Terrorism and the international classification of functioning, disability and health: a speculative case study based on the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Purpose: To argue that there is a need for a standard classification of functional status to track the consequences of large scale human disasters, such as the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001; and that the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) can meet that need.

Method: The need for tracking functional status following the September 11 attacks is assessed, and three hypothetical case studies of victims of terrorist attacks are presented and coded using a clinical short form of the ICF.

Results: It is demonstrated that typical clinical case histories can be coded to the ICF and that the resulting information is useful for tracking the functional consequences of large scale terrorist attacks on civilian populations.

Cancer morbidity and mortality in phosphate workers.

Phosphate ore mining and processing operations are associated with dusty conditions and potential exposure to gamma radiation and radon daughter products. Although most current measurements are within Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines, no measurements exist for the era preceding modern standards of industrial hygiene and workplace ventilation. All workers employed by the participating phosphate company between 1950 and 1979 were ascertained, and 3451 males employed for approximately 6 months or more comprise the study population.

Diet and other risk factors for cancer of the pancreas.

The findings of a case - control study of cancer of the pancreas, which was conducted in the Baltimore metropolitan area, are reported. Two hundred one patients with pancreatic cancer were matched on age (+/- 5 years), race, and sex to hospital and non-hospital controls, the latter selected by random-digit-dialing (RDD). All subjects were interviewed regarding diet, beverage consumption, occupational and environmental exposures, and medical and surgical history.

A method for estimating year of birth using social security number.

A method for estimating year of birth using only Social Security number is described. The method relies on estimating the year of issue of the Social Security number, using either precise information from a Social Security Administration table (for numbers issued since 1950) or extrapolation (for numbers issued before 1951). Age at issue was estimated using data from individuals in an occupationally defined population for whom both birth date and Social Security number were known.

The current mortality rates of radiologists and other physician specialists: specific causes of death.

The cohort mortality experience of radiologists over a 50-year period has been compared to that of other specialists with low levels of radiation exposure. The 1920-1929 cohort of radiologists who joined the Radiological Society of North America had the highest mortality for several chronic diseases. After this early period, radiologists ranked highest only for cancer mortality.

The current mortality rates of radiologists and other physician specialists: deaths from all causes and from cancer.

The cohort mortality experience of radiologists and other specialists over a 50-year period was examined on the assumption that these groups would differ relative to a presumed decrease in radiation exposure. Radiologists had an excess in all-cause mortality rates compared to the other specialists for all cohorts who entered the Radiological Society of North America before 1940; the excess remained even when the cancer deaths were removed from the rates. These data are consistent with the concept of accelerated aging due to radiation.