Biomedical subjects

G Harari

Publications and source records attributed to G Harari.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Association between somatic symptoms and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure levels.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify whether somatic complaints in healthy normotensive men are associated with differential 24-hour blood pressure and heart rate measures. METHOD: Twenty-four-hour ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure was monitored in 114 healthy normotensive men, aged 28 to 63 years, engaged in similar physical work. Means were calculated for each hour, for the whole 24-hour period, and for daytime, nighttime, and work time. Subjects were interviewed about somatic complaints, demographic data, and health habits, and body mass index was measured. RESULTS: After controlling for possible confounders, a positive association was found between the somatic complaint score and 24-hour, diurnal, and work-time systolic blood pressure (p = .014, p = .007, and p = .008, respectively). The association with casual systolic blood pressure was of borderline significance (p = .089). There was a positive trend, which did not reach statistical significance, in the relationship between somatic complaint score and all measures of diastolic blood pressure. Diurnal, 24-hour, and work-time heart rates were highest in the subjects with the highest somatic scores (p < .01 for all trends). CONCLUSIONS: In healthy normotensive men, somatic complaints are associated with an increased cardiovascular load. The effects of this increase on long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are uncertain and warrant additional study.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking, diet, and health behaviors among lead-exposed blue-collar workers.

The objectives of the study were to compare dietary intake by smoking levels in blue-collar Israeli workers occupationally exposed to lead and thus identify additional areas for health-enhancing intervention in addition to smoking cessation. One hundred and eighty-seven male industrial employees who were exposed to lead through their work were screened at the worksite to evaluate health status and dietary intake. Smokers had higher intakes of fat, cholesterol, calcium, riboflavin, and vitamin E per day. They were consuming more meat and high-fat dairy products. Dose-response relationships were shown for fat and energy intake by smoking level. Thus, smoking is associated with other adverse health behaviors. When conducting epidemiologic or occupational studies, analyses should include adjustment for the fact that the lifestyles of smokers may also be unhealthy in other ways.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Association of silent ST-segment depression on one-hour ambulatory ECGs with exposure to industrial noise among blue-collar workers in Israel examined at different levels of ambient temperature--the CORDIS Study.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies on the effects of ambient temperature or industrial noise on the cardiovascular system have usually focused on blood pressure. However, the ambulatory ECG may be a sensitive instrument for evaluating transient changes in the myocardium associated with exposure to such environmental stressors. In particular, the presence of silent ST-segment depression would strongly suggest transient myocardial ischemia. AIM: To evaluate a possible association between exposure to ambient noise and temperature in the workplace and silent ST-segment depression on short-term ambulatory ECGs. METHODS: Between 1985 and 1987, approximately 6,000 factory workers in Israel were examined in the framework of the CORDIS study. Each worker underwent ambulatory ECG monitoring for one hour. Measurements were taken of the average exposure to noise and the ambient temperature. Complete data including analysis of the ST-segment on the ambulatory ECG were available for 3,747 blue-collar workers. RESULTS: After excluding subjects with a history of heart disease, among men, silent ST-segment depression was found to be most prevalent in those workers exposed to more than 80 dBA compared with those exposed to less than 70 dBA. (RR = 2,4, p = .1 for men and RR = 1.3, p = .37 for women. Silent ST-segment depression was more prevalent at ambient temperatures up to 20 degrees C than over 25 degrees C (RR = 1.4, p = .22 for men and RR = 2.0, p = .005 for women). These trends persisted after controlling for possible confounding variables, such as age, type of work, smoking, and relative weight; however, only the temperature effects in women remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that silent ST-segment depression on ambulatory monitoring may be a sensitive measure of the cardiovascular response to exposure to physical stressors in the workplace. Exposures to noise and varying ambient temperature appear to have different effects on men and women.

Adult↗