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Biomedical subjects

S G Warm

Publications and source records attributed to S G Warm.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

A case-control study of aplastic anemia.

A case-control interview study of aplastic anemia was conducted to evaluate suspected risk factors. Cases (N = 59) newly diagnosed during 1975-82 at 25 Baltimore area hospitals were compared with 59 individually matched (on age, sex and race) controls selected by random digit dialing. The average educational level was less for cases than controls. The major job-related findings were a significant excess for occupational exposure to paint (OR = 6.1; 95% C.I. = 1.2-29.7), further substantiated by a positive dose-response relationship, although painters were not at excess risk. An increased risk of occupational exposure to viruses (OR = 9.0; 95% C.I. = 0.8-105.6) was noted. Additional evidence implicating viral factors included a significant association with prior history of hepatitis (OR = 9.0; 95% C.I. = 1.0, 84.2) and an elevated risk for pre-diagnostic receipt of blood transfusions (OR = 7.1; 95% C.I. = 0.7-68.4). Risks were not increased for other occupational, residential, personal, or medical treatment exposures or for other viral infections, medical conditions, smoking or alcohol consumption prior to diagnosis. Because of the small number of subjects studied and the multiple comparisons examined, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and confirmation should be undertaken in larger, population-based studies.

Adolescent↗

Incidence of aplastic anemia in a three county area in South Carolina.

An apparent cluster of four aplastic anemia (AA) cases in teenagers residing in a small South Carolina town was further investigated. Incidence of AA in all age groups in a surrounding three county area (TCA) over a 12-year time interval was determined and compared with AA incidence rates in Baltimore, representing the only known population based United States incidence data. The same general age-specific incidence pattern (based on 27 cases in the TCA and 118 in Baltimore) was found in the two areas, both overall and for the four race-sex groups. Although based on small numbers, nonwhite average annual age-adjusted rates for males and females were higher in the TCA (6.8 and 13.7 per million) than in Baltimore (4.7 and 7.3). For whites, TCA rates were 11.7 and 5.4 (for males and females) and Baltimore rates were 7.1 and 5.4. The differences for non-whites in the two areas may indicate a greater prevalence of risk factors for AA in the TCA than in Baltimore, but the small numbers of cases and the lack of comparable data from other areas of the country, together with the possibility of misdiagnosis of the disease, make definitive conclusions impossible.

Age Factors↗

An apparent cluster of aplastic anemia in a small population of teenagers.

Four teenagers with severe aplastic anemia, initially diagnosed and evaluated over a seven-year period at The Johns Hopkins Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Baltimore, were residents of the same small town in South Carolina. Estimated annual incidence for that age group in the town, based on the four cases, was 100 times the expected rate. All four of the teenagers had attended one of two junior high schools. An exploratory survey of all high-school students, comparing risk factors of those who had attended the "affected" junior high school with those who had attended the "unaffected" junior high school, showed no associations with exposure to glue, paint or varnishes, pesticides, history of hepatitis or infectious mononucleosis, or use of chloramphenicol or other suspected drugs. Weak associations were found between the affected junior high school and employment in the textile industry and in agriculture (specifically peach orchards).

Adolescent↗