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Biomedical subjects

F J Wiles

Publications and source records attributed to F J Wiles.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Lung function in silicosis.

In order to assess the effect of silicosis on lung function, 61 gold miners with radiological silicosis were compared with 61 controls. Each pair was matched for age, dust exposure, and smoking habits. A full range of lung function tests was performed, and with two exceptions the results showed no significant differences between the two groups. The exceptions are the slope of the alveolar plateau (phase 3) and the closing volume, for which the silicotic cases had significantly higher values. The reason for the higher readings in the silicotic patients remains unexplained.

Blood Gas Analysis↗
PubMed1991

Relevance of airflow obstruction and mucus hypersecretion to mortality.

A group of 2,065 gold miners surveyed between 1968 and 1970 was followed to 31 December 1986, at which date 859 were known to be dead. The relationship between airways obstruction and mucus hypersecretion to causes of mortality was analyzed. Airways obstruction was strongly related to mortality from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, coronary heart disease and other causes. After standardization for airways obstruction, mucus hypersecretion was not related to mortality from COPD but remained related to mortality from ischaemic heart disease (IDH) and other causes, even after adjustment for tobacco smoking and dust exposure. Mucus hypersecretion was not related to mortality from lung cancer when standardized for airways obstruction.

Airway Obstruction↗
PubMed1986

Effects of personal, environmental and occupational factors on ischaemic heart disease in white miners in South Africa.

The objective of this study was to determine which personal, environmental and occupational factors were associated with risk of non-fatal ischaemic heart disease in a group of 3930 white underground miners born between 1916 and 1930. Evidence of previous myocardial infarction, based on their electrocardiograms and answers to the Rose questionnaire, was found in 179 men who were taken as the cases of interest. Because of difficulties in coding the occupational histories of all available miners, a representative sample of the remaining 'non-infarct' miners was drawn as a reference sample. Univariate analysis of the 179 cases and 669 referents showed that the personal factors such as age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum cholesterol and smoking were significantly different in the two groups at the 1% level of significance. Logistic regression analysis showed similarly that these same variables were significantly associated with IHD when included in a multivariate model. None of the environmental and occupational variables was significant.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1980

The prevalence of ischaemic heart disease risk factors in middle-aged White miners.

The prevalence of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) risk factors was studied in a random sample of 3930 White miners, aged 45 - 62 years, of whom 202 had evidence of a definite or probable myocardial infarct (MI) on electrocardiographic and chest pain criteria. Ninety-two were classified as "suspect" MI cases and were excluded from the study. The prevalence of the major IHD risk factors (mildly elevated serum total cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and cigarette-smoking) in the 3636 White miners who had not had Mls did not differ from those in comparable populations in the UK, USA and Australia, nor did those of secondary IHD risk factors (elevated blood glucose and plasma uric acid levels and being overweight) differ in the various populations. There was, however, a relatively high percentage of middle-aged White miners with two (25.2%) and three (4.4%) simultaneous IHD risk factors. Such men have a much higher probability of an MI within 8 years than men with no IHD risk factors. This study indicates that 770 out of every 1000 middle-aged White miners would have one or more major IHD risk factors; of these, 252 would have two risk factors and 44 three risk factors. This finding points to the urgent need for an intervention programme for the early detection and prevention of IHD risk factors.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1975

Chronic obstructive lung disease in gold miners.

A survey has been made of 2209 gold miners in the Republic of South Africa. The result showed that there is a significant dose-response relationship between dust inhaled and both chronic bronchitis and airways obstruction. This is found in smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers. The effect of smoking is more potent than that of dust but there does not appear to be a dose-response relationship in regard to smoking. The effect of smoking differs from the effect of dust in that ex-smokers show less bronchitis and less airways obstruction than smokers, but ex-miners do not show a similar advantage over working miners.

Bronchitis↗