Grave Concerns Expressed by Psychiatrists Over Current Immigration Policies.

As members of the Global Mental Health and Psychiatry Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), we would like to express our grave concerns about the ongoing policies and treatment of asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants coming to the United States, and the adverse mental health sequelae that such policies will have on these individuals and populations.

Risk factors for subclinical atherosclerosis in firefighters.

Objective: Heart disease is the leading cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths. The study objectives were to identify early atherosclerotic disease through ultrasound measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and risk factors predicting increased CIMT and carotid plaque.

Methods: Following ultrasound evaluation of 597 Phoenix and Tucson firefighters, logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for mean CIMT greater than 75th percentile and for carotid plaque.

Periodic spirometry in occupational setting: improving quality, accuracy, and precision.

Objective: Effectiveness of periodic spirometry in medical monitoring depends on spirometry quality. We describe an intervention on spirometry quality and its impact on accuracy and precision of longitudinal measurements.

Methods: The intervention was conducted from 2005 to 2010 in a monitoring program involving approximately 2500 firefighters.

Case-Control study of Firefighters with documented positive tuberculin skin test results using Quantiferon-TB testing in comparison with Firefighters with negative tuberculin skin test results.

Background: Phoenix Firefighters have had abnormally high rates of tuberculin skin test (TBST) results on medical surveillance. The objectives of this study were to evaluate our firefighters using QuantiFERON-TB (QFT), comparing the results to their TBST results.

Methods: Using QFT results obtained during the study, we compared previously positive TBST responders (Cases) to negative responders (Controls).