Occupational Health Survey of Cosmetologists in Minnesota.

Cosmetologists face a variety of occupational health and safety challenges. To gather information on respiratory issues related to work as a cosmetologist, licensed cosmetologists were invited by e-mail to participate in a short online survey. The survey collected demographic data, work history, respiratory symptoms, product usage, and health and safety training.

The Economic Impact for Farm Injury in Minnesota, 2004-2010.

Only 2% of Minnesota's employed population worked in agriculture between the years 2005 and 2012. However, this small portion of the state's employed population accounted for 31% of total work-related deaths in the state during that same time period. During a similar time period, 2007-2013, the contribution of agriculture to Minnesota's gross domestic product increased from approximately 1.

Incidence Rates and Trend of Serious Farm-Related Injury in Minnesota, 2000-2011.

Only about 2% of Minnesota's workers were employed in agriculture for the years 2005-2012, this small portion of the workforce accounted for 31% of the 563 work-related deaths that occurred in Minnesota during that same time period. Agricultural fatalities in Minnesota and elsewhere are well documented; however, nonfatal injuries are not. To explore the burden of injury, Minnesota hospital discharge data were used to examine rates and trends of farm injury for the years 2000-2011.

A nonparametric approach for determining significance of county cancer rates compared to the overall state rate: illustrated with Minnesota data.

Background: The study of the geographical distribution of disease has expanded greatly with GIS technology and its application to increasingly available public health data. The emergence of this technology has increased the challenges for public health practitioners to provide meaningful interpretations for county-based state cancer maps.

Methods: One of these challenges-spurious inferences about the significance of differences between county and overall state cancer rates-can be addressed through a nonparametric statistical method.

Investigation of exposures to commercial asbestos in northeastern Minnesota iron miners who developed mesothelioma.

A 70% excess of mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, has been reported among men in northeastern Minnesota, where iron mining has been the major industry. The Minnesota Department of Health has studied iron miners who developed mesothelioma to identify possible sources of asbestos exposure. A database of all Minnesota residents diagnosed with mesothelioma between 1988 and 1996 was linked to a database of approximately 72,000 current and former Minnesota iron-mining employees to identify cases who had ever worked in the mining industry.

Asthma among rural Minnesota adolescents.

This study examined the prevalence of and risk factors for wheezing and asthma in rural Minnesota adolescents. A survey querying about wheezing, asthma, farm residence, and other respiratory-related factors was administered to all 9th to 11th grade students (N = 13,490) in a stratified, random sample of high schools in rural Minnesota. Nearly one in 8 (12.