Biomedical subjects

N Chau

Publications and source records attributed to N Chau.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Determinants of accident proneness: a case-control study in railway workers.

BACKGROUND: Accident proneness or workers who have more frequent occupational injuries is common but the role of occupational and individual factors has rarely been studied. AIM: To assess the relationships of certain occupational and individual characteristics with frequency of occupational injuries. METHOD: This case-control study included 1305 male workers with occupational injuries during 1999-2000 and 1305 controls from a railway company. A standardized questionnaire was completed by the occupational physician in the presence of the subject. The data were analysed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Having more than one injury was associated with short service in the present job, younger age, sleep disorders, smoking, requesting a job change, physical disability and lack of physical activity. Safety training was negatively related to injury frequency. Short service in the present job was the only significant factor for single injuries. CONCLUSION: This study identified a number of work and individual factors that predicted occupational injury frequency and may be useful in designing preventative measures. Occupational physicians could assist workers to be more aware of the risks and to find remedial measures.

Accident Proneness↗

PubMed2005

[Prevalence of impairments and social inequalities].

BACKGROUND: Population ageing and longer duration of the working career could increase the prevalence of impairments and disabilities whereas there have been few data to help prevention and care. This study aimed at describing the prevalence of various types of impairments and assessing their social inequalities in the Lorraine population (north-eastern France). METHODS: The sample included 6.214 subjects aged 15 or more from 8.000 households randomly selected in the Lorraine population. A mailed questionnaire including socio-demographical characteristics, job, and various types of impairments was used. The data were analysed with the chi2 independence test, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and the Mantel-Haenszel test. RESULTS: The prevalence of at least one impairment was 30% in both sexes. It varied from about 20% for subjects aged less than 40 years to about 60% for the subjects aged 70 years or more. It was higher in men than in women among the individuals aged more than 50 years (OR adjusted on age: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.04-1.44). The impairments were generally multiple for the subjects aged over 50. The prevalence of at least one impairment was higher for workmen (OR adjusted on age: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.68-2.66), farmers, craftsmen, traders and heads of firms (OR adjusted on age: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.17-2.18) and for employees (OR adjusted on age: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.29-2.03) in comparison with executives, intellectual professionals and teachers. For workmen a higher prevalence was observed for all types of impairments: intellectual and psychological functions, language, hearing, vision, visceral functions, and skeleton and posture. Farmers, craftsmen, traders, heads of firms and employees showed an excess for most types of impairments. Social inequalities were significant for various age groups during their period of occupational activity, but not after retirement. Unemployed people also had an excess of impairments. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of impairments strongly increased with advancing age. Marked inequalities were observed between various socio-occupational categories. Men were more affected than the women over 50 years of age. Impairments represent a health index which is useful for prevention to reduce their causes and consequences.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

[Tobacco, alcohol and psychotropic drugs in Lorraine, epidemiological survey of the general population].

The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of the use of tobacco, alcohol and psychotropic drugs by the people of Lorraine and characterise the consumption behaviours of that population. The sample consisted of 6571 people from the ages of 18 to 74 who were randomly selected from the telephone directory and were interviewed through the use of a self-questionnaire sent out by mail. The behaviours vary according to sex and gender. Tobacco is the product with the highest prevalence rate of consumption. This rate decreases with age and is most frequent in sectors of the population who are less educated, holding low or poorly skilled jobs or unemployed. Excessive alcohol consumption is observed in 13.8% of men and 3.8% of women. Regular consumption of psychotropic drugs is two times higher in women than in men, and it increases with age. Women who are single, divorced or widowed are at the most risk, as are those who are not engaged in any professional activity. The prevalence of the consumption of psycho-active licit toxic substances in the Lorraine population differs little from the national French average as far as men are concerned, yet appears to be higher for women. These results are very useful for regional prevention activities such as those within the Regional Health Programmes framework.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Individual characteristics in occupational accidents due to imbalance: a case-control study of the employees of a railway company.

BACKGROUND: Falls are frequent occupational accidents, and are responsible for a significant amount of lost working time and, more importantly, for a high mortality. The factors involved in falling mechanisms can be of external or individual origin, the latter being less well identified. AIMS: To assess the relations between certain individual characteristics and occupational accidents due to imbalance. METHODS: A total of 427 male employees, who had been victims of at least one occupational accident with sick leave due to imbalance (cases) and 427 controls were recruited among the employees of a large French railway company. A standardised questionnaire on life conditions and professional factors, and a description of the accidents was filled in by an occupational physician for each subject. RESULTS: Some job categories were more affected by a specific release mechanism of work related falls. Certain individual characteristics such as smoking, alcohol consumption, inactivity, sleep disorders, and request for a job change were correlated with the occurrence of occupational accidents. Sick leaves of eight days or over were more frequent in older and overweight injured workers. Some lesions were linked with the specific fall released mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: Individual characteristics can increase the risk of occupational accidents, especially falling. This study identified subjects most at risk on whom prevention related to working conditions and falls could be focused.

Accident Proneness↗

PubMed2002

[School-related injuries: incidence, causes, and consequences].

BACKGROUND: School accidents are frequent but little epidemiological information is available to guide prevention. In this study we examined the incidence, causes, and consequences of school accidents as a function of the pupil's characteristics. METHODS: An epidemiological study was conducted in all 2 396 adolescents attending two secondary school groups. Sociodemographic characteristics of the pupils and data on school accidents during a one-year period were collected using a questionnaire filled out by the school nurse in the presence of the victims. The chi-square independence test, Fisher's exact test and the logistic regression method were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Sports and physical training (SPT) accidents accounted for 52.8% of the accidents, recreation accidents for 12.7% and other accidents for 33.6%. The annual incidence of one accident or more, for all types of accidents combined, was 12.9%, that for two or more accidents 2.3%. The rate of SPT and recreation accidents decreased strongly with age. SPT accidents were more frequent in girls, the other accidents more frequent in boys. Among the SPT accidents, 69.2% occurred under training conditions and 33.7% were caused by another person. Causes mentioned by the victims were: carelessness (26.0%), clumsiness (17.5%), misappreciation of risk (13.8%), tiredness (9.5%), nervous irritation (8.6%), rowdyism (6.0%), disrespect of the teacher's instructions (6.0%). The lesions were: contusions (50.7%), wounds (18.7%), tendinitis (11.7%), wrenches (9.2%), others (7.3%). They differed between age groups, sex, and category of sports. Localizations were mainly: fingers (27.4%), other localizations of the upper limb (20.1%), head (20.6%). A physician was consulted for 19.5% of the accidents and hospitalization followed 2.7%. Absence from school and exemption from SPT were frequent (11.4% and 16.3% respectively). CONCLUSION: The results could be used to inform adolescents so they and their families could become more aware of the risk of school accidents. Prevention should mainly focus on the younger children. An effort must be made regarding risk assessment in order to help the pupils become more careful and responsible during their sports activities. The choice of these activities and the materials used should be made more suitable for adolescents.

Accidents↗

PubMed2001

Falls and working individuals: role of extrinsic and intrinsic factors.

Falls are frequent occupational accidents involving workers and lead to important social and economic consequences both for the individual and for the employer. Different factors can modify balance control and lead to falling, especially environment-related and individual factors. The literature would appear to indicate that there have been few studies on the intrinsic factors involving the mechanisms of generating falls. This review determines the main factors involved in the mechanisms of falling, whether related to the environment, work or the individual. Knowledge of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors contributing to the fall could allow securer environment planning and occupational conditions for employers, and the use of balance rehabilitation methods for individuals to reduce the risk of falls.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed2001

Quality of life in patients at risk of medullary thyroid carcinoma and followed by a comprehensive medical network: trends for future evaluations.

BACKGROUND: As shown in a previous study, the knowledge of the genetic risk in individuals belonging to families at risk of medullary-thyroid carcinoma (MTC) could be associated with impaired quality of life (QoL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the present study, we compared the QoL scores obtained in the same period with the subjective quality of life profile (SQLP): in 82 individuals at risk of MTC who had been tested for Ret-mutations; in 200 women at risk of familial breast/ovarian cancer syndrome (BOC); and in a control population of 3,501 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in favour of healthy volunteers as well as individuals at risk of MTC, over women at risk of BOC (mean scores: 0.89, 0.85, and 0.64, respectively, P < or = 0.001), but QoL scores were not statistically different between individuals at risk of MTC and the control population (P = 0.2). However, they were significantly inferior in the subgroup of germline Ret-mutation carriers, as compared to the control population (mean scores: 0.73 and 0.89, P = 0.04). In the latter, the relationships with the children and the family were the most important facets of their QoL. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the potentially negative impact of the knowledge of the genetic risk of cancer and its consequences in terms of morbidity and follow-up, on the QoL in people followed at oncogenetic visits.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

A method for shortening instruments using the Rasch model. Validation on a hand functional measure.

BACKGROUND: Many measurement instruments, particularly measures of hand functional ability, frequently comprise a large number of items. Reduced versions of these instruments can facilitate their use. This work proposes a new method for shortening an instrument. METHODS: The method proposed was based on a scale of item difficulty calculated using the Rasch model. It was applied on a hand functional measure comprising 67 tests. The sample included 194 patients with hand lesions. The shortened instrument obtained was compared with those provided by classic methods used in the literature, with item random choice, and with shortened versions proposed by four independent experts, two rehabilitation physicians and two occupational therapists, who are clinicians familiar with the tool. All the statistical analyses were carried out on a random sub-group of two-thirds of the sample. A cross validation was then carried out on the remaining third. RESULTS: The reduction obtained had score non significantly different from that of the original instrument. In addition, the intra-class correlation coefficient and the Cronbach alpha coefficient were high. Among the different degrees of reduction investigated, the 12-item version seemed to be appropriate. Our method appeared to provide better results in terms of discriminant validity and internal validity than the choices of the four experts. The reductions produced were also better than those obtained by classic methods based on principal component analysis and multiple linear regression, as well as those obtained by random choices of items. CONCLUSION: The method presented is pertinent and useful. The reduction obtained appeared to be better than the choices of experts and the reductions provided by classic methods. The method could be used in other fields.

Accidents↗

PubMed2001

Prevalence of impairments, disabilities, handicaps and quality of life in the general population: a review of recent literature.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence rates of morbidity in the general population through bibliographic research. METHODS: Articles relating to impairment, disability, handicap, quality of life and their prevalence in the general population, published between January 1990 and March 1998, were selected on the MEDLINE database. FINDINGS: The 20 articles retained out of 433 used 41 different indicators. Indicators of impairment, disability, handicap and low quality of life showed prevalence rates of 0.1-92%, 3.6-66%, 0.6-56% and 1.8-26% respectively, depending on age and the accuracy of indicators. The heterogeneity of the conceptual framework and insufficient recognition of the importance of indicator accuracy, the age factor and the socioeconomic characteristics of the studied populations impede reliable international comparison. CONCLUSION: Further standardization of indicators is therefore required. The revision of the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps may make it possible to resolve some of the difficulties encountered.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Associations of family environment and individual factors with tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use in adolescents.

Despite abundant literature the respective roles of psychosomatic status, personality, health perception, family environment, and sport activity in tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use have not been well known. To assess their roles, an epidemiological cross-sectional study was conducted in 3294 middle and high school adolescents, 2396 (73%) of whom agreed to participate. The standardized questionnaire was filled out by the teenagers under the supervision of the teachers. Strong associations were found between tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use. The prevalence of alcohol use and illicit drug use were respectively 7 and 10 times higher in smokers than in non-smokers. On the whole, the potential risk factors for tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use were age, psychosomatic status and psychotropic drug consumption, boring family atmosphere, not living with both father and mother, and health perception. Mother being a housewife was a protective factor. No marked role was noted for the head of family's socio-occupational category. Personality would be indicators of self-control ability. Indeed, some self-reported personalities (serious, attentive, calm, organized) had protection roles whereas some others (easily irritable, aggressive, worried, clumsy, careless, solitary, etc.) were risk factors (risk-taking or deviant behaviors). Some sports activities were found to be negatively related, but some others related positively with drug use, possibly due to repetitive meetings between the adolescents at risk. Preventive measures may be targeted at these risk factors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Relationship between plasma retinol and infectious diseases in the elderly. A case-control study.

This study assessed the relationship between plasma retinol deficiency and infectious diseases. The plasma retinol, anthropometric (Body Mass Index, triceps skinfold thickness, mid-arm muscle circumference) and biological indices (proteins, albumin, transferrin, prealbumin, retinol binding protein) of protein-energy malnutrition of 63 patients with infectious diseases (ID) were compared to those of two control groups of similar age: 527 patients with other diseases (C1) and 92 healthy people (C2). Plasma retinol, albumin, transferrin and prealbumin were significantly lower in the ID group than in the C1 group. A lower body mass index was noted in men only. The ID and C1 groups had lower values for all indices (except for mid-arm muscle circumference). The ID group had lower albumin, transferrin, and prealbumin than the C1 group. The percentage of patients with plasma retinol below 300 microg/l was higher in the ID group (48.0% in men, 39% in women) than in the C1 group (25.0 and 21.5%); the odds ratio adjusted on age and sex equaled 2.46, 95% CI (1.39-4.37). It was lower than 2% in the C2 group. The results obtained with multiple regression analysis showed that, in the patients, the association between plasma retinol and infectious diseases remained significant when age, sex, anthropometric and biological indices were taken into account. Consequently, it is useful to check up the food intake habits of the elderly.

Aged↗

PubMed1998

Asymmetry correction equations for hand volume, grip and pinch strengths in healthy working people.

Assessments of oedema and decrease in hand strength are useful for patients with a hand lesion. This study examined the asymmetry of the arms and determined the estimates of the unknown prior to lesion values for hand volume, grip strengths assessed with a Jamar dynamometer (GS[J]) and a Collins dynamometer (GS[C]), and pinch strength with a Jamar pinch gauge (PS) in 100 healthy working people. Hand volume, GS(J), GS(C) and PS of the dominant hand were respectively 3.6 +/- 4.1%, 6.6 +/- 9.2%, 11.7 +/- 11.2%, and 8.0 +/- 13.2% higher than those of the non-dominant hand (p < 0.001). Very good estimates were obtained with the values of the contralateral arm for all the indices studied. The correlation coefficient equalled 0.95 for hand volume, 0.91 for GS(J), 0.83 for GS(C), and 0.72 for PS. These estimates allow us to evaluate the evolution of oedema and hand strengths in patients with hand injury, especially to determine whether they could return to work as they are mostly manual workers with demanding jobs.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Can the evolution to pneumoconiosis be suspected in coal miners? A longitudinal study.

To assess whether the evolution to pneumoconiosis may be suspected in coal miners, we conducted a 4-yr longitudinal study of 80 dust-exposed miners with chest X-ray findings classified 0/1 or 1/0 according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) classification (exposed to coal mine dust, suspected of pneumoconiosis [ES group]) and two control groups having normal X-rays. The first of these latter two groups included 80 miners with similar exposure to that of the first group (exposure with normal X-rays [EN]), whereas the second group consisted of markedly less exposed miners (no exposure with normal X-rays [NN]). The protocol comprised a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms and smoking, assessment of cumulative coal-mine-dust exposure, X-rays, computed tomographic (CT) scans, and lung-function tests. The study was conducted in 1990 and 1994 by the same medical team. At the end of the follow-up, 24 members of the ES group had worsened X-ray findings, and 10 of them had X-ray findings classified as 1/1 or greater. In the EN and NN groups, six and one subjects, respectively, had worsened X-ray findings. At the first examination, subjects who developed pneumoconiosis had significantly lower values for FEV1/FVC ratio, maximum midexpiratory flow (MMEF), and maximal forced expiratory flow at 25% of vital capacity (FEF25%), and higher CT-scan micronodule scores. This latter score and FEF25% were significantly associated with the evolution to pneumoconiosis in the ES group, and scanner micronodule score and MMEF were significantly associated with this in all three groups combined. Worsening findings on X-ray and change to pneumoconiosis must be controlled in coal miners. The findings in this study offer the possibility of identifying miners who especially need follow-up and monitoring.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

[Accidents among students in professional or technological schools in Lorraine].

BACKGROUND: School accidents in adolescents in professional and technological secondary schools are relatively frequent. This work investigates these accidents in Lorraine (a French region) to identify preventive measures. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 4,751 adolescents from five volunteering schools. Only accidents occurring during one school-year and declared to the Social Security Services as work accidents were studied. RESULTS: Incidence of accidents per 1,000 subjects was 52.0: 21.3 for accidents during sports and physical training (SPT), 7.8 for those occurring during school training (except SPT), and 22.9 for spare time accidents. The incidence increased strongly with age and differed greatly between the type of schools. Girls had more accidents during SPT than boys. Injuries during school training were wounds and contusions of upper limb while the injuries during SPT and spare time were mainly articular disorders, contusions, and wounds of the upper limb, the lower limb, and the head and neck. A physician was consulted in almost 100% of the injuries, a radiological examination was performed for 75%, and a surgical intervention for 14% of the injuries. Absence from school, exemption from workshops and from SPT were frequent. The predominant risk factors were the type of activities, especially activities the adolescents were not accustomed to, personal behavior and risks taken by adolescents. CONCLUSION: Accidents are frequent, in particular among older adolescents. It is important to identify activities at risk, and to target prevention and awareness campaigns, assessment training to evaluate risks of each activity, and promoting safe behavior, although environmental factors cannot be excluded.

Absenteeism↗

PubMed1997

Comparison between estimates of hand volume and hand strengths with sex and age with and without anthropometric data in healthy working people.

Edema and hand strength measurements are useful for the recovery assessment of patients with a hand lesion. This work determined and compared estimates of hand volume, grip strengths (measured with a Jamar and a Collins dynamometer), and pinch strength (with a Jamar pinch gauge) in terms of sex and age with or without anthropometric indices in healthy working people. The sample included 100 subjects from within the staffs of two rehabilitation centres. For both grip strengths, multiple linear regression models including body height, weight, and arm muscle area were very good (multiple correlation coefficient R of about 0.84) and clearly better than those obtained with sex and age only. For pinch strength, the best estimate was obtained with sex and arm muscle area (R of 0.76); for hand volume, the model with sex, body height, and weight provided the best result (R of 0.93). These findings suggested that anthropometric indices easy to measure must be taken into account to estimate hand volume and hand strengths.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

[Unidimensionality of a functional measure for patient with an injured upper limb].

The construction of an instrument including a number of tests requires an analysis of its structure and its unidimensionality (which allows calculation of global score), and the determination of the difficulty level of various tests. This study examined a tool including 67 tests designed to evaluate the functional ability of patients with an injured upper limb. The patients seen in a rehabilitation centre during 12 months (173 subjects) were evaluated by the occupational therapists familiar with the tool. The statistical analyses were made using the principal component analysis method (PCAM), the Cronbach's coefficient and the Rasch model. The PCAM showed 3 principal factors which explained 44%, 10% and 4% of the total variance respectively in the case of patients with injured dominant limb. The predominance of the first axis and the high ratio of first by second eigenvalues suggested the unidimensionality of the tool. The Cronbach's value of 0.97 attested the good congruence of the items. The results obtained with the Rasch model seemed to be consistent with the hypothesis of the unidimensionality of the tool. This analysis also provided the difficulty scale of various tests. Similar results were obtained in patients with injured non dominant limb or with all the sample. The methods used provide complementary results.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1995

Personality self-representations of patients with hand injury, and its relationship with work injury.

This study compared the personality self-representations of 288 hand injured patients with those of 959 young people (15-25 years old) randomly selected from the general population (noted GP), and with those of 336 unemployed people of all ages in professional training (U) in Lorraine (north-eastern France). The relationship between patients' personality self-representations and injury was also investigated. Personality self-representations included 14 questions: in your own opinion are you sociable?, at ease with others?, serious?, careful?, dynamic?, optimistic?, worried?, irritable?, clumsy?, solitary?, organised?, ambitious?, do you have a sense of responsibility?, and many plans? The patients had similar self-representations to GP except for the items non clumsy (odds ratio adjusted on age and sex OR = 2.40, p < 0.05) and optimistic (OR = 1.70, but 0.05 < p < 0.10). The frequencies of non irritable, non clumsy and non solitary people were higher in patients than in the U group (OR about 2.40, p < 0.01). By contrast, the other items were more favourable for the U group except for the items sociable, organised and having many plans. Self-representation items were significantly related to some socio-demographic data. The work injured workmen having one or more previous work injuries during the last five years were more at ease with others than the other subjects. Among the work injured workmen who had had no previous work injury during this time, the people aged 29 or less (the highest risk age class) were more optimistic than the others (71% vs 49%, p < 0.05); a difference was also found for the items at ease with others, careful, dynamic, and non worried, but it was not significant possibly due to the small number of subjects. The sum of these five items differed between the two age groups (3.29 +/- 1.49 vs 2.55 +/- 1.68, p < 0.05). These simple items would provide an interesting approach in terms of personality which could explain in part the excess of work injuries in young people, though the work requirement still seemed to be the highest risk factor.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed1995

Oral health in adolescents from a small French town.

In France, caries are more prevalent in rural areas than in large cities. This study analyzed the relationship between number of oral health indices and some known risk factors (toothbrushing, sugar consumption, saliva components) and sociodemographic factors in adolescents from a small town. The sample included 112 children aged 12-14 in the north-east of France. School marks was found to be better linked with dental caries indices than the socio-occupational category of parents: gingival index (GI), DMFS, DMFT and caries severity (CS) significantly increased with decreasing school marks; oral plaque was related to socio-occupational of parents. The analysis using the regression method showed that the variance explained by the various factors studied was modest (between 23 and 30%) for GI, initial caries sites (IS), DS, DMFS, DMFT and CS, and was small for plaque (5%) and calculus (3%). This would be due in part to the wide dispersion of these indices. The sex had a non-significant regression coefficient for all oral health indices investigated. For GI, only mutans streptococci (MS) and plaque had a significant regression coefficient. Calculus was explained by any factor considered. Only MS had a significant part in plaque. IS was explained by MS, toothbrushing and age. For DS, only toothbrushing, MS and sweet drinks during meals had a significant part. DMFS and DMFT were explained only by MS and age. CS was explained by MS, age, salivary buffer pH, salivary flow rate, and toothbrushing.

Adolescent↗