Serum paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) genotype and exposure to organophosphorous insectides--is there a high-risk population?

The Health Studies Branch (HSB) is responsible for responding to domestic and international requests for assistance with suspected and known environmental-associated public health threats as well as pursuing original environmental research. The HSB employs personnel with a wide variety of educational backgrounds and professional training including epidemiology, medicine, toxicology, statistics, and other environmental public health-related disciplines. This wide range of expertise is necessary to address the broad scope of potential environmental health threats.

Substance use by soldiers who abuse their spouses.

Data on 7,424 soldier spouse abuse offenders were analyzed to determine the prevalence of substance use during abusive incidents, and to examine differences between substance-using and non-substance-using offenders. Results showed that 25% of all offenders used substances during abusive incidents, with males and non-Hispanic Whites being more likely to hav e used substances. Substance-using offenders were more likely to perpetrate physical spouse abuse and more severe spouse abuse.

Male soldier family violence offenders: spouse and child offenders compared to child offenders.

Army data from 2000 to 2004 were used to compare two groups of married, male, Army soldier, first-time family violence offenders: 760 dual offenders (whose initial incident included both child maltreatment and spouse abuse) and 2,209 single offenders (whose initial incident included only child maltreatment). The majority (81%) of dual offenders perpetrated physical spouse abuse; however, dual offenders were less likely than single offenders to perpetrate physical child abuse (16% vs. 42%) or sexual child abuse (1% vs.

Outbreak of acute renal failure in Panama in 2006: a case-control study.

Objective: In September 2006, a Panamanian physician reported an unusual number of patients with unexplained acute renal failure frequently accompanied by severe neurological dysfunction. Twelve (57%) of 21 patients had died of the illness. This paper describes the investigation into the cause of the illness and the source of the outbreak.

Update on research and activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the agency for toxic substances and disease registry.

The true cause of this particular outbreak has yet to be determined, however, outbreaks of PA-associated toxicity are a global public health problem. These outbreaks have caused significant morbidity and mortality in both animals and humans. It is important to consider PA toxicity in the differential for liver disease of unknown origin, and it is probably more important to do so in developing countries.

Occurrence of maltreatment in active duty military and nonmilitary families in the State of Texas.

This study compared the occurrence of child maltreatment in military and nonmilitary populations. Data came from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. All cases of child maltreatment substantiated from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2002, in the state of Texas were analyzed.

Child maltreatment and substance abuse among U.S. Army soldiers.

Although substance abuse has consistently been linked to child maltreatment, no study to date has described the extent of substance abuse among child maltreatment offenders within the military. Analysis of U.S.

Physical and sexual violence among North Carolina women: associations with physical health, mental health, and functional impairment.

Objective: This study examines links between women's experiences of violence during adulthood (including physical and sexual violence) and women's physical health, mental health, and functional status.

Methods: Data were analyzed from a representative sample of 9,830 North Carolina women surveyed by the North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

Results: One-quarter of the women experienced violence as adults, with current or ex-partners being the most common perpetrators.

Identification and quantification of diethylene glycol in pharmaceuticals implicated in poisoning epidemics: an historical laboratory perspective.

Over the last several decades, mass poisonings of diethylene glycol (DEG), usually ingested as an unintended component of pharmaceutical preparations, have occurred. In order to promptly halt the rise in deaths due to ingestion of these pharmaceuticals, laboratory analysis has often been employed to identify and quantify the etiologic agent after the medications have been tentatively implicated. Over the past 15 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been involved in identifying DEG in implicated pharmaceutical products during three poisoning epidemics that occurred in Nigeria (1990), Haiti (1995), and, most recently, in Panama (2006).

Effect of deployment on the occurrence of child maltreatment in military and nonmilitary families.

War has a profound emotional impact on military personnel and their families, but little is known about how deployment-related stress impacts the occurrence of child maltreatment in military families. This time-series analysis of Texas child maltreatment data from 2000 to 2003 examined changes in the occurrence of child maltreatment in military and nonmilitary families over time and the impact of recent deployment increases. The rate of occurrence of substantiated maltreatment in military families was twice as high in the period after October 2002 (the 1-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks) compared with the period prior to that date (rate ratio = 2.

Family violence in the military: a review of the literature.

Family violence, including both child maltreatment and spouse abuse, is a public health concern in both military and civilian populations. However, there is limited knowledge concerning violence in military families relative to civilian families. This literature review critically reviews studies that examine child maltreatment and spouse abuse among military families and compares family violence in military versus nonmilitary populations.

Is testicular cancer related to Gulf War deployment? Evidence from a pilot population-based study of Gulf War era veterans and cancer registries.

The possible relationship between military deployment and the subsequent increase in cancer rates has been prominent since the Vietnam War. The objective of this study was to investigate whether any form of cancer was increased among veterans deployed to the Persian Gulf in the 1991 conflict. This study matched data from central cancer registries in the District of Columbia and New Jersey with the records for 1.