Biomedical subjects

Eduardo O Romano

Publications and source records attributed to Eduardo O Romano.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Language, income, education, and alcohol-related fatal motor vehicle crashes.

This paper investigates the role of race/ethnicity, language skills (a proxy for acculturation among Hispanics in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas), income, and education level on alcohol-related fatal motor vehicle crashes. Using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), we confirmed previous state-based studies showing that high income and education levels have a protective influence on alcohol-related fatal motor vehicle crashes. We also confirmed that language proficiency/acculturation tends to increase the vulnerability of Hispanic women to alcohol-related fatalities. Differences in alcohol-related fatality rates across Hispanic subgroups are observed. Future reductions in alcohol-related traffic fatalities may require prevention policies that take into account existent variations in acculturation, income, and education among racial/ethnic groups and subgroups.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2004

Home smoking restrictions. Problems in classification.

BACKGROUND: Evidence of the effectiveness of smoking restrictions in workplaces and other public places is creating awareness of the role of bans in private spaces. The purpose of this study was to examine who is affected by strict home smoking bans at the household level. METHODS: Using the 1998/1999 Tobacco Use Supplement to the U.S. Current Population Survey, we examined the characteristics of 43,613 households with two or more adults who responded to the home ban question. Analyses were conducted in 2003-2004. RESULTS: An estimated 12% of sample households provided inconsistent reports about home smoking bans. Multimember households with smokers were substantially less likely to consistently report strict home bans. Discrepancies vary systematically by smoking behavior, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. Children living with smokers are especially at risk of inconsistent adult reports. CONCLUSIONS: Analyses should not rely on individual reports of home bans, especially in households with smokers and children. Policies should be directed toward educating members of households with smokers and children about the importance of household bans.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Alcohol involvement in burn, submersion, spinal cord, and brain injuries.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol is involved in many injuries, but estimates of this involvement vary considerably. Most information pertains to deaths although most injuries are nonfatal. MATERIAL/METHODS: The portion of fatal and nonfatal injuries involving alcohol was determined from a comprehensive Oklahoma surveillance system that tracks persons killed or hospitalized due to burns, submersions, spinal cord injuries (SCIs), and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Logistic regression was used to determine factors that explain the percentage of alcohol involvement in fatal versus nonfatal cases. RESULTS: The victim was alcohol involved in 17% of fire burns, 4% of scald burns, 24% of submersions, 34% of SCIs, and 41% of TBIs where involvement was known. Large differences existed in total alcohol involvement between age and gender groups and between fatal and nonfatal cases of fire burns (31% vs.11%) and submersions (33% vs. 6%). Large differences also existed in victim alcohol involvement between fatal and nonfatal cases of intentional SCIs (0% vs. 48%) and TBIs (38% vs. 70%). Those who imbibed during the day were not at excess risk of scald injury, but they were twice as likely to suffer a serious fire burn, 3 times as likely to suffer a spinal cord injury, 3.5 times as likely to suffer a submersion injury, and 2 to 4 times as likely to suffer a TBI. These excess risks persisted for all age groups between 15 and 64, with the excess risk especially high for underage drinkers aged 15 to 20. In contrast, people aged 65 and older did not appear to be at excess risk on days that they imbibed. CONCLUSIONS: A large percentage of fatal and nonfatal injuries as classified by diagnosis group involve alcohol. People who had been drinking were substantially more likely to suffer serious nonfatal and fatal injuries other than scald burns.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Blood alcohol content (BAC)-negative victims in alcohol-involved injury incidents.

AIMS: To understand better how often BAC-negative victims suffer fatal and non-fatal alcohol-involved injuries. DESIGN: We analyzed 1988-1993 data from Oklahoma surveillance systems that track all people killed or hospitalized due to burns, submersions and spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and investigate alcohol use by victims and any others who contributed to their injuries. MEASUREMENTS: Percentage of victims BAC-positive and percentage of victims BAC-negative in alcohol-involved incidents. FINDINGS: Of 5107 cases studied, alcohol involvement was known for 4773 (93%), 1882 fire burns (93%), 1560 scald and other burns (97%), 698 submersions (92%) and 967 spinal cord injuries (89%). By type of injuries, BAC-negative victims were 4%, 13%, 6% and 8% of alcohol-involved cases, respectively. CONCLUSION: A sizeable number of BAC-negative victims suffer alcohol-involved injuries. Although alcohol is not the cause of some of these injuries, alcohol policy changes probably could avert others.

Adolescent↗