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ABSTRACTS (ACE)
patient exposure and spotty PM10 data from Southern California air monitors. CONCLUSION: This offers a method for predicting and quantifying peaks in health care needs during wildfires, both by location and diagnosis.
P11 OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES AND ASTHMA AMONG NURSING PROFESSIONALS IN THE U.S. AA Arif1, GL Delclos2, 1Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC; Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, 2The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX
PURPOSE: To identify occupational exposure risk factors associated with development of new-onset asthma after entering the nursing profession. METHODS: A statewide cross-sectional survey was administered to a representative sample of Texas nurses with active licenses, and compared to three other healthcare professional groups ((physicians, respiratory therapists, and occupational therapists). Response rate among nurses was 70%. The primary outcome variable was physician-diagnosed new-onset asthma after entry into the health care profession (‘reported asthma’). Occupational exposures were ascertained through an externally developed job-exposure matrix, grouped into four categories: cleaning-related tasks, use of powdered latex gloves, administration of aerosolized medications, and tasks involving adhesive compounds, glues and/or solvents. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, atopy, smoking, body mass index, and seniority, reported asthma was significantly greater among nursing professionals involved in medical instrument cleaning (OR Z 7.2, 95% CI Z 1.4–37.2) and exposure to general cleaning products and disinfectants (OR Z 1.8, 95% CI Z 1.1–3.1). Use of powdered latex gloves between the years 1992 to 2000 was associated with 1.6 times (95% CI Z 1.0–2.6) the odds of reported asthma, but not thereafter. In the univariate analysis, exposure to adhesives, glues and/or solvents was associated with a two-fold increase in the odds of reported asthma, but not after adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSION: Among nurses, workplace exposures to cleaning products and disinfectants may increase the risk of new-onset asthma.
P12 SEXUAL SELECTION, MALE COMPETITION, AND SEX DIFFERENCES IN HUMAN MORTALITY RATES DJ Kruger, Health Behavior & Health Education, RM Nesse, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
AEP Vol. 18, No. 9 September 2008 : 708–741
PURPOSE: Sex differences in mortality rates arise from sex differences in evolutionary selection pressures for competitive ability and longevity. This presentation documents statistically and graphically how sex differences in mortality rates are related to indicators of the degree of male competition for status, resources, and mates both within and across societies. METHODS: We calculated the M:F MR (male to female mortality ratio) for the USA with data from the National Center for Health Statistics by income, education, and marital status. We calculated the M:F MR across nations with data available from the WHO Mortality Database and matched mortality data with corresponding economic data from the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook and with marital pattern information from the anthropological literature. Using data from the WHO Mortality Database and the Human Mortality Database we computed the M:F MR for five year periods before, during, and after the political and economic transitions in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s for 12 Central and Eastern European nations and 14 Western European nations. RESULTS: In the USA, sex differences in mortality rates were higher amongst the unmarried, those with relatively lower income, and those with relatively lower educational attainment. Across nations, the degrees of economic inequality, polygyny, and patriarchy were directly related to the sex difference in mortality rates, even when controlling for gross national income per capita. The M:F MR increased substantially for Eastern European nations during the economic transition, most prominently in early adulthood, and contrasting with patterns in Western European nations. CONCLUSION: Excess male mortality is a result of a trade-off between competitiveness and longevity. Social and environmental conditions intensifying male competition for resources, status, and mates lead to increased male mortality through riskier behavior patterns and the impact of stress on physiological susceptibility. The fact that the M:F MR is not genetically determined and is affected by social conditions encourages intervention efforts to reduce excess male mortality.
BEHAVIORAL P13 SMOKING PREVALENCE, ATTITUDES, AND PERCEIVED SMOKING PREVENTION AND CONTROL RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRACTICES AMONG NURSES IN BELGRADE, SERBIA H Gagon, RM Merrill, T Harmon, Department of Health Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
PURPOSE: This study assesses smoking prevalence, attitudes, and perceived patient counseling responsibilities