PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Wannag

Publications and source records attributed to A Wannag.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

[Occupational health services in Norway in the 1990's].

Around 1,100 physicians are engaged (part time or full time) in the occupational health service. The service takes about 5% of the national resource of physicians' work, costs the businesses around NOK 600 millions annually and covers 35% of the work force. The occupational health service is a heterogeneous service with great variations in organization, size, resources, costs and activities. 40% of the physicians' work concerns work-related activities. Treatment of workers' diseases which are not related to exposure at the work place takes up 22% of the physicians' working time. A fair proportion of the personnel in the occupational health service are well educated, but the service as a whole makes only a partial effort to promote the national objectives for the working environment. In spite of this, no authority has accepted responsibility for supervising the service.

Norway↗
PubMed1995

Occupational and environmental medicine in Norway.

A short review is presented on the field of occupational health services (OHSs) and occupational medicine in Norway, with due attention to their history. The current Work Environment Act of 1977 requires management in various industries and enterprises to establish and finance OHSs to obtain advice on matters relating to the work environment. The advisory role of the OHSs, with a focus on prevention, has not yet been adequately implemented. A brief report is given on the current status of occupational health, institutions, teaching in medical faculties, and research activities. As work-related and environmental exposures interact in the causation of diseases, integration of the preventive activities within occupational and environmental medicine is foreseen.

Disease Notification↗
PubMed1993

Work content of Norwegian occupational physicians.

There is little empirical knowledge of the work done in occupational health services. In a study of the work of 50 Norwegian occupational physicians, their work on 249 workdays was recorded and classified into nine different categories according to the work content. Most (40%) of the work concerned work environment matters, 26% went to nonwork-related activities, 18% was for administration, 4% was for personal proficiency, and 12% went to various other activities. A total of 36% of the work concerned preventive activities, and 30% involved curative activities, of which two-thirds (22%) was for nonwork-related illnesses. This latter figure seems large in comparison with the preventive aims of occupational health services given by the Norwegian labor inspectorate. The physicians spent little time on educating employees about work environment matters and on new projects to ensure good work environment standards. The amount of activity involving occupational rehabilitation was fair.

Health Education↗
PubMed1993

Classification system for work in occupational health services.

Even though the World Health Organization has repeatedly advocated research on occupational health services to increase knowledge of its priorities and efficiency, no empirical study on work in such services is registered in major data bases. A common classification system for work in occupational health services is not available, but would facilitate comparison between studies. This report presents a feasible, reliable, and relevant classification for this purpose. Central among the policy-relevant questions on occupational health services is whether or not they work in accordance with their aims. Therefore, the project started from the aims of such services (in Norway and in the convention proposed by the International Labour Office in 1985) to obtain congruence between the instrument's eight categories of work and the aims of occupational health services. The classification was constructed in cooperation with occupational physicians and proved to be easy to use.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1989

[Occupational physicians in Norway--the number and work hours. An indicator of the development of occupational health services?].

We do not know the present size of the occupational health service in Norway, and we have no certain knowledge about occupational health physicians. Many of them are not registered in our health personnel registry. In 1971 there were 663 occupational health physicians. They did about 2% of the total work of Norwegian doctors. When the data in the health personnel registry are adjusted, they indicate that Norway should have somewhat more than 1,100 occupational health physicians in 1986, doing roughly 5% of the work of all doctors. However, in addition to the above, there is extensive "contact with doctors through the place of work". In a national survey conducted in 1983, one million employees said that this possibility was open to them. In 1988 the Directorate of Labour Inspection recorded only 550,000 employees offered an occupational health service. It is unknown what kind of service the other 450,000 employees receive, who delivers it, and how many hours of work this takes.

Norway↗
PubMed1983

Fibre type and concentration in the lungs of workers in an asbestos cement factory.

The predominant asbestos fibre type used in the production of asbestos cement is chrysotile. The use of asbestos in relation to fibre type in a Norwegian asbestos cement plant during 1942-80 was 91.7% chrysotile, 3.1% amosite, 4.1% crocidolite, and 1.1% anthophyllite respectively. Electron microscopy and x ray microanalysis of lung tissue samples of asbestos cement workers who had died of malignant pleural mesothelioma or bronchogenic carcinoma showed a completely inverse ratio with regard to fibre type. The percentage of chrysotile asbestos in lung tissue varied between 0% and 9% whereas the corresponding numbers for the amphiboles were 76% and 99%. These differences are discussed with respect to the behaviour of different fibre types in the human body and to the occurrence of malignant mesothelioma in this asbestos cement factory.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Risk of cancer in the Norwegian aluminium industry.

The study comprises 7,410 male employees from the Norwegian primary aluminium industry, and presents overall mortality as well as cancer incidence. During the period 1953-79, 428 new cases of cancer were observed compared to the expected number of 412.2. The only statistically significant difference for the four investigated plants combined was cancer of the lung with 57 observed against 35.9 expected cases. The increased risk was almost solely confined to two subgroups in processing departments; workers with a short duration of employment and workers with a very long duration of employment in the older plants. These results were difficult to interpret because of the problems in selecting the appropriate reference population for estimation of expected number of cases of lung cancer. Furthermore, the individual occupational histories were incomplete and there was no information on smoking habits. In order to determine whether there is an excess risk for workers with long periods of employment in the newer plants, it is necessary to wait for another 10-20 years, when more conclusive data will become available.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1981

Effect of thiocarbamate derivatives on copper, zinc, and mercury distribution in rats and mice.

Oral treatment of rats with tetramethylthiuram disulphide (TMTDS), 0.1% mixed in the food (corresponding to 20--30 mumol daily) for one week, increased the brain levels of endogenous copper and zinc to 120% and 170%, respectively, of the control levels. Mice injected with HgCl2 (2.5 mumol/kg) were used to study further the effect of DDC (diethyldithiocarbamate), disulfiram, TMTDS or CS2 on heavy metal distribution. The brain levels of Hg were significantly increased in mice given DDC or TMTDS. Disulfiram and CS2 increased the brain levels marginally. Pregnant rats exposed to HgCl2 (0.5 mumol/kg) were also included in the studies. Treatment with DDC (0.5 mmol/kg) immediately after the mercury injection, increased the maternal brain concentration of mercury considerably, as measured after 24 and 78 h. The kidney levels were also increased. In the foetuses, the brain and liver levels were transiently increased after treatment with diethyldithiocarbamate. The observations support the hypothesis that the neurotoxicity of diethyldithiocarbamate and other thiocarbamates may be related to changes in heavy metal metabolism.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Inorganic fibers in lung tissue from patients with pleural plaques or malignant mesothelioma.

The concentration of inorganic fibers in the lungs of patients with malignant mesothelioma and pleural plaques has been compared to that of patients without cancer or chronic respiratory diseases. The fiber concentrations have been determined by scanning electron microscopy and given as number of fibers per gram of dried tissue. A statistically significant difference in inorganic fiber content was found between the different groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

The effect of immediate and delayed treatment with 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulphonate on the distribution and toxicity of inorganic mercury in mice and in foetal and adult rats.

The distribution and excretion of mercury were studied in mice and rats given a single injection of HgCl2 combined with chelation treatment. BAL-sulph (2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulphonate) given intravenously (500 mumol SH/kg) to mice 24 hrs after the mercury injection (2.0 mumol Hg/kg) reduced the kidney Hg-level significantly, while NAPA (N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine) and BAL (2,3-dimercaptopropanol) did not. Severe kidney damage with oliguria was observed in pregnant as well as in non-pregnant rats after injection of 5 mumol/kg of HgCl2. The gross pathological changes could be avoided with immediate treatment with BAL-sulph (500 mumol SH/kg), and such treatment protect against the oliguric reaction. Treatment delayed for 24 hrs reduced the renal Hg-levels significantly, but was ineffective in preventing the kidney damage. This indicates that irreversible changes might have occurred in kidneys cells at this time. The Hg-levels in the brain were either unchanged or lowered in animals given BAL-sulph treatment. BAL-sulph is supposed to act by chelation Hg++, particularly in the extracellular space. The complexes formed appears to be rapidly excreted by healthy kidneys. Mercury poisoning with severe renal damage is, however, associated with a block in urinary Hg-excretion. The poisoned animals responded on the BAL-sulph treatment with a substantial raise of faecal mercury excretion.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Human urinary excretion of the herbicide 2-methyl-4-chloropheno xyacetic acid.

To see if urinary 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) excretion could be used to estimate MCPA exposure, four healthy males ingested 5 mg MCPA. The MCPA in the urine was extracted and anlyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography. About 50% of the ingested dose was detected in the urine within 48 h. On the fifth day after intake the MCPA concentration in the urine was below the level of detection, 0.2 microgram/ml. The MCPA did not increase those serum enzymes indicating liver cell damage (S-alanine-aminotransferase, S-alkaline-phosphate). Some creatine kinase (CK) and S-aspartate-aminotransferase (ASAT) values were pathological, but, as all CK values were normal in two persons and all ASAT values were normal in three persons, it not likely that MCPA had a toxic effect on muscle cells. MCPA in urine seems to be a useful indicator of MCPA intake in humans. All the urine passed within 48 h of MCPA exposure must be collected.

2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic Acid↗