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Biomedical subjects

S Milham

Publications and source records attributed to S Milham.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Organic solvent encephalopathy: an old hazard revisited.

This report describes neurologic and respiratory symptoms among 26 engineers and contract laborers who used organic solvents and detergents to remove polychlorinated biphenyl contamination from a poorly ventilated factory basement. Neurologic symptoms included persistent central nervous system deficits; these developed in one worker after only 3 days. Respiratory symptoms included cough that persisted for more than 2 years. Laborers were more likely to report symptoms than were engineers. Appropriate ventilation or respirator use might have prevented the workers' morbidity. This incident serves as a reminder that organic solvent-related occupational illness continues to occur despite worker-health regulations and knowledge of preventive measures.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Quality of death certificate occupation data for a cohort of aluminum industry workers.

Occupational data from death certificates have been used extensively in health studies but their quality has been questioned. In this study, data from the death certificates of aluminum plant workers were analyzed. Aluminum industry employment was indicated in the certificate occupation/industry statement of 321 (80%) of the 403 total workers, 263 (94%) of the 280 workers who had been employed for 10 years or more, 156 (94%) of the 166 workers who died while employed, and 131 (95%) of the 138 workers who died after retirement. Of 82 certificates that did not indicate aluminum industry employment, 57 (70%) were from workers who were employed for fewer than 10 years and terminated employment for reasons other than death or retirement. This study supports the usefulness of death certificate occupational information.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1991

Cigarette smoking during pregnancy and mother's occupation.

The association between mother's occupation and cigarette smoking prevalence during pregnancy was analyzed in over 350,000 Washington State births during the years 1984 through 1988. Smoking prevalence during pregnancy varied markedly by maternal age, race, marital status, and social class, with higher smoking rates found in unmarried women, women 25 through 29 years old, native Americans and whites, and women in low socioeconomic classes. Women who worked in traditionally male occupations or in occupations where alcohol was served had the highest smoking rates. Occupational groups with exposure to toxic or carcinogenic substances (including second-hand smoke) also had elevated smoking rates. These data could be useful in planning intervention strategies, in studies of occupational morbidity and mortality, and in analysis of the reproductive effects of maternal occupational exposures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Trends in teenage smoking during pregnancy. Washington State: 1984 through 1988.

Smoking rates in the United States have decreased since 1963, but this trend is less apparent in adolescents, especially girls. Using data on birth certificates from 1984 through 1988, we analyzed smoking trends during pregnancy in teenagers in Washington State. There was a small but significant increase in the overall smoking prevalence during pregnancy between 1984 (32%) and 1988 (37%). Smoking rates varied by mother's age, race and ethnicity, marital status, and prenatal care. Whites had the highest smoking prevalence, and native Americans showed the largest increase in smoking prevalence over time. In the 5 years studied, unmarried pregnant teenagers had a smoking prevalence of 42.8%, compared with a rate of 31.7% in married teenagers. Compared with other studies of smoking rates in nonpregnant teenagers, pregnant teenagers in Washington State had a much higher smoking prevalence than their nonpregnant peers, and the differences between these two groups did not appear to diminish over time. This study suggests that there is little movement toward meeting the 1990 Health Objectives for the Nation regarding smoking in Washington State teenagers who become pregnant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Altered immune status in aluminum reduction plant workers.

From 1978 to 1985, B-cell lymphoma occurred in five employees of an aluminum reduction plant (expected = 0.2; Poisson distribution). As immunodeficiency is a known risk factor for B-cell lymphoma, we did a pilot study to evaluate immune function in apparently healthy plant workers. Twenty-three volunteers were selected for study from 350 workers, representing a range of experience in the potroom and with exposures to strong magnetic fields and volatilized aromatic hydrocarbons. Potroom workers had significantly higher T8 levels (mean = 1,227) than non-potroom workers (mean = 597) (p less than .05, Wilcoxon rank sums) or established normal values (median = 450). T4 levels were higher for potroom workers (mean = 1,017) than for non-potroom workers (mean = 558) or for established norms (median = 756) (p less than .10, Wilcoxon rank sums). Ten of 20 potroom workers had abnormal T4/T8 ratios (less than 0.91) due to disproportionate elevation of the T8 subpopulation. These data suggest an underlying immune alteration in the aluminum workers studied. Further study is needed to assess the implications of abnormal T-cell subsets in a worker population with high rates of lymphoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Risk factors for gastroschisis.

The prevalence at birth of gastroschisis, a rare abnormality of the abdominal wall, appears to have increased over the past decade. To characterize risk factors that might explain this increase, birth certificates for Washington State residents were compared for 62 infants born with gastroschisis during the years 1984 to 1987 and 617 randomly selected unaffected infants matched for birth year. After simultaneously adjusting for 14 potential risk factors, 4 factors stood out. Infants born during January, February, or March were at greater risk than infants born in any other months (odds ratio 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.1, 4.1). Mothers less than 25 years old were at greater risk than mothers 25 years and older, with the highest risk to mothers less than 20 years old (odds ratio 4.1, 95% confidence interval 1.4, 12.0). Women who smoked during pregnancy were at greater risk than women who did not smoke (odds ratio 2.0, 95% confidence interval 1.03, 3.8). Finally, mothers receiving inadequate prenatal care were at greater risk than mothers receiving adequate prenatal care (odds ratio 2.1, 95% confidence interval 0.99, 4.6). Unidentified behavioral and environmental exposures may explain the associations with month of birth, maternal age, and prenatal care. However, smoking during pregnancy is a plausible risk factor that should be examined further as an explanation of the apparently increasing prevalence at birth of gastroschisis in developed nations.

Abdominal Muscles↗
PubMed1989

Can the birth certificate yield clues to parental occupational exposures?

An analysis of reported birth record variables by parental occupation suggests that certain birth outcomes may identify toxic or carcinogenic occupational exposures of the parents. Fathers coded to an asbestos and insulation worker rubric sired fewer plural births, and more stillbirths than expected. A number of other fathers' occupations with putative exposure to asbestos and increased lung cancer mortality also showed a deficit of plural births.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Using multiple cause of death coding in occupational mortality studies.

Conventional occupational mortality analysis, using underlying cause of death coding, underestimates the contribution of those chronic diseases which are mentioned on the death certificate but which usually do not appear as underlying cause of death. Proportionate occupational mortality analysis, using all the mentioned causes on the Washington State male death records 1968-1984, identified an excess of rheumatoid arthritis in farmers, and asbestosis in plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1988

Increased mortality in amateur radio operators due to lymphatic and hematopoietic malignancies.

To search for potentially carcinogenic effects of electromagnetic field exposures, the author conducted a population-based study of mortality in US amateur radio operators. Ascertainment of Washington State and California amateur radio operators (67,829 persons) was done through the 1984 US Federal Communications Commission Amateur Radio Station and/or Operator License file. A total of 2,485 deaths were located for the period from January 1, 1979 through December 31, 1984, in a population of amateur radio operators which accumulated 232,499 person-years at risk. The all-cause standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 71, but a statistically significant increased mortality was seen for cancers of the other lymphatic tissues (SMR = 162), a rubric which includes multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The all-leukemia standardized mortality ratio was slightly, but nonsignificantly, elevated (SMR = 124). However, mortality due to acute myeloid leukemia was significantly elevated (SMR = 176).

California↗
PubMed1979

Mortality in aluminum reduction plant workers.

Mortality in workers at a northwestern United States prebake-type aluminum reduction plant was examined in a historical prospective (cohort) study. Although the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for all causes of death was low (86), lung cancer (SMR 117), pancreatic cancer (SMR 180), lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers (SMR 184), fatal benign tumors of the brain (SMR 391), and pulmonary emphysema (SMR 204) showed excess deaths. Analysis of mortality by job-exposure category, duration of employment and latency suggests that some of the lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers (especially malignant lymphoma), lung cancers and pulmonary emphysema may be of occupational origin in this worker population.

Humans↗
PubMed1977

Studies of morbidity near a copper smelter.

Children living near a copper smelter in Tacoma, Washington, have been shown to have increased levels of urinary and hair arsenic. Studies of hearing, blood status and school attendance in exposed and nonexposed children failed to detect any differences in these parameters.

Absenteeism↗