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Biomedical subjects

K Husman

Publications and source records attributed to K Husman.

65 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Clinical neurological findings among car painters exposed to a mixture of organic solvents.

A full clinical neurological examination was used to study the possible effects of long-term exposure to low concentrations of mixtures of organic solvents on the nervous system. The exposed group consisted of 102 male car painters and the referents of 102 age- and sex-matched locomotive engineers and assistants. The psychoorganic syndrome, a decrease in the sense of light touch and pain, and an increase in the vibration threshold were more frequent among the car painters than among the referents, and the observed differences of these frequencies were statistically significant. The sense of vibration had been affected in the lower extremities of 65 of the 102 car painters and in 25 of the referents. Sensory functions seem to be the most vulnerable part of the nervous system of workers chronically exposed to different organic solvents.

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PubMed1978

Neurophysiological effects of long-term exposure to a mixture of organic solvents.

Neurophysiological effects of long-term exposure to a mixture of organic solvents was studied among 102 car painters from 27 car repair garages in Helsinki. The reference group consisted of 102 age-matched railroad engineers from the Finnish State Railways. The mean age was 35 years and the exposure time ranged from 1 to 40 years (mean 14.8, SD 8.5). According to measurements the mean concentration of the solvent mixture was relatively low in the garages, namely, 31.8% of the Finnish threshold limit value (TLV), the range of separate components varying from 4 to 212% of the respective TLVs. The main components of about 20 organic solvents of the mixture were toluene, xylene, butyl acetate and white spirit. Electroencephalograms (EEGs) of all the 102 exposed and 102 nonexposed subjects were studied, but electroneuromyographic measurements were made of only 59 car painters and 53 referents with a similar age distribution. Motor (MCV and CVSF) and sensory conduction (SCV) velocities, as well as motor distal latencies, were recorded from nerves in the upper and lower extremities. Abnormal EEGs were encountered in 32 car painters and 37 referents. The frequency of abnormal EEGs was in both groups higher than expected on the basis of EEG literature (about 10%). Twenty-six car painters had a complex of four common symptoms of disturbances in the central nervous system; the same symptom complex was found in 12 engineers. Forty-six percent of the car painters with this symptom complex had an abnormal EEG, while only 26% of those without this symptom complex had an abnormal EEG. Railroad engineers did not show such a tendency. Abnormally slow MCVs or SCVs and/or prolonged motor distal latencies were found in 12 of the 59 car painters but in none of the 53 engineers studied. Other authors have stressed that many solvents primarily cause neuropathy, while objective signs of central nervous involvement have been minor, if any. Our findings are similar; they showed slight positive signs of slowed nerve conduction velocities among the car painters and no increase in EEG abnormalities in comparison to the reference group of railroad engineers.

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PubMed1978

Evaluation of occupational exposure to xylene by blood, exhaled air and urine analysis.

Occupational xylene exposure in the breathing zone of 15 painters was measured during three consecutive workdays. The applicability of the use of different biological samples was tested by the monitoring of xylene concentrations in blood and exhaled air, and urinary methylhippuric acid excretion as well. The best relation to the time-weighted average of xylene exposure was obtained for urinary methylhippuric acid concentration at the end of the workday; an amount of 665 mg/g of creatinine corresponded to 50 ppm of xylene. The amount of methylhippuric acid in a morning sample at the end of the work week, on the other hand, correlated to the mean exposure of the three preceding days. Xylene concentrations in exhaled air and blood sampled after the workday correlated poorly to the exposure of the preceding day. The urinary elimination of methylhippuric acid after the finished work week showed two distinct phases of excretion, with different biological half-times (1.9-5.3 h for the first 10 h after exposure and 16.5-48.4 h for the next two days).

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PubMed1976

Lens changes in car painters exposed to a mixture of organic solvents.

The relationship between exposure to organic solvents and the prevalence of lens changes was studied in a group of 92 car painters and a comparison group of 92 engineers from the Finnish State Railways. Both groups were examined ophthalmologically. Among the 92 car painters, with a mean age of 34.9 years (range of 21--64 years; S.D. 10.4 years), two had been operated on for a cataract and 46 had lens changes, mainly nuclear sclerosis, clefts, lamellar separation, or cortical and subcortical opacities not affecting visual acuity. In 69 age-matched pairs, for whom the factors inducing false-positive results had been excluded, 2 car painters had more lens changes than their age-matched pairs. Lens changes occurred with increased frequency after 10 years of exposure.

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PubMed1976

Behavioral effects of long-term exposure to a mixture of organic solvents.

The behavioral effects of long-term exposure to a mixture of organic solvents were investigated in a comparison of the test results of 100 car painters with those of a reference group. The test battery included tests for intelligence, memory, psychomotor performances, and personality. In addition to the comparison of the mean results, two discriminant function analyses were made. In one, only the performance test variables were used, but in the other personality variables were also included. The results indicated impairments in psychological performances, as well as personality changes in the exposed group. Impairments in visual intelligence and verbal memory and a reduction of emotional reactivity were the central features of the adverse effects of solvent exposure, but the behavioral disturbances also involved several other functions, including performance on a verbal intelligence test. The possible role of the differences in the initial intelligence levels were controlled with a separate comparison of the test results of 33 pairs of exposed and nonexposed subjects who were matched for age and for their intelligence level, measured during the military service. The discriminant function analyses were based on the results of these matched subgroups and tested in the rest of the material. According to the results the sensitivity of the psychological test methods was high, but the specificity somewhat low, with regard to solvent exposure. The concentration of various solvents included in the exposure of car painters were low, the summated exposure corresponding corresponding to 32% of the Finnish threshold limit value. The possible role of a potentiating effect of the solvent in the development of behavioral disturbances is discussed.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Self-reported health, illness, and self-care among finnish physicians: a national survey.

BACKGROUND: Physicians' health problems have been discussed mainly in relation to substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. In this study, the prevalence of common chronic diseases and their treatment were determined. OBJECTIVE: To find differences in self-reported health status, amount of sick leave, and the use of health services among physicians according to sex and specialty. Data were also compared with those of the total employed population. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey in Finland. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A random sample of licensed physicians younger than 66 years (n = 4477) was randomly selected from the register of the Finnish Medical Association. A total of 3313 physicians (74%) responded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceived health, prevalence of diseases, self-treatment of diseases, amount of sick leave, and medical consultations. RESULTS: Female physicians assessed their health as being better than other female employees and had used health services and had been on sick leave more often than their male colleagues. Male physicians assessed their health as being equal to that of other men. Both female and male physicians had fewer sick leave than other employees. However, physicians-especially men-reported many common chronic illnesses as often or more often than other employees. Physicians had consulted other medical professionals less often than other employees, and they primarily self-treated their illnesses. Of the specialties, psychiatrists had used health services and had been on sick leave more often than other physicians. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the usual form of care of physicians' diseases is self-treatment and "working through" illnesses. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:1079-1085

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PubMedDate not supplied

Work-related interventions during office visits to occupational health physicians.

BACKGROUND: Systematically applied work-related interventions during visits to occupational health (OH) physicians support the preventive and health promotive goals of OH. The proportion of the visits including a work-related intervention was analyzed according to patient, health problem, and physician determinants in a sample of visits to OH physicians in Finland. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 55 Occupational Health Services (OHS) units. Office encounters with 4,404 male and 5,373 female employed patients ages 18-64 years, recorded by 114 OHS physicians, were analyzed. RESULTS: Altogether 856 (8.8%) encounters included a work-related intervention. The work-related interventions were distributed across all the main disease categories, the majority of which were musculoskeletal diseases. Of the patient determinants, occupational group (the residual group of non-white-collar or non-blue-collar workers) associated positively with a work-related intervention, while age or gender did not. The physician's female gender and experience associated positively with work-related interventions. Work-related interventions took place more often in integrated and joint model OHS than in municipal health care centers and private medical centers. CONCLUSIONS: Work-related interventions are used by OH physicians for diverse health problems. More research is needed to better understand the reasons for the observed differences in work-related interventions. Also, research is needed to evaluate the efficiency of such interventions.

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