[Consumer safety, public heath, and environment : Scientific advice at the European level].

The European Commission aims at basing its policy decisions on sound scientific evidence. To ensure access to the best scientific expertise, it has created a committee-based advisory structure. The three scientific committees on Consumer Safety, on Health and Environmental Risks, and on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks develop opinions in the area of public health, environment, and consumer protection.

Whole-body MR vascular screening detects unsuspected concomitant vascular disease in coronary heart disease patients.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) patients often show atherosclerotic vascular disease in other vascular territories. We evaluated how often whole-body MR imaging detects concomitant arterial pathologies in CHD patients, and how often these pathologies were not known to the patients previously. Of 4,814 participants in the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study, 327 reported CHD (i.

Assessing contamination paths of the German adult population with gold and platinum. The German Environmental Survey 1998 (GerES III).

Background: Even though increased environmental platinum levels were found since the introduction of automobile catalytic converters, little is known about the pathways of corporal uptake and the bioavailability of platinum in the general adult population. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify the main exposure pathways of gold and platinum in the general adult population.

Methods: The German Environmental Survey 1998 (GerES III) collected population-based data on the corporal gold and platinum burden from a large sample of 1080 persons, 18-69 years of age.

Carpenters, cabinetmakers, and risk of testicular germ cell cancer.

Objective: A recent cohort study showed an increased risk of testicular cancer among members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. We explored our data of a German population-based case-control study on the etiology of testicular cancer with regard to this association.

Methods: The case-control study included 269 testicular cancer cases and 797 controls.

Residential exposure to overhead high-voltage lines and the risk of testicular cancer: results of a population-based case-control study in Hamburg (Germany).

Background: In a population-based case-control study we examined the association between residential exposure to overhead high-voltage lines and testicular cancer.

Methods: We recorded the residential biography of cases with testicular cancer identified by the Hamburg Cancer Registry and of controls that were randomly selected from the mandatory registry of residents in Hamburg. The study included 145 incident cases between 15 and 69 years of age, diagnosed between 1995 and 1997, and 313 controls, matched for age in 5-year strata.

Testicular, other genital, and breast cancers in first-degree relatives of testicular cancer patients and controls.

Previous studies showed an increased prevalence of testicular cancer among fathers and brothers of testicular cancer patients. We examined whether testicular, other genital, and breast cancers aggregate in parents and siblings of testicular cancer patients in a population-based case-control study, including males, ages 15 to 69 years at diagnosis, with primary malignant tumors of the testes or extragonadal germ cell tumors. Controls were ascertained through the mandatory registries of residents and frequency matched to the cases by age and region of residence.

[Should sex specific differences in venous diseases be explained by pregnancies and hormone intake?].

Aim Of The Study: Diseases of the venous system are among the most frequently occurring diseases in the German population. However, the last comprehensive population-based German data were obtained in 1979. Since then, diagnostic methods have improved substantially.

Testicular cancer and electromagnetic fields (EMF) in the workplace: results of a population-based case-control study in Germany.

Objectives: In a population-based case-control study, we examined the association of testicular cancer and electromagnetic fields (EMF) in the workplace.

Methods: Incident cases (n = 269) were recruited between 1995 and 1997. A total of 797 controls matched on age and region were randomly selected from mandatory registries of residents.

Occupation as a risk factor for uveal melanoma in Germany.

Objective: This study explored occupational risks linked to uveal melanoma.

Methods: The analysis pooled data from two case-referent studies (hospital- and population-based) conducted in Germany between 1995 and 1998, with incident cases matched with several referents by age, gender, and region of residence. The subjects were contacted through personal or telephone interviews.

Pet birds and risk of lung cancer in North-Western Germany.

In a case-control study on lung cancer and occupational exposures, a subgroup of 144 cases and 253 population-based controls interviewed in the last 16 months of the study, were additionally asked about their exposure to pet birds and other pets. We used the same questionnaire as a previous German study that found a positive association between pet bird keeping and lung cancer. Odds ratios were calculated for lifetime and adulthood exposure respectively.

Undescended testis and the risk of testicular cancer: importance of source and classification of exposure information.

Background: The strength of the association between undescended testis and testicular cancer varies considerably across studies. Here we report the effect of various classifications of self-reported history of undescended testis and different data sources on the estimates of the risk of testicular cancer from a case-control study.

Methods: We performed a population-based case-control study including 269 testicular cancer cases and 797 controls matched on age and region.

The possible role of radiofrequency radiation in the development of uveal melanoma.

There are few epidemiologic studies dealing with electromagnetic radiation and uveal melanoma. The majority of these studies are exploratory and are based on job and industry titles only. We conducted a hospital-based and population-based case-control study of uveal melanoma and occupational exposures to different sources of electromagnetic radiation, including radiofrequency radiation.

Aggregation of lung cancer in families: results from a population-based case-control study in Germany.

The authors investigated familial aggregation of lung cancer by means of a population-based case-control study, conducted in Germany between 1988 and 1993. They compared lung cancer prevalence in first degree relatives of 945 patients and 983 controls, accounting for various potential risk factors using logistic regression and generalized estimating equations. Some 83% of the study participants were male, and about 14% were below age 51 (young age group).