Sleep-disordered breathing in male subjects with a history of nose-throat surgery.

The question addressed in this study was: could a history of nose-throat surgery represent a risk factor for sleep-disordered breathing? Three hundred and fifty French male employees answered a sleep / respiration questionnaire and had anthropometric measurements. A history of nose and/or throat surgery-mostly tonsillectomy or tonsillectomy plus adenoïdectomy- was given by 69 (19.7%) of the subjects (“at risk” group).

Roles of age, length of service and job in work-related injury: a prospective study of 63,620 person-years in female workers.

Background: The roles of age, length of service and job in various work-related injury types are unknown and deserve investigations among female workers. This study assessed their roles in the occurrence of injury.

Methods: Three-year prospective study of all 22,952 permanently employed women at the French national railway company: 63,620 person-years, 756 injuries with working days lost, coded using the company's injury classification derived from that of the French health insurance scheme.

Prevalence of dementia in mountainous village of Sicily.

The progressive and rapid aging of population is the demographic characteristic in the Western countries. This rapid process of aging is causing an increasing burden on the social and health-care services. In this context, the precise knowledge of the environmental, socio-economical and clinical characteristics of the elderly population is mandatory to find the correct strategies to achieve the successful aging.

Association of physical job demands, smoking and alcohol abuse with subsequent premature mortality: a 9-year follow-up population-based study.

This study assessed the relationships of physical job demands (PJD), smoking, and alcohol abuse, with premature mortality before age 70 (PM-70) among the working or inactive population. The sample included 4,268 subjects aged 15 or more randomly selected in north-eastern France. They completed a mailed questionnaire (birth date, sex, weight, height, job, PJD, smoking habit, alcohol abuse (Deta questionnaire)) in 1996 and were followed for mortality until 2004 (9 yr).

Relationships of physical job tasks and living conditions with occupational injuries in coal miners.

This study assessed the relationships of job tasks and living conditions with occupational injuries among coal miners. The sample included randomly selected 516 underground workers. They completed a standardized self-administred questionnaire.

Association of thyroid dysfunction with vitamin B12, folate and plasma homocysteine levels in the elderly: a population-based study in Sicily.

Background: Association of thyroid dysfunction with plasma homocysteine levels and vitamin B(12) has previously been reported. We evaluated these associations in the elderly in San Teodoro, a mountainous village of Sicily.

Methods: Subjects (n=279) aged 60-85 years (119 males and 160 females) were examined using self-reported signs, clinical examination and laboratory tests.

Association of vitamin B12, folate and homocysteine with functional and pathological characteristics of the elderly in a mountainous village in Sicily.

Background: Homocysteine is associated with age, folate and vitamin B(12). Our study investigated the functional and clinical characteristics of the elderly (aged 60-85 years) of San Teodoro, a village in Central Sicily, and evaluated associations with vitamin B(12), folate and homocysteine.

Methods: Subjects (n=280) were examined after door-to-door recruitment using interview, physician examination and laboratory tests.

Contributions of occupational hazards and human factors in occupational injuries and their associations with job, age and type of injuries in railway workers.

Objectives: To assess the contributions of environmental hazards, technical dysfunctions, lack of work organization, know-how and job knowledge, and other human factors in occupational injuries and their relationships with job, age and type of accidents in railway workers.

Methods: The sample included 1,604 male workers, having had at least one occupational injury with sick leave during a 2-year period in voluntary French railway services. A standardized questionnaire was filled in by the person-in-charge of prevention, with the injured worker.

Effect of sporting activity practice on susceptibility to motion sickness.

The theory of visuo-vestibular conflict is the most commonly accepted to explain motion sickness. Visual, vestibular and proprioceptive afferences are involved in balance control and this function can be improved by physical and sporting activities (PSA). The purpose of the present survey was to investigate the relationships between motion sickness susceptibility (MSS) in adulthood and PSA, and especially proprioceptive PSA.

Habitual loud snoring. A study of prevalence and associations in 850 middle-aged French males.

Background: Most studies on habitual snoring have focused on its prevalence. However, from the clinical point of view, the intensity of snoring is of upmost importance, as it suggests the existence of sleep apnoeas.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of loud snoring using a standard questionnaire and to evaluate the anthropometric and sleep characteristic differences between loud and light snorers in a sample of middle-aged males.

Correlates of occupational injuries for various jobs in railway workers: a case-control study.

Few studies have simultaneously addressed the role of occupational factors, individual characteristics and living conditions in occupational injuries, and to the best of our knowledge none on railway workers. This survey assessed the roles of these factors in various types of injuries and for various jobs in French railway workers. This case-control study was conducted on 1,305 male workers with an occupational injury during a one-year period and 1,305 male controls.

Sensorial organisation favouring higher visual contribution is a risk factor of falls in an occupational setting.

The contribution of intrinsic balance control factors to fall mechanisms has received little investigation in studies on occupational accidents. The aim of this study was to assess whether postural regulation in falling workers might have specificities in terms of sensorimotor strategies and neuromuscular responses to balance perturbations. Nine multi-fall-victims (MF), 43 single-fall-victims (SF) and 52 controls (C) were compared on performance measurements of static and dynamic postural control.

Relationships between certain individual characteristics and occupational injuries for various jobs in the construction industry: a case-control study.

Background: There is little published about the role of individual characteristics in occupational injuries. Construction workers have a high rate of injury; we assessed 11 personal characteristics in this professional sector.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 880 male workers who had had at least one occupational injury during a 2-year period and 880 controls.

Relationships of job and some individual characteristics to occupational injuries in employed people: a community-based study.

This study assessed the associations of job and some individual factors with occupational injuries among employed people from a general population in north-eastern France; 2,562 workers were randomly selected from the working population. A mailed auto-questionnaire was filled in by each subject. Statistical analysis was performed with loglinear models.

Relationships of job, age, and life conditions with the causes and severity of occupational injuries in construction workers.

Objectives: To assess the relationships of job, age, and life conditions with the causes and severity of occupational injuries in male construction labourers.

Methods: The sample included 880 male construction workers having had at least one occupational injury with subsequent sick leave. The survey used a standardised questionnaire, filled in by the occupational physician in the presence of the subject: socio-demographic data, job, safety training, smoking habit, alcohol consumption, sporting activities, physical disabilities, hearing, vision, and sleep disorders.