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Alcohol Sale Status And Homicide Victimization In Kentucky, 2005-2012: Is There A Spatial Association?, Hanan Abdulghafoor Khaleel, Sabrina Brown, Steven T. Fleming, W. Jay Christian

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

To date, the association between the alcohol sale status of decedents’ residence and alcohol-related homicide victimization have not been studied as far as we know. The current study aims to: i) determine whether homicide victims who were residents of wet counties had higher odds of testing positive for alcohol than their counterparts in moist or dry counties after adjusting for confounders; ii) determine whether homicides and alcohol-related homicides tend to cluster spatially; iii) determine whether the aforementioned associations exist only in highly-populated counties. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the data on homicide victims in the Kentucky …

Population Cancer Risks Associated With Coal Mining: A Systematic Review, Wiley D. Jenkins, W. Jay Christian, Georgia Mueller, K. Thomas Robbins

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Coal is produced across 25 states and provides 42% of US energy. With production expected to increase 7.6% by 2035, proximate populations remain at risk of exposure to carcinogenic coal products such as silica dust and organic compounds. It is unclear if population exposure is associated with increased risk, or even which cancers have been studied in this regard.

METHODS: We performed a systematic review of English-language manuscripts published since 1980 to determine if coal mining exposure was associated with increased cancer risk (incidence and mortality).

RESULTS: Of 34 studies identified, 27 studied coal mining as an occupational exposure …

Does Place Of Residence Affect Risk Of Suicide? A Spatial Epidemiologic Investigation In Kentucky From 1999 To 2008, Daniel M. Saman, Sabrina Walsh, Anna Borówko, Agricola Odoi

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Approximately 32,000 people take their own lives every year in the United States. In Kentucky, suicide mortality rates have been steadily increasing since 1999. Few studies in the United States have assessed spatial clustering of suicides. The purpose of this study was to identify high-risk clusters of suicide at the county level in Kentucky and assess the characteristics of those suicide cases within the clusters.

METHODS: A spatial epidemiological study was undertaken using suicide data for the period January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2008, obtained from the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics. Descriptive analyses using Pearson's chi-square test …

A Spatial Cluster Analysis Of Tractor Overturns In Kentucky From 1960 To 2002, Daniel M. Saman, Henry P. Cole, Agricola Odoi, Melvin L. Myers, Daniel I. Carey, Susan C. Westneat

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Agricultural tractor overturns without rollover protective structures are the leading cause of farm fatalities in the United States. To our knowledge, no studies have incorporated the spatial scan statistic in identifying high-risk areas for tractor overturns. The aim of this study was to determine whether tractor overturns cluster in certain parts of Kentucky and identify factors associated with tractor overturns.

METHODS: A spatial statistical analysis using Kulldorff's spatial scan statistic was performed to identify county clusters at greatest risk for tractor overturns. A regression analysis was then performed to identify factors associated with tractor overturns.

RESULTS: The spatial analysis …