Biomedical subjects

J Schulman

Publications and source records attributed to J Schulman.

94 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Congenital malformations and birthweight in areas with potential environmental contamination.

Public concern exists about the potential for reproductive damage that may result from exposures to environmental contaminants. Therefore, the authors sought to determine if there was an association between a child's congenital malformation or a child's lowered weight at birth and his or her mother's residence in a census tract where a site of environmental contamination had been documented. Exposure designations were derived from existing sources of information. Except for an elevated risk (odds ratio = 1.5) for infants with malformations of the heart and circulatory system, this investigation did not reveal increased risks for most malformations or for lowered birthweight among babies born to women who lived in these census tracts. Methodologic issues inherent to investigations that rely on existing data sources are discussed.

Birth Weight↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Exposure misclassification due to residential mobility during pregnancy in epidemiologic investigations of congenital malformations.

This study addressed the question of how maternal migration between conception and birth affects estimates of risk in studies of congenital malformations when movement is related to the exposure. For example, in studying the potential association between proximity to a chemical waste site and the occurrence of birth defects, incorrect inferences might be drawn if maternal residence at birth was used as a surrogate for exposure at conception in the case when a significant amount of media attention influenced some women to move away from the site after becoming pregnant. A simple statistical model is proposed that defines the distance to a fixed exposure point measured at birth as a function of the distance to the point measured at conception, the probability of movement, the direction of movement, and the distance moved. Bias is the difference between the expected results when distance is measured at birth versus conception. The amount of bias can be substantial for movement patterns that may be likely to occur. This simplified model was used in an effort to explore and better understand the relationships between maternal migration and risk.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cigarette smoking and self-reported health problems among U.S. high school seniors, 1982-1989.

PURPOSE: To estimate the independent effect of cigarette smoking on respiratory tract symptoms and health status indicators among high school seniors. DESIGN: Consolidated data sets from one-time cross-sectional survey designs. SETTING: High schools in the United States, 1982-1989. SAMPLE: A total of 26,504 high school seniors, with an 83% response rate. MEASURES: Odds ratios for respiratory tract symptoms and health status indicators for cigarette smokers compared with nonsmokers, while controlling for sex, socioeconomic status, and use of other drugs. RESULTS: High school seniors who were regular cigarette smokers and who began smoking by grade nine were significantly more likely than never smokers to report shortness of breath when not exercising (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 2.7), coughing spells (OR = 2.1), productive cough (OR = 2.4), and wheezing or gasping (OR = 2.6). These smokers were also more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professional for an emotional or psychologic complaint (OR = 3.0) and to rate their overall health as poorer than average (OR = 2.4). We found strong dose-response relationships for most outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Cigarette smoking among high school seniors is associated with respiratory tract symptoms and poorer overall physical health and may be a marker for underlying mental health problems. Smoking prevention activities directed at adolescents should include information on the early adverse health consequences of cigarette smoking.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Quality control of birth defect registry data: a case study.

The California Birth Defects Monitoring Program maintains a population-based registry of children born with congenital malformations. Trained data collectors routinely visit hospitals and genetics centers to identify cases and abstract information. These data are provided to the public health, medical, and lay communities and are used for conducting prevalence and case-control studies. A stratified sample of each data collector's work for one data year was reevaluated to assess the quality of case ascertainment and record abstraction. The sample included data from 109 facilities (37 percent) and 729 abstracts (5 percent). There are three steps in data collection: case-finding, the process of identifying potential cases; culling, the process of reviewing the charts of potential cases to determine which are reportable; and abstracting, the process of recording information from the charts of reportable cases. The probability that a potential case is missed during casefinding is 7 percent for small facilities, 4 percent for medium facilities, and 1 percent for large facilities. The probability that a reportable case is mistakenly classified as not reportable during culling is 3 percent for small and medium facilities and 1 percent for large facilities. The probabilities of incorrectly abstracting selected diagnoses and demographic items are slightly higher (8 percent for small and medium facilities and 6 percent for large facilities) because these are more complex processes than are casefinding and culling. Finally, the overall probability of missing a case from the registry is 3 percent. Therefore, these data indicate that the information collected by this registry are both reliable and complete.

California↗