularly with recent developments in urinary monitoring for ovarian function and early pregnancy loss. Although studies of some exposures and outcomes (risk of SAB, low birthweight, or preterm birth with exposure to VDTs or EMFs or exposure to metals and menstrual dysfunction, infertility, or SAB) have shown inconsistent results, a number of findings regarding other associations have been fairly consistent and are very suggestive of causal relationships. Occupational exposure to solvents does appear to increase the risk of dysmenorrhea and SAB, particularly with exposure to organic solvents. Increased risk of adverse reproductive outcomes has also been observed among women working in agricultural settings, but no link has been made to specific exposures. In addition, physical stressors such as shift work, long hours standing, and lifting have been fairly consistently associated with increased risk of SAB or preterm birth. Finally, while complete agreement among studies is lacking, many have observed an increased risk of subfertility or SAB associated with work in medical occupations and with some specific medical exposures, such as nitrous oxide, anesthetic gases and antineoplastic drugs. Much remains to be explored, particularly clarification of the relationship for exposures and outcomes that have shown inconsistent results. These require specific efforts to validate exposures and outcomes, to investigate and control for confounding variables, to consider the effects of multiple comparisons, to study populations of adequate size to provide meaningful statistical analyses, and to make possible the evaluation of dose-response and timing of exposure effects.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Childhood cancers associated with parental occupational exposures.

Statistics suggest that environmental and occupational exposures may be at least partially responsible for an increased incidence of cancer in children. The authors describe the latest findings in this area of research and look at the methodologic concerns that arise and how they affect the derivation of causal inferences from such studies.

Agriculture↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Workplace policy on hazards to reproductive health.

At present, workplace policies regarding reproductive hazards are not regulated directly, and inappropriate policies are occasionally corrected by legal actions or union pressures on the employers. Further, information on reproductive hazards is incomplete; however, employees have a legal right to know available information about hazards, including reproductive hazards, that they face in the workplace. Occupational health personnel play a major role in communicating information about reproductive hazards in the workplace and in implementing company policy and complying with legislation. Regulatory and case law likely will continue to evolve as many issues related to safety from reproductive hazards in the workplace have not yet been resolved.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Risk factors for secondary amenorrhea and galactorrhea.

OBJECTIVE: Analyses were undertaken to identify factors that may predispose women to secondary amenorrhea or galactorrhea, frequent sources of abnormal reproductive function. METHODS: Data were gathered from interviews with 252 women with secondary amenorrhea or galactorrhea from four clinical centers, along with neighborhood controls matched to each case. Univariate comparisons were made for clinical and demographic factors of the study subjects. RESULTS: Patients with amenorrhea and normal prolactin (PRL) levels and their matched controls tended to be younger than those with amenorrhea and elevated PRL or than menstruating patients with galactorrhea alone and their matched controls. Patients with amenorrhea and normal PRL also were significantly more educated and were older at menarche than their controls, while amenorrhea patients with elevated PRL or patients with galactorrhea alone did not differ significantly from their controls in age at menarche or educational level. More patients with galactorrhea alone had reported menstrual pain to their physicians and had significantly longer menstrual periods than their matched controls. Patients with galactorrhea alone also weighed more than their controls 2 years prior to diagnosis, a difference that remained after stratification by parity, although only statistically significant among women who had had one or two pregnancies. Finally, significantly fewer patients with amenorrhea than controls were smokers. Thus, these disorders may not be due to anti-estrogenic effect or to low estrogen levels which have been associated with smoking.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The use of complementary/alternative medicine for the treatment of asthma in the United States.

Despite our advances in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, the incidence of mortality is increasing in developed countries. As patients and health care providers seek new options for the treatment and prevention of asthma, various complementary and alternative medical therapies are being used. With funding from the Office of Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, our goal was to identify the type and prevalence of complementary and alternative treatments for asthma in use in the United States in order to establish a research agenda for the study of the most promising therapies. A survey was developed by an expert panel. After undergoing a preliminary round of testing and improvement, the survey was then sent along with a postage-paid return envelope as inserts in the May 1996 issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, a peer-reviewed periodical of complementary and alternative medical research and scholarly activity; 10,000 surveys were distributed. We asked that only those who treated asthma respond. The surveys were designed to identify characteristics of the respondent, their particular practice type, use of complementary and alternative medicine, or conventional medicine in general, patient characteristics and numbers, and their use of 20 specific potential therapies to treat asthma. A total of 564 surveys were returned. The 5.64% response rate was low but was reflective of the demographics of the readership of this journal of complementary and alternative medicine. The survey population was 46% male and 43% female; 11% did not specify gender. They ranged in age from under 31 years old to over 70. The largest group (37%) of respondents held degrees as medical doctors, 27% held doctorates in complementary and alternative medicine related disciplines, 11% had registered nursing degrees, 4% were acupuncturists and 18% did not specify their training. Practice characteristics between MD and non-MD asthma care providers did not differ. The majority had general practices (75%) seeing all ages of patients. MDs were less likely to employ complementary and alternative medicine techniques for asthma compared to non-MDs. Both groups identified dietary and nutritional approaches as their most prevalent and useful asthma treatment option. Use of botanicals, meditation and homeopathy were frequently cited; statistically significant differences appeared in the rankings of treatment usefulness and prevalence between MD and non-MDs. Non-MD asthma care providers were more likely to ask patients about their use of complementary and alternative treatments for asthma than MDs (92% vs. 70%), while both groups showed statistically significant increases in their levels of patient inquiries compared to 2 years previously (up 9% and 8% for MDs and non-MDs respectively). The predominance of diet and nutrition supplementation used by MDs and non-MDs suggests that further attention and research efforts should be directed toward this area of complementary and alternative practice. Other complementary and alternative medicine practices such as botanicals, meditation and homeopathy appear to warrant research efforts. Differences between MDs and non-MDs in their use of such therapies may reflect different philosophies as well as training.

Adult↗