Aims-To identify visual and medical risk factors for motor vehicle collisions (MVCs).Methods-Data from four cohorts of older drivers from three states were pooled (n=3,158). Health information was collected at baseline, and MVC data were obtained prospectively. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between medical characteristics and MVCs.Results-A total of 363 MVCs were observed during the study period (1990-1997), of which 145 were at-fault and 62 were injurious. Falls and impaired useful field of view (UFOV 1 ) were positively associated with overall MVCs. At-fault MVCs were also positively associated with falls and UFOV impairment, and inversely with cancer. Injurious MVCs were positively associated with arthritis and neurological disease, and inversely with hypertension.Conclusions-These findings show similarities and differences across the risk factors for all, atfault, and injurious MVCs, and point to the need for verification and possible interventions. Licensing:The Corresponding Author has the right to grant on behalf of all authors and does grant on behalf of all authors, an exclusive licence (or non exclusive for government employees) on a worldwide basis to the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd to permit this article (if accepted) to be published in BJO and any other BMJPGL products and sublicences such use and exploit all subsidiary rights, as set out in our licence (http://bjo.bmj.com/ifora/licence.pdf). Competing interests: None declared.Patient consent: All patients signed an informed consent form approved by each institution's respective institutional review board. NIH Public Access MATERIALS AND METHODS Study DesignThis study involves the analysis of pooled data from four cohorts of older drivers (n=3,158) from three different states (Kentucky, Maryland, Alabama). Study ParticipantsAlabama Cohort I-This cohort has been described elsewhere (8). In brief, subjects were identified by the Alabama Department of Public Safety and enrolled in 1990 for a case-control study on visual and medical risk factors for MVC involvement. The sample was age-stratified to include equal numbers of drivers in each half decade from 55 to 85+ years old, and was about evenly split between those who had and had not been involved in a MVC five years prior to enrollment. The final sample (n=306) was followed prospectively for police-reported MVCs through 1996.Alabama Cohort II-A description of this cohort is available elsewhere (9); briefly, this cohort was assembled in 1994-1995 to investigate the association between mobility and cataract. It was comprised of one group with and one without cataract. Subjects were recruited from ten ophthalmology practices and two optometry clinics in Birmingham through a medical record review of patients seen in the past year. Study participants (n=385; 274 with cataract) were followed prospectively for police reported MVCs until February, 1997.Kentucky Cohort-A description of this cohort has been...

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Despite its centrality to contemporary inequality, working poverty is often popularly discussed but rarely studied by sociologists. Using the Luxembourg Income Study (2009), we analyze whether an individual is working poor across 18 affluent democracies circa 2000. We demonstrate that working poverty does not simply mirror overall poverty and that there is greater cross-national variation in working than overall poverty. We then examine four explanations for working poverty: demographic characteristics, economic performance, unified theory, and welfare generosity. We utilize Heckman probit models to jointly model the likelihood of employment and poverty among the employed. Our analyses provide the least support for the economic performance explanation. There is modest support for unified theory as unionization reduces working poverty in some models. However, most of these effects appear to be mediated by welfare generosity. More substantial evidence exists for the demographic characteristics and welfare generosity explanations. An individual's likelihood of being working poor can be explained by (a) a lack of multiple earners or other adults in one's household, low education, single motherhood, having children and youth; and (b) the generosity of the welfare state in which he or she resides. Also, welfare generosity does not undermine employment and reduces working poverty even among demographically vulnerable groups. Ultimately, we encourage a greater role for the welfare state in debates about working poverty.

FEVAR for repair of suprarenal and juxtarenal aneurysms is a viable alternative to open repair. However, there is no level 1 evidence for FEVAR, and current evidence is weak with many unanswered questions.

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In this series, mortality rates and incidence of retrograde aortic dissection were significant after hybrid repair of aortic arch dissections, especially in acute cases. These results are in contrast with previously published series including other aortic arch pathologies. They suggest that dissections of the aortic arch may represent a less favorable patient cohort.

Aims-To evaluate the association between thyroid problems and glaucoma.Methods-A population-based cross-sectional sample with 12,376 participants from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to quantify the association between a self-reported diagnosis of glaucoma and a self-reported history of thyroid problems, controlling for demographic characteristics and smoking status.Results-The overall prevalence of glaucoma was 4.6%; 11.9% reported a history of thyroid problems. The prevalence of glaucoma among those who did and did not report thyroid problems was 6.5% and 4.4%, respectively (p=0.0003). Following adjustment for differences in age, gender, race, and smoking status, the association between glaucoma and thyroid problems remained (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.08-1.76). Conclusions-The results of this study lend support to the hypothesis that thyroid disorders may increase the risk of glaucoma. Research should continue evaluating potential mechanisms underlying this relationship and whether the treatment of thyroid problems reduces subsequent glaucoma risk.