Comparison of two expert-based assessments of diesel exhaust exposure in a case-control study: programmable decision rules versus expert review of individual jobs.

Objectives: Professional judgment is necessary to assess occupational exposure in population-based case-control studies; however, the assessments lack transparency and are time-consuming to perform. To improve transparency and efficiency, we systematically applied decision rules to questionnaire responses to assess diesel exhaust exposure in the population-based case-control New England Bladder Cancer Study.

Methods: 2631 participants reported 14 983 jobs; 2749 jobs were administered questionnaires ('modules') with diesel-relevant questions.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other analgesic use and bladder cancer in northern New England.

A few epidemiologic studies have found that use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with reduced risk of bladder cancer. However, the effects of specific NSAID use and individual variability in risk have not been well studied. We examined the association between NSAIDs use and bladder cancer risk, and its modification by 39 candidate genes related to NSAID metabolism.

Gastric bypass surgeries in New Hampshire, 1996-2007.

Introduction: Obesity is a national epidemic. Gastric bypass surgery may be the only option that provides significant long-term weight loss for people who are morbidly obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 40 kg/m²) or for people who have a BMI of 35 or higher and have an obesity-related comorbidity. The objective of this study was to assess trends in gastric bypass surgery in New Hampshire.

Incidence of oral cavity and pharynx cancer in New Hampshire, 1990-2007.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe trends of the statewide cancer and treatment-related characteristics of oral cavity and pharynx (OCP) cancer and prevalence of risk factors in New Hampshire residents from 1990-2007.

Study Design: This is a descriptive study on oral cavity and pharynx cancer using a state cancer registry dataset for 1990- 2007. The age-adjusted rates with 95% confidence intervals for cancer incidence rates and standard proportions for stage, treatment, and risk factors were calculated.

Association between cutaneous melanoma incidence rates among white US residents and county-level estimates of solar ultraviolet exposure.

Background: Recent US studies have raised questions as to whether geographic differences in cutaneous melanoma incidence rates are associated with differences in solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure.

Objectives: We sought to assess the association of solar UV exposure with melanoma incidence rates among US non-Hispanic whites.

Methods: We assessed the association between county-level estimates of average annual solar UV exposure for 1961 to 1990 and county-level melanoma incidence rates during 2004 to 2006.

Recent trends in cutaneous melanoma incidence and death rates in the United States, 1992-2006.

Background: Increasing cutaneous melanoma incidence rates in the United States have been attributed to heightened detection of thin (≤ 1-mm) lesions.

Objective: We sought to describe melanoma incidence and mortality trends in the 12 cancer registries covered by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program and to estimate the contribution of thin lesions to melanoma mortality.

Methods: We used joinpoint analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results incidence and mortality data from 1992 to 2006.

Hair dye use and risk of bladder cancer in the New England bladder cancer study.

Aromatic amine components in hair dyes and polymorphisms in genes that encode enzymes responsible for hair dye metabolism may be related to bladder cancer risk. We evaluated the association between hair dye use and bladder cancer risk and effect modification by N-acetyltransferase-1 (NAT1), NAT2, glutathione S-transferase Mu-1 (GSTM1) and glutathione S-transferase theta-1 (GSTT1) genotypes in a population-based case-control study of 1193 incident cases and 1418 controls from Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire enrolled between 2001 and 2004. Individuals were interviewed in person using a computer-assisted personal interview to assess hair dye use and information on potential confounders and effect modifiers.

Reliability of rapid reporting of cancers in New Hampshire.

Objective: The New Hampshire State Cancer Registry (NHSCR) has a 2-phase reporting system. An abbreviated, "rapid" report of cancer diagnosis or treatment is due to the central registry within 45 days of diagnosis and a more detailed, definitive report is due within 180 days. Rapid reports are used for various research studies, but researchers who contact patients are warned that the rapid reports may contain inaccuracies.

Estimating water supply arsenic levels in the New England Bladder Cancer Study.

Background: Ingestion of inorganic arsenic in drinking water is recognized as a cause of bladder cancer when levels are relatively high (≥ 150 µg/L). The epidemiologic evidence is less clear at the low-to-moderate concentrations typically observed in the United States. Accurate retrospective exposure assessment over a long time period is a major challenge in conducting epidemiologic studies of environmental factors and diseases with long latency, such as cancer.

Utilization of Hospital Emergency Departments for non-traumatic dental care in New Hampshire, 2001-2008.

Hospital Emergency Departments (ED) provide a variety of medical care, some of which is for non-urgent, chronic conditions. We describe the statewide use of hospital ED for selected non-traumatic dental conditions that occurred during 2001-2008 in New Hampshire. Using the administrative hospital discharge dataset for 2001-2007, and provisional 2008 data, we identified all visits for selected dental conditions and calculated age-adjusted rates per 10,000 New Hampshire residents by several socio-demographic characteristics.

Occupation and bladder cancer in a population-based case-control study in Northern New England.

Objectives: We used data from a large, population-based case-control study in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to examine relationships between occupation, industry and bladder cancer risk.

Methods: Lifetime occupational histories were obtained by personal interview from 1158 patients newly diagnosed with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder in 2001-2004, and from 1402 population controls. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate ORs and 95% CIs, adjusted for demographic factors, smoking and employment in other high-risk occupations.

Improving the quality of industry and occupation data at a central cancer registry.

Background: Central cancer registries are required to collect industry and occupation (I/O) information when available, but the data reported are often incomplete.

Methods: We audited the completeness of I/O data in the New Hampshire State Cancer Registry (NHSCR) database for diagnosis year 2005, and reviewed medical records for a convenience sample of 474 of these cases. We compared I/O data quality before and after a statewide registrar training session on occupationally related cancers.

Oncology care in rural northern new England.

Purpose: A team from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont evaluated quality of care for breast and colon cancers in these predominantly rural states.

Methods: Central cancer registry records from diagnosis years 2003 to 2004 in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont were aggregated. Patient residence was classified into three tiers (small rural, large rural, and urban) using Rural-Urban Commuting Area classification.

Breast cancer stage at diagnosis and geographic access to mammography screening (New Hampshire, 1998-2004).

Introduction: Early detection of breast cancer by screening mammography aims to increase treatment options and decrease mortality. Recent studies have shown inconsistent results in their investigations of the possible association between travel distance to mammography and stage of breast cancer at diagnosis.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate whether geographic access to mammography screening is associated with the stage at breast cancer diagnosis.

A case-control study of smoking and bladder cancer risk: emergent patterns over time.

Background: Cigarette smoking is a well-established risk factor for bladder cancer. The effects of smoking duration, intensity (cigarettes per day), and total exposure (pack-years); smoking cessation; exposure to environmental tobacco smoke; and changes in the composition of tobacco and cigarette design over time on risk of bladder cancer are unclear.

Methods: We examined bladder cancer risk in relation to smoking practices based on interview data from a large, population-based case-control study conducted in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont from 2001 to 2004 (N = 1170 urothelial carcinoma case patients and 1413 control subjects).

Three-dimensional changes in upper airways of patients with obstructive sleep apnea following maxillomandibular advancement.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the morphologic changes of the airway in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients by helical computed tomography (CT) scanning following maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) surgery.

Materials And Methods: Twenty consecutive OSA patients treated with MMA from 2000 to 2003 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital and diagnosed by polysomnography (PSG) were included in this study. The criteria for this study were MMA surgery, pre- and postoperative helical CT scan, and PSG.

Surgical outcomes for suture-less surgery in 366 impacted third molar patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify surgical outcomes in third molar surgery when no sutures are used for primary closure.

Patients And Methods: A total of 1,280 third molars were removed from 366 patients in an outpatient setting using intravenous sedation and local anesthesia. A small V-shaped flap was raised in all cases and no sutures were placed over a 2-year period (2001 to 2003).