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Biomedical subjects

H Taskinen

Publications and source records attributed to H Taskinen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Hirschsprung disease, mental retardation and dysmorphic facial features in five unrelated children.

We report five patients with Hirschsprung disease, severe mental retardation and dysmorphic facial features including hypertelorism, prominent forehead and dysmorphic ears. All four boys had hypospadias. All had postnatally retarded growth. One of them had a de novo apparently balanced translocation 46,XY,t(2;11)(q22.2;q21). There are several reports on patients with Hirschsprung disease, mental retardation and various dysmorphic features. Some of them, especially those reported by Tanaka et al. [(1993) Pediatr Neurol 9:479-481], Lurie et al. [(1994) Genet Couns 5:11-14] and Mowat et al. [(1998) J Med Genet 35:617-623] closely resemble our patients suggesting that they have the same malformation syndrome.

Child↗
PubMed2000

Time to pregnancy among the wives of men occupationally exposed to lead.

We conducted a retrospective study on time to pregnancy among the wives of men biologically monitored for lead to assess whether paternal occupational exposure to inorganic lead is associated with decreased fertility. After three mailings, 554 (72.2%) wives of the monitored men participated. The final study population consisted of 502 couples who did not use contraception at the beginning of the pregnancy. We assessed lead exposure from blood lead measurements and from questionnaires completed by the men. We calculated the relative fecundability density ratios with discrete proportional hazards regression. The fecundability density ratios, adjusted for potential confounders, were 0.92 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.73-1.16], 0.89 (95% CI = 0.66-1.20), 0.58 (95% CI = 0.33-0.96), and 0.83 (95% CI = 0.50-1.32) for blood lead categories 0.5-0.9, 1.0-1.4, 1.5-1.8, and > or =1.9 micromol/L, respectively, as compared with <0.5 micromol/L. The findings provide limited support for the hypothesis that paternal exposure to lead is associated with decreased fertility.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed2000

Spontaneous abortions among veterinarians.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to determine whether female veterinarians have an increased risk of spontaneous abortion and whether the potential risk is related to the type of work veterinarians do. METHODS: The investigation was a retrospective cohort study among all the female members of the Finnish Veterinary Association (N=549). Information on pregnancies was obtained from hospital records from 1973-1990. The risk of spontaneous abortion among the veterinarians was compared with that of all other Finnish women and other upper-level employees. Odds ratios from logistic regression analyses were used as the estimates of the risk ratios. RESULTS: The risk of spontaneous abortion was 10.5% for the veterinarians. In the 1970s, practicing veterinarians had an increased risk of spontaneous abortion as compared with other Finnish women (adjusted odds ratio 1.8, 95% confidence interval 1.0-3.1) or other upper-level employees (adjusted odds ratio 2.0, 95% confidence interval 1.1-3.4). In the 1980s, the risk fell below that of other Finnish women. No essential differences were observed in the risk between the veterinarians employed in different occupational categories. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the veterinarians had an increased risk of spontaneous abortion in the 1970s, but not in the 1980s. Factors which might have contributed to this decrease in risk include decreases in the prevalence and level of exposure to harmful agents, improvements in the occupational hygiene of the work environment, and an increased awareness of reproductive hazards and the use of sick leave during pregnancy.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1999

Spontaneous abortions among Finnish flight attendants.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate whether work as a cabin attendant is related to an increased risk for spontaneous abortion. Data on female cabin crew members were linked to medical records on pregnancies. There were 1751 eligible pregnancies for the final analysis. Flight attendants who worked during early pregnancy had a slightly elevated risk of spontaneous abortion, as compared with attendants who were pregnant outside a time span of active flying (odds ratio [OR] = 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9 to 1.8). During the earliest years of the study period (1973 through 1977), the risk seemed to be decreased (OR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2 to 1.1), whereas during the later years (1978 through 1994) the risk was increased (OR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.4). The results are in agreement with earlier studies, showing suggestive evidence of a slightly increased risk of spontaneous abortion among female cabin crew members.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1998

Time to pregnancy among the wives of men exposed to organic solvents.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether paternal exposure to organic solvents is associated with decreased fertility. METHODS: A retrospective time to pregnancy study was conducted among men biologically monitored for organic solvents. The workers were classified into exposure categories on the basis of work description and the use of solvents as reported in the questionnaires, and on biological exposure measurements. The relative fecundability density ratios (FDR--an analogue of incidence density ratio of clinically recognised pregnancies) were calculated with discrete proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: After three mailings 316 (72.1%) wives of the monitored men participated. The final study population consisted of 282 couples who did not use contraception at the beginning of pregnancy. The FDRs, adjusted for potential confounders, were 0.80 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.57 to 1.11) and 0.74 (95% CI 0.51 to 1.06) for high or frequent and low or intermediate exposure, respectively. High or frequent and low or intermediate exposure were related to decreased fecundability among primigravida (FDRs 0.36; 95% CI 0.19 to 0.66 and 0.53; 95% CI 0.27 to 1.04) but not among couples with at least one previous pregnancy (FDRs 0.96; 95% CI 0.62 to 1.49 and 0.77; 95% CI 0.47 to 1.24). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study provide limited support for the hypothesis that paternal exposure to organic solvents might be associated with decreased fertility. Further studies with careful design are warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Nursing and social work students' initial orientation towards their studies.

The worldwide rapid social and economic changes also give challenges to health and social policies. Nowadays there is a need for integration of health and social services and self-managed work teams, which can improve the quality of services offered to clients. This is especially a challenge to nursing and social work education. One approach to respond to this challenge is to develop students' self-direction during training. Today self-direction is one of the central principles in adult learning, as one of its aims is to prepare students to manage changes in society. In this study, nursing (n = 68) and social work (n = 71) students' orientation towards their studies was investigated at the beginning of their professional education. The data were collected by a questionnaire developed for the study. The results suggest that, in general, both nursing and social work students are orientated actively towards their studies. However, nursing students were less willing to participate in planning their studies than were social work students. Moreover, nursing students were more teacher-directed than social work students.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Communication Concerning the Risks of Occupational Exposures in Pregnancy.

The health professional who is involved in communicating information about reproductive risks from occupational hazards needs to consider several important aspects. Uncertainties in risk assessment, timing of exposure in relation to pregnancy, and the consequences of different preventive measures for the woman (family), as well as for the employer and other persons at the workplace are examples of such aspects. The basis for the pregnant woman's perception of risk must be recognized. The risk-communication goal is that the persons concerned fully understand the risk and its possible consequences, so that they will be able to make informed decisions about how to act. More attention should be given to risk communication in the training of health professionals.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Reduced fertility among women exposed to organic solvents.

A retrospective time-to-pregnancy study was performed among women biologically monitored for exposure to organic solvents. The women were participants in a previous study on spontaneous abortion. They were classified into exposure categories on the basis of work description and the use of solvents as reported in the questionnaires and on biological exposure measurements. Daily or high solvent exposure, adjusted for potential confounders, was significantly associated with reduced fecundability in the discrete proportional hazards analysis (incidence density ratio of clinical pregnancies 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27-0.62). The incidence density ratios were decreased also among workers who were exposed to organic solvents in shoe factories (0.28; CI 0.11-0.71), dry cleaning shops (0.44; CI 0.22-0.86), and in the metal industry (0.58; CI 0.34-0.98). The possible effects of various biases are discussed. The results of the study support the hypothesis that daily or high exposure to organic solvents is associated with reduced fertility. There is a need for safer working methods in industries where organic solvents still are used.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1995

Time to pregnancy among women occupationally exposed to lead.

A retrospective time-to-pregnancy study was conducted among women biologically monitored for exposure to lead. The women were participants of a previous study on spontaneous abortion. They were classified into exposure categories on the basis of questionnaire information, and individual blood lead (B-Pb) measurements. The adjusted incidence density ratios (IDR) of clinically recognized pregnancies were .93 (95% confidence interval [CI] .56 to 1.57) for very low (B-Pb < .5 mumol/L), .84 (CI .48 to 1.45) for low (B-Pb .5 to .9 mumol/L), and .80 (CI 0.42 to 1.54) for higher (B-Pb > or = 1.0 mumol/L) exposure compared with no exposure, in the discrete proportional hazards analysis. Exposure to inorganic lead was not associated with fecundability at current, low-exposure levels. The suggestive finding among the eight most heavily exposed women (B-Pb 1.4 to 2.4 mumol/L, IDR .53; CI .19 to 1.52) should be confirmed or refuted in a larger study.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1994

Laboratory work and pregnancy outcome.

Spontaneous abortions among women working in laboratories, and congenital malformations and birth weights of the children were examined in a retrospective case-referent study. In the spontaneous abortion study there were 535 women (206 cases and 329 referents), and in the malformation study 141 women (36 cases and 105 referents). The analysis of the birth weights concerned 500 women (referents). Significant associations with spontaneous abortion were found for exposure to toluene (odds ratio [OR], 4.7, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4 to 15.9), xylene (OR 3.1, CI 1.3 to 7.5) and formalin (OR 3.5, CI 1.1 to 11.2) > or = 3 days a week, adjusted for the covariates. Most of the women exposed to formalin and xylene were working in pathology or histology laboratories. No association with congenital malformation was found.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1992

Magnetic fields of video display terminals and spontaneous abortion.

The aim of this study was to examine whether work with a video display terminal and exposure to the magnetic fields of video display terminals are related to spontaneous abortion. The study was conducted among women employed as bank clerks and clerical workers in three companies in Finland. The cases (191 spontaneous abortions) and controls (394 births) were identified from Finnish medical registers for the years 1975-1985. Use of video display terminals was defined using the workers' own reports and information provided by the companies. The assessment of exposure to the magnetic fields was based on measurements of the fields of video display terminals. The odds ratio for spontaneous abortion for working with video display terminals was not increased (odds ratio = 1.1, 95% confidence interval 0.7-1.6). However, the odds ratio for workers who had used a video display terminal with a high level of extremely low frequency magnetic fields (> 0.9 microT) was 3.4 (95% confidence interval 1.4-8.6) compared with workers using a terminal with a low level of these magnetic fields (< 0.4 microT). Adjustment for ergonomic factors and mental work load factors changed the odds ratio for magnetic field exposure only very slightly. The findings suggest the need for future studies with assessment of exposure to the magnetic fields in the actual working environment to confirm the possible risk.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1992

Paternal occupational lead exposure and congenital malformations.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate whether occupational exposure to lead in fathers is associated with congenital malformation in their children. DESIGN: The study was a retrospective case-control study, nested within the wives of men biologically monitored for inorganic lead. Information on pregnancy outcome was obtained from medical registers. SUBJECTS: Cases were defined as wives with malformed child during 1973-82. Three age matched controls were selected for each case from the wives who had given birth during 1973-1983. The final study population was 27 cases and 57 controls. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Paternal lead exposure was assessed with blood lead measurements and data obtained from a questionnaire. The response rate was 67% among the cases and 76% among the controls. The odds ratio (OR) of congenital malformation for paternal lead exposure was increased (OR 2.4, 95% confidence interval 0.9-6.5), although not reaching statistical significance. The odds ratios varied from 1.9 to 3.2, when adjusted for one potential confounding variable at a time. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the small numbers and low participation, this study offers limited support for the hypothesis that paternal lead exposure is associated with congenital malformation. Further epidemiological studies on the reproductive hazards of paternal lead exposure are needed.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1991

Paternal occupational lead exposure and spontaneous abortion.

A case-referent study was conducted on whether occupational exposure of men to inorganic lead is related to spontaneous abortion in their wives. The men were biologically monitored for lead exposure. The cases (213 spontaneous abortions) and referents (300 births) were identified from medical registers. Lead exposure was assessed with blood lead (PbB) measurements and data obtained from a questionnaire. The results did not show a statistically significant relationship between spontaneous abortion and paternal lead exposure among all the study subjects. A significant increase was observed in the risk of those women whose husbands had been monitored (PbB greater than or equal to 1.5 mumol/l) during or close to the time of spermatogenesis. The association between lead exposure and spontaneous abortion was modified also by the age of the wife and paternal alcohol use. The findings suggest that there may be an association between paternal lead exposure and the risk of spontaneous abortion.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗