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Biomedical subjects

G R Najem

Publications and source records attributed to G R Najem.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Changing patterns of ischaemic heart disease mortality in New Jersey 1968-1982, and the relationship with urbanization.

Geographical variations in the declining rates of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality may provide clues about various environmental risk factors responsible as a mass influence on the population IHD rate. The rate of IHD decline in 18 of 21 NJ counties was 2 to 45% less than the USA national rate of decline. The overall decline of IHD mortality in New Jersey (NJ) counties lagged significantly (p less than 0.05 to p less than 0.0003) behind the national trend. Age-adjusted mortality rate (AAMR) for IHD in NJ's 21 counties were 4% to 56% higher than the US rates. The IHD mortality rate of 14 of 21 NJ, counties and the entire state were significantly (p less than 0.005 to p less than 0.000001) above the US rate. Highly urbanized, industrialized, and densely populated NJ counties had the highest IHD rates. In these highly urbanized, industrialized and overcrowded NJ counties the AAMR for IHD was significantly higher and the IHD decline was significantly lower than that in the US. There was a significant (p less than 0.02 to p less than 0.00001) inverse association between annual per capita income and IHD rates. These data suggest that a high degree of urbanization, extensive industrialization, high population density and low socioeconomic status were acting as mass influences on the NJ population IHD rate.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1990

Health effects of a thorium waste disposal site.

A case-control study of 112 households residing in the vicinity of a thorium waste disposal site found a higher prevalence of birth defects (RR 2.1) and liver diseases (RR 2.3) among exposed than the unexposed group. The numbers were quite small and the confidence intervals wide, however, so that no definite conclusions can be drawn from these data.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Gonorrhoea screening programme.

In a 12-month period, a gonorrhoea screening programme was carried out and 192,983 cultures were collected from various sources in Tennessee; 7% were positive for gonococci. The positivity rate varied from 31-7% in veneral disease clinics to 0-5% in military dependants. The low yield of positive results in certain population groups suggests that selective groups of persons at high risk of infection with gonorrhoea.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Transfusion-induced malaria from an asymptomatic carrier.

An asymptomatic malaria carrier who satisfied the currently recommended standards and criteria of the American Association of Blood Banks for blood donation was the source of the transfusion-induced malaria in this study. The risk of transfusion-induced malaria remains a very real threat in the United States. Any case of unexplained fever following transfusion should be considered as possibly caused by malaria. Delay of the proper diagnosis may be due to unfamiliarity of medical personnel with diagnostic criteria for malaria. Persons who give a history of having resided for long periods in malarious regions, even though they have remained asymptomatic for many years while residing in a malaria free area may still carry the more persistent malarial species and, therefore, should be rejected as donors of whole blood.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health effects of hazardous chemical waste disposal sites in New Jersey and in the United States: a review.

The hazardous chemical waste disposal issue is a widespread problem. Large quantities of chemical wastes have been produced by the chemical industries in the past forty years. Estimates now number disposal sites in the United States at least 30,000. The public and scientists have grown increasingly concerned about the effects of these waste disposal sites not only on the environment, but also on the human body. In this article, we review the number of hazardous chemical waste disposal sites (HCWDS), their construction, difficulties in defining their contents, and the establishment of the Superfund Act. We then discuss various studies in the literature that have attempted to define adverse health effects of HCWDS, particularly those examining Love Canal and sites in New Jersey. In our conclusions, we note the difficulties in establishing direct causal links between HCWDS and dangerous health effects. We suggest that more epidemiological studies are needed, with improved methodology for gathering complete data and studying large samples. Both positive and negative findings of epidemiological studies are important. Positive results will substantiate an association of health effects with HCWDS. Negative results may reduce the concerns of people living near HCWDS. Future investigators need sufficient information about HCWDS materials, possible routes of exposure, and measurements of exposure, as well as sufficient statistical power to detect even modest associations of health effects with HCWDS exposure.

Hazardous Substances↗