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Biomedical subjects

J F Kraus

Publications and source records attributed to J F Kraus.

151 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The epidemiology of drowning in adulthood: implications for prevention.

Previous epidemiological studies of drowning in the United States have dealt primarily with children. The epidemiology and prevention of drowning in adulthood may be very different. To test this general hypothesis, we analyzed the 293 drownings occurring among Sacramento County residents 20 years of age and above during 1974 to 1985. Drowning rates were highest for men 20-29 years of age (11.5 per 100,000 population) and blacks (7.5 per 100,000 population). Swimmers, boaters, and motor vehicle occupants were most frequently represented. Alcohol use was involved in 48% of cases overall and 77% of those involving motor vehicle occupants. A history of seizure disorder was another contributing factor. Important differences do exist in drowning epidemiology between children and adults. Our results suggest that preventing drowning will be more problematic among adults than among children. The study was also used to test the sensitivity of two commonly used methods of case ascertainment for cases in Sacramento County. A manual review of coroner's records had a sensitivity of 96%. A computerized review of death certificate data from the state's vital statistics data base had a sensitivity of 79%. The sources and implications of these differences are discussed.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effectiveness of measures to prevent unintentional deaths of infants and children from suffocation and strangulation.

Unintentional deaths from suffocation and strangulation account for about 20 percent of all nontransport-related infant and child fatalities in the United States. In the late 1950s, some preventive countermeasures were introduced to reduce the number of deaths resulting from refrigerator or freezer entrapment. A few years later, countermeasures were introduced to prevent deaths resulting from suffocation by plastic bags, inhumation, and mechanical strangulation from wedging in infant cribs. For three of these major causes of suffocation and strangulation deaths among infants and children (refrigerator or freezer entrapment, suffocation by plastic bag, and inhumation at construction sites), there appears to have been a significant decline in incidence; however, there is no evidence of a significant reduction in deaths from mechanical strangulation in cribs. The impact of current countermeasures is discussed, and some suggestions for new or modified approaches are made.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An epidemiological study of severe osteoarthritis.

A study was made of the relationship between weight, education, use of tobacco and alcohol, participation in athletics and family history of arthritis and severe osteoarthritis of the hip. Estimated relative risk of osteoarthritis was highest for those whose weight was at least 20% or more above ideal, having more than a high school education or with a familial history of arthritis. There was no association between severe osteoarthritis and participation in high school athletics or regular use of alcohol.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A controlled field trial of physiological responses to organophosphate residues in farm workers.

Blood acetylcholinesterase (ACHE) and pseudocholinesterase (PCHE) activity and urinary dialkyl phosphate (DAP) excretion were measured in a group of 15 male agriculture field workers during a five-day thinning operation in a Northern California peach orchard. Eight men were randomly assigned to work in a Guthion-treated plot, and seven men to work in an adjoining plot free from organophosphate residues. Foliage samples were taken to measure dislodgeable and total Guthion residues. The daily mean percent change in the ACHE and in the PCHE activity was less than -10.0 percent of baseline values for each group of men. Mean ACHE activity of workers in the Guthion treated plot was different from that of workers in the control plot on the fifth exposure day. The mean PCHE activity of workers in the Guthion treated plot was not different from that of workers in the control plot. Daily group-mean urinary metabolite excretion levels for workers exposed to Guthion residues were highly correlated with their daily group-mean percent change in ACHE activity. No urinary metabolites were detected in workers in the control plot. Decay in Guthion residues was markedly slower in this trial than in a comparable study conducted one year previously, emphasizing the difficulty in setting re-entry intervals based on time elapsed from pesticide application. Suggestions were made to extend the time interval of future studies on the human health effects of organophosphate residue exposure, and to further refine urinary metabolite surveillance methods toward the goal of establishing a threshold level of metabolites which would correspond to meaningful exposure to these pesticides residues.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiology of violent injury in the workplace.

This chapter discusses the current understanding of episodes of workplace violence that lead to fatal or nonfatal physical injury. The occurrence of injuries according to persons, occupations, and industries at risk is described, and types of events and factors associated with increased risk are summarized.

Accidents, Occupational↗