Objective Even though childhood cancer is a rare disease, it is one of the main causes of death among children in the Western world. Not much is known about the causes of childhood cancers but parental occupational exposures have been suggested by a number of epidemiological studies, including exposure to paints. Methods and materials All childhood cancer cases (0-15 years) in Denmark from 1968-2012 (n=5,711) were retrieved from the Danish Cancer Registry and population controls (1:100) were randomly selected and matched by age and sex. Maternal and paternal occupational history was retrieved by the Supplementary Pension Fund. Potential confounders were retrieved through the Medical Birth Registry. Register linkages were conducted using the unique identification number assigned to all Danish residents. Results Preliminary results for cancer of all sites show an OR of 0.89 (95% CI: 0,71-1.01) and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.73-1.01) for maternal and paternal exposure to paint, respectively, after controlling for potential confounders, including SES, maternal smoking, birth order, previous miscarriage, malformation and parental age. Increased but insignificant ORs were found for acute lymphatic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, ependy-moma, astrocytoma, Burkitt lymphoma, central nervous system cancers, Ewing sarcoma, melanoma and hepatoblastoma for maternal exposure and acute myeloid leukaemia, glioma, mela-noma, neuroblastoma and hepatoblastoma for paternal exposure. Conclusion Preliminary results have shown little and insignificant effect of parental paint exposure in relation to childhood cancer risk. Population-based occupational health surveillance includes work-related ill health surveillance and workplace health risk exposure surveillance. It is an important intelligence gathering system at the national level, which supports the planning, monitoring and evaluation of measures to prevent work-related ill health. The intelligence is essential for targeted intervention, prioritisation, tracking progress and evaluation of impact. To make best use of resources for intelligence gathering, the approaches used should be regularly assessed and monitored to ensure they remain fit-for-purpose, cost-effective and forward looking. In the context of the strategic approach for research planning and prioritisation in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a series of workshops were developed. One of the HSE internal workshops was organised in Janu-ary 2017. Some, 26 (90%) of the 29 invited stakeholders have participated to develop a common vision for a population based work-related ill health surveillance system that will continue to meet HSE's intelligence needs now and in the future; Following detailed assessments of the gaps in the current system, a wide range of innovative approaches were explored. Some practical first steps to improve the system were recommended with an emphasis on more systematic and strategic data collection. The key characteristics of an ideal system were also identified, including new features on case investig...

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Electrogustometry is well established as a clinical tool for the estimation of taste detection thresholds. Nevertheless, the user is sometimes unaware of the impact of superficially minor procedural and psychophysical factors upon the reliability and comparability of threshold estimates. The inherent strengths and limitations of the procedure are outlined, and aspects of the control and specification of the stimulus that moderate threshold measures are discussed. In addition, threshold estimates from two individuals with severe unilateral taste loss are used to illustrate the level at which anodal dc current may elicit common, rather than taste, sensation. Where chorda tympani section is complete and historical (older than 7-14 days), very high stimulus levels, conservatively over 5 micro A/mm2 (100 micro A linear current with a 5-mm diameter electrode), are required to activate trigeminal responses.

Rice farmers are occupationally exposed to agents that may affect respiratory health, including inorganic dusts and smoke from burning of agricultural waste. To assess respiratory health of this occupational group, we conducted a cross-sectional study, including a self-administered health and work questionnaire, spirometry, and chest radiography among 464 male California rice farmers. Mean age +/- SD was 48.3 +/- 15.2 yr; mean duration of rice farming was 25.7 +/- 14.3 yr. Prevalences for respiratory symptoms were: chronic bronchitis (6.3%), physician-diagnosed asthma (7.1%), and persistent wheeze (8.8%). Chronic cough was reported by 7.1% of respondents and was associated with reported hours per year burning rice stubble. Mean FEV1 and FVC were at expected values. FEV1 was inversely associated with years working in rice storage and use of heated rice dryers. Mean FEF25-75 was 93% of expected and was inversely associated with rice storage activities involving unheated rice driers. ILO profusion scores > or = 1/0 for small irregular opacities were seen in 18 (10.1%) of 178 chest radiographs. Study findings suggest increased asthma prevalence among California rice farmers. Radiologic findings consistent with dust or fiber exposure were increased compared with those of the general population, although no associations with specific farming activities were identified.

We compared measurements of urinary alkylphosphate metabolites and oxime-induced reactivation of plasma cholinesterase (P-ChE) and erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (RBC-AChE) with measurements of foliar residues, skin and clothing contamination, and P-ChE and RBC-AChE activities among 20 Northern California peach orchard workers exposed to the organophosphate agent azinphosmethyl (Guthion). Subjects entered orchards treated 30 d previously with azinphosmethyl and worked 21 d in treated fields during the ensuing 6 wk. Dislodgeable foliar residues ranged from 0.32-0.96 micrograms/cm2. Median reduction in RBC-AChE activity was 7% (p < .001) over the initial 3-d period of exposure and 19% (p < .01) over the 6-wk season. Urinary metabolites were the most sensitive indicator of recent exposure and correlated moderately with dermal and clothing levels (rs = +0.31-(+)0.55); urinary metabolites correlated well with RBC-AChE drawn 3 d after exposure began (rs = -0.77). No significant oxime-induced reactivation was found.