Smoking as a risk factor for accident death: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.

This meta-analysis discusses the consistency, strength, dose-response, independence, and generalizability of published cohort data on accident death relative risks in smokers. To locate data, three authors independently searched MEDLINE, and bibliographies of the pertinent studies found, for data which allowed estimation of an appropriate cigarette smoker accident death relative risk (and 95% confidence interval). Relative risks and dose-response were summarized by fixed effects and Poisson modeling, respectively.

Personal exposure to dust, endotoxin and crystalline silica in California agriculture.

Aims: The aim of this study was to measure personal exposure to dust, endotoxin and crystalline silica during various agricultural operations in California over a period of one year.

Methods: Ten farms were randomly selected in Yolo and Solano counties and workers were invited to wear personal sampling equipment to measure inhalable and respirable dust levels during various operations. The samples were analysed for endotoxin using the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate assay and crystalline silica content using X-ray diffraction.

The relation between subjective dust exposure estimates and quantitative dust exposure measurements in California agriculture.

Measuring exposure levels for epidemiologic research is time consuming and expensive and therefore subjective exposure estimates are sometimes used instead. In this study we related the subjective dust exposure estimates of workers in California agriculture to personal dust exposure measurements. One hundred and twenty-four observations were available for comparison of subjective dust estimates and inhalable dust measurements and 129 observations for comparison of subjective dust estimates and respirable dust measurements.