A medical surveillance program has been established for 482 persons who were potentially exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins, and dibenzofurans from an electrical transformer fire in a Binghamton, NY office building in 1981. Blood samples were analyzed for serum concentrations of PCBs and for biochemical and hematologic parameters at the time of the fire and 9 to 12 mo later. Firefighters and individuals who were in the building for 25 hr or more were also asked about post-fire symptomatology and examined after 1 yr for disorders of the skin, eyes, liver, and neurologic system. The results indicated that reported exposure was positively related to mean serum PCB levels (p = .004). The means and individual values, however, were within the range reported by other studies of persons with no unusual exposures. Significant correlations were observed between serum PCB concentrations and levels of liver enzymes and lipids, but mean levels of these biochemical parameters were not associated with reported exposure after adjustment for relevant covariables. Approximately one-half of those examined had skin lesions, but no cases of chloracne were detected, and there was no clinical evidence of any other exposure-related systemic disorder. The data suggest that exposure to contaminants from the building did not result in substantial absorption or cause any major short-term health effects.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

An example of record linkage methods to monitor mortality and cancer incidence.

Linkage of New York State record systems was the key strategy in a restrospective cohort study with a 24-34 year followup interval. Parents of children with anencephaly or spina bifida and matched control parents were traced to determine the parents' cancer and death experience. Birth certificates for Upstate New York for 1945-55 were the source of the study groups. This report describes the methodology employed. The New York State Health Department's Cancer Registry and vital records, the State motor vehicle license files, and city and phone directories were searched for the most recent record indicating residence in Upstate New York, cancer incidence, or death.Among the parents of the 1,152 index children were 18,571 person-years of followup for mothers and 21,675 person-years for fathers. Among the 1,152 controls, there were 19,682 person-years of followup for mothers and 22,596 person-years for fathers. Although losses were larger than the optimal, a large proportion of the maximum possible person-years were obtained, regardless of the birth year of the index child. Patterns of loss to followup were similar for cases and controls.Record linkage techniques are especially applicable in followup studies if the risk factor is identifiiable from routinely collected information (for example, congenital neural tube defects listed on birth certificates) and the outcome is also identifiable from such records (for example, cancer registry certificate or death certificate). If the outcome is definitive, reported routinely and comprehensively, and stored on a machine-readable medium, use of a computerized record linkage design is very efficient. A major advantage of the design is that cases and controls are treated equally with respect to outcome ascertainment and followup, so that some potential biases are eliminated. Finally, the method is non-intrusive; the subjects are never contacted or interviewed. Strictly maintained confidentiality is, of course, required.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Increased leukemia, lymphoma, and spontaneous abortion in Western New York following a flood disaster.

The New York State Department of Health was asked in September 1978 of investigate a cluster of leukemias and lymphomas in a rural town in western New York State of less than 1,000 people. Four cases of these diseases had been diagnosed in the town's population in the previous 10 months. Residents were concerned about environmental hazards such as background radiation and contamination of their water supply. A total environmental study of the area was not feasible or warranted, but certain environmental studies of the area were conducted. No environmental health hazards were identified. Incidence rates for towns in the four-county area (population 281,000) surrounding the study town were analyzed, based on data from the New York State Cancer Registry. These four counties had been severely affected by the flood following the 1972 Hurricane Agnes. Examination of annual leukemia and lymphoma incidence rates for these counties for 1966--77 revealed that the rates for towns in the river valley (population 102,000), but not for nonriver-valley towns, were 20 to 50 percent above the statewide rates for 1972--77. All other cancer rates remained level throughout both periods. An analysis of spontaneous abortion rates for the four counties for 1968--77 showed a significant peak in 1973, but not for the rest of upstate New York. The peak was concentrated in the towns in the river valley. The apparent time-space cluster of leukemias and lymphomas in conjunction with a marked increase in the spontaneous abortion rate suggests an unidentified flood-related environmental exposure.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗