Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Framing Future Of Work Considerations Through Climate And Built Environment Assessment Of Volunteer Work Practices In The United States Equine Assisted Services, Kimberly I. Tumlin, Sa Liu, Jae-Hong Park

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The foundation of healthy workplace design is an understanding of work practices. Volunteers comprise the majority of the workforce in care centers using horses to address human health issues. Documentation is lacking on protections for worker well-being in equestrian microenvironments which are known to have the potential for dust exposures. Climate acts as a master variable in equestrian facility design and ventilation usage to address dust and temperature concerns. Using climate as an independent variable, our objective was to characterize space usage, safety, environmental control, and organizational practices through a national survey of equine assisted programs. We found that more …

Demographic, Presentation, And Treatment Factors And Racial Disparities In Ovarian Cancer Hospitalization Outcomes, Tomi F. Akinyemiju, Gurudatta Naik, Kemi Ogunsina, Daniel T. Dibaba, Neomi Vin-Raviv

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: This study examines whether racial disparities in hospitalization outcomes persist between African-American and White women with ovarian cancer after matching on demographic, presentation, and treatment factors.

METHODS: Using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, 5,164 African-American ovarian cancer patients were sequentially matched with White patients on demographic (e.g., age, income), presentation (e.g., stage, comorbidities), and treatment (e.g., surgery, radiation) factors. Racial differences in-hospital length of stay, post-operative complications, and in-hospital mortality were evaluated using conditional logistic regression models.

RESULTS: White ovarian cancer patients had relatively higher odds of post-operative complications when matched on demographics (OR 1.35, 95% CI …

Cpt1a Methylation Is Associated With Plasma Adiponectin, S. Aslibekyan, A. N. Do, H. Xu, S. Li, M. R. Irvin, D Zhi, H. K. Tiwari, D. M. Absher, A. R. Shuldiner, T. Zhang, W. Chen, K. Tanner, C. Hong, B. D. Mitchell, G. Berenson, Donna K. Arnett

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background and Aims—Adiponectin, an adipose-secreted protein that has been linked to insulin sensitivity, plasma lipids, and inflammatory patterns, is an established biomarker for metabolic health. Despite clinical relevance and high heritability, the determinants of plasma adiponectin levels remain poorly understood.

Methods and Results—We conducted the first epigenome-wide cross-sectional study of adiponectin levels using methylation data on 368,051 cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites in CD4+ T-cells from the Genetics of Lipid Lowering Drugs and Diet Network (GOLDN, n= 991). We fit linear mixed models, adjusting for age, sex, study site, T-cell purity, and family. We have identified a positive association (regression …

Human Papillomavirus Genotype Prevalence In Invasive Penile Cancers From A Registry-Based United States Population, Brenda Y. Hernandez, Marc T. Goodman, Elizabeth R. Unger, Martin Steinau, Amy Powers, Charles F. Lynch, Wendy Cozen, Maria Sibug Saber, Edward S. Peters, Edward J. Wilkinson, Glenn Copeland, Claudia Hopenhayn, Youjie Huang, Meg Watson, Sean F. Altekruse, Christopher Lyu, Mona Saraiya, The Hpv Typing Of Cancer Workgroup

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is estimated to play an etiologic role in 40-50% of penile cancers worldwide. Estimates of HPV prevalence in U.S. penile cancer cases are limited.

METHODS: HPV DNA was evaluated in tumor tissue from 79 invasive penile cancer patients diagnosed in 1998-2005 within the catchment areas of seven U.S. cancer registries. HPV was genotyped using PCR-based Linear Array and INNO-LiPA assays and compared by demographic, clinical, and pathologic characteristics and survival. Histological classification was also obtained by independent pathology review.

RESULTS: HPV DNA was present in 50 of 79 (63%) of invasive penile cancer cases. Sixteen viral …

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 …