A retrospective mortality and cancer incidence study of former nuclear weapons assemblers from the Iowa Army Ammunitions Plant was conducted. This study examined whether or not workers at the plant exhibited higher rates of mortality or cancer as a result of their work-related activities. Potential exposures included radiation, beryllium, asbestos, and solvents. Cancer incidence was determined by calculating standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and using the Iowa population as reference. SIRs were calculated on 3,889 workers from1969-2005. Overall and cause-specific mortality was determined by calculating standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and using the U.S. and Iowa populations as reference. SMRs were calculated on 5,743 workers from 1947-2005. The SIR results showed that overall cancer incidence was lower than the Iowa population. Using the Iowa population as reference, the SMR analyses for men demonstrated excesses for all cancers (SMR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02-1.17), lung cancer (SMR 1.38, 95% CI 1.24-1.54), diseases of the respiratory system (SMR 1.15, 95% CI 1.03-1.46), mesothelioma (SMR 6.20, 95 % 1.28-18.1), asbestosis (SMR 9.28, 95% CI 1.12-33.5) and COPD (SMR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10-1.46). Significantly lower SMRs were observed stomach cancer and ischemic heart disease. For women excesses were observed for all cancers (SMR 1.41, 95% CI 1.17-1.69), lung cancer (SMR 2.47, 95% CI 1.72-3.44), ischemic heart disease (SMR 1.32, 95% CI 1.09-1.58), respiratory diseases (SMR 1.59, 95% CI 1.14-2.16), and COPD (SMR 2.47, 95% CI 1.60-3.65). Using the U.S. population, men experienced lower overall mortality while women had significantly higher overall mortality. In conclusion, the SIR portion of the study showed overall lower cancer incidence for both men and women. This may be due to the Healthy Worker Effect and the limited dates of study. There are no cancer registry data before 1969 thus missing cancers with short induction periods. Workers may have also moved out of the Iowa and had a cancer diagnosis in another state. Compared to Iowa population, there was an excess of respiratory disease deaths and deaths from lung cancer in both men and women. Considering the significant respiratory exposures workers may have experienced, further study with a nested case-control design is suggested.

Introduction: Long term care (LTC) residents require complete or extensive support, including 24-hour nursing and personal care. LTC residents contribute a greater number of emergency department (ED) visits when compared to community-dwelling older adults. Little is known about which resident-level characteristics at admission are predictive of LTC resident transfer to the ED. The objective of this thesis was to identify which admission characteristics are associated with ED transfers in Ontario, Canada. Methodology: I conducted a population-level retrospective cohort study using the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set Version 2.0 (RAI-MDS). The cohort included 56,433 LTC resident admission assessments from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018. Logistic regression and 10-fold cross-validation were used to identify adjusted associations between characteristics routinely collected during LTC admission assessment and ED transfers. Model performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC). Outcomes of interest included any ED use, potentially preventable, and low acuity ED transfers. Results: A recent change in medical orders, previous ED visitation, female sex, the presence of an indwelling catheter, and the need for oxygen therapy were informative predictors for any, potentially preventable, and low acuity ED transfers. Deterioration in cognitive status and change in behavior was influential to any ED transfers only. Urinary tract infections, pneumonia, indictors of delirium, and change in mood are unique to potentially preventable ED transfers, and antibiotic resistance is unique to low acuity ED transfers. Similar discrimination was reached for any ED use (AUC = 0.630), potentially preventable transfers (AUC = 0.659), and low acuity transfers (AUC = 0.645). Conclusion: The factors associated with ED transfers may be modifiable, and closer attention to these factors may help reduce ED transfers. Although the discriminability of the models was poor, advanced knowledge of informative characteristics can support upstream decision-making for clinicians. Future studies are required to validate these findings, derive risk scales, and demonstrate the utility of this model in health service planning. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Long term care (LTC) provides residents with 24-hour nursing and personal care. When the care or clinical needs of the resident cannot be met in the LTC facility, they may be transferred to the Emergency Department (ED). However, the ED’s are poorly situated to manage the distinct needs of older adults, given the sole focus on medical acuity rather than geriatric complexity. Unwarranted ED transfers are burdensome for LTC residents and increase their risk for adverse health events, such as nosocomial infections, delirium, and injuries. Understanding characteristics associated with ED transfers can help identify which residents may be at a risk of an ED transfer. The objective of this thesis was to identify which LTC resident characteristics at admission are associated with ED transfers in Ontario, Canada. A recent change in medical orders, previous ED visitation, female sex, the presence of an indwelling catheter, and the need for oxygen therapy were informative predictors for ED transfers.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第25182号 / 医博第5068号 / 新制||医||1071(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 今中 雄一, 教授 西浦 博, 教授 村井 俊哉 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Pregnancy and childbirth are critical life events and women and their families require physical as well as emotional support and care. The concepts continuity of care, choice and a sense of control are prominent in the literature on women’s satisfaction with as well as outcomes of care. Midwives have globally been identified as important role players in women-centred care for low risk pregnant women. To be able to offer their women safe, supportive care they need not only a certain degree of autonomy, but also the support of other health care professionals such as obstetricians to whom they can refer women with risk factors or complications. Maternity care has become “medicalised” and the overuse of interventions such as caesarean section is prevalent in many countries. South African women make use of either the public or private health sector for care during pregnancy and birth. The public sector is overburdened and women do not have a high level of continuity of care. The private sector is mainly obstetrician-led and intervention-driven, even for low risk women. The estimated caesarean section rate is higher than 70%. Private midwife-led care is available in South Africa, but is concentrated in the major cities. Private midwives practise at hospitals, birth centres, “active birth units” and women’s homes. No evidence could be found on the outcomes of private midwife-led care in South Africa. The objectives of this study were to explore and describe the outcomes of births attended by private midwives in Gauteng over a two year period and to compare these outcomes with the latest Cochrane review on midwife-led care. A retrospective cohort design was chosen to audit the birth registers of private midwives in Gauteng and conduct quantitative analyses. Gauteng midwives’ patients, when compared with the Cochrane review that juxtaposes midwife-led care with other models of care, had a significantly lower percentage of interventions such as induction of labour (9.6% versus 18.6%) but caesarean sections were performed significantly more frequently (19.3% for the women in Gauteng versus 12.5% for the women in the review). Women in Gauteng also made significantly less use of medications in labour. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were reassuring. Significantly more Gauteng women had intact perineums (53.4% versus 31.4%). A higher percentage of postpartum haemorrhage was found in the Gauteng sample (7.9% versus 6.2%). The difference is significant, although, only three women were admitted to high care units as a result of postpartum haemorrhage. Overall foetal loss (4.3% versus 6.7%) and neonatal ICU admissions (0.3% versus 2.9%) occurred significantly less frequently in the Gauteng sample. The study findings indicate that private midwife-led care in Gauteng compared well with that in the rest of the world in terms of intervention rates and outcomes. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Pregnancy and childbirth are critical life events and women and their families require physical as well as emotional support and care. The concepts continuity of care, choice and a sense of control are prominent in the literature on women’s satisfaction with as well as outcomes of care. Midwives have globally been identified as important role players in women-centred care for low risk pregnant women. To be able to offer their women safe, supportive care they need not only a certain degree of autonomy, but also the support of other health care professionals such as obstetricians to whom they can refer women with risk factors or complications. Maternity care has become “medicalised” and the overuse of interventions such as caesarean section is prevalent in many countries. South African women make use of either the public or private health sector for care during pregnancy and birth. The public sector is overburdened and women do not have a high level of continuity of care. The private sector is mainly obstetrician-led and intervention-driven, even for low risk women. The estimated caesarean section rate is higher than 70%. Private midwife-led care is available in South Africa, but is concentrated in the major cities. Private midwives practise at hospitals, birth centres, “active birth units” and women’s homes. No evidence could be found on the outcomes of private midwife-led care in South Africa. The objectives of this study were to explore and describe the outcomes of births attended by private midwives in Gauteng over a two year period and to compare these outcomes with the latest Cochrane review on midwife-led care. A retrospective cohort design was chosen to audit the birth registers of private midwives in Gauteng and conduct quantitative analyses. Gauteng midwives’ patients, when compared with the Cochrane review that juxtaposes midwife-led care with other models of care, had a significantly lower percentage of interventions such as induction of labour (9.6% versus 18.6%) but caesarean sections were performed significantly more frequently (19.3% for the women in Gauteng versus 12.5% for the women in the review). Women in Gauteng also made significantly less use of medications in labour. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were reassuring. Significantly more Gauteng women had intact perineums (53.4% versus 31.4%). A higher percentage of postpartum haemorrhage was found in the Gauteng sample (7.9% versus 6.2%). The difference is significant, although, only three women were admitted to high care units as a result of postpartum haemorrhage. Overall foetal loss (4.3% versus 6.7%) and neonatal ICU admissions (0.3% versus 2.9%) occurred significantly less frequently in the Gauteng sample. The study findings indicate that private midwife-led care in Gauteng compared well with that in the rest of the world in terms of intervention rates and outcomes. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The current study was designed to test the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in a retrospective group of 43 failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) patients. A medical record review was conducted on study participants to capture · relevant presurgical biopsychosocial variables deemed to be of potential prognostic value. In addition, a multidimensional approach to outcome assessment was undertaken along three general domains: general health status, disease specific outcomes, and surgical outcomes. Descriptive statistics of presurgical variables and outcome measurements are provided as well as a model of outcome prediction based on these prognostic variables. Results suggest that the use of neurostimulation may help to reduce low back and/or leg pain in some patients with FBSS; however, a large number of patients reported continuing pain, physical disability, and inability to work despite treatment. The current study calls into question the efficacy of SCS for FBSS. Recommendations for future studies are presented.

Little is known about the receipt of cancer screening for new primary cancers among Canadian cancer survivors. The objectives of this thesis are to i) synthesize evidence comparing receipt cancer screening between cancer survivors and non-cancer controls; and ii) analyze breast and cervical cancer screening receipt among Nova Scotian colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors. This thesis consists of a systematic review and meta-analysis, and a population-based cohort study of Nova Scotian CRC survivors. We found that while cancer survivors were more likely to receive cancer screening than the general population, a significant proportion of cancer survivors were not screened. We observed significant heterogeneity between studies, most of which remained unexplained after subgroup and sensitivity analyses. 30.1% and 47.9% of Nova Scotian CRC survivors never received a breast and cervical cancer screen after their CRC diagnosis. Receipt of pre-CRC diagnosis screening was strongly predictive of receiving screening post-diagnosis.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第23067号 / 医博第4694号 / 新制||医||1049(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 今中 雄一, 教授 武藤 学, 教授 妹尾 浩 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(医学) / 乙第13220号 / 論医博第2167号 / 新制||医||1033(附属図書館) / (主査)教授 高橋 淳, 教授 宮本 享, 教授 伊佐 正 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Submitted by JÚLIO HEBER SILVA (julioheber@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-12-23T15:57:01Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Laura Branquinho do Nascimento - 2016.pdf: 6736189 bytes, checksum: 8c0c7f22816171022b1f547c1aaddf86 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2016-12-26T12:57:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Laura Branquinho do Nascimento - 2016.pdf: 6736189 bytes, checksum: 8c0c7f22816171022b1f547c1aaddf86 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-26T12:57:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Laura Branquinho do Nascimento - 2016.pdf: 6736189 bytes, checksum: 8c0c7f22816171022b1f547c1aaddf86 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-01 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás - FAPEG / Introduction: dengue is the most important arboviral disease in the world and a major health challenge in Brazil. The hyperendemic scenario with large epidemics led to an increase in severe forms of the disease, including special groups such as pregnant women. Dengue infection during pregnancy has been associated with the development of unfavorable maternal and infant outcomes, however, few studies have addressed this association and usually with a small sample size. Objective: to evaluate the epidemiological profile of pregnant women reported with dengue and the symptomatic infection caused by dengue virus during pregnancy as a factor associated with premature birth, low birth weight and congenital malformations in live births in Brazil. Methods: a descriptive study of dengue probable cases reported in pregnant women in Brazil with onset of symptoms between 2007 and 2015 was conducted from data of National Reportable Disease Information System (SINAN). We then carried one retrospective cohort study based on a probabilistic linkage between databases from SINAN and Live Birth Information System (SINASC) from 2007 to 2013. The linkage was performed for pregnant women with a positive or negative laboratory specific test for dengue and all live births using the the Fine-Grained Record Integration and Linkage (FRIL) software. Additionally, an external reference group was randomly selected for each dengue positive case among newborns from the same municipality of residence and year of the onset of symptoms of the case. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess the relationship between symptomatic dengue during pregnancy and adverse outcomes in live births, adjusted for relevant covariates. Results: 43,772 probable dengue cases in pregnant women were reported during the study period. The proportion of cases per trimester of gestation presented a similar distribution, with a slightly higher frequency in the second trimester of pregnancy (32.6%). The risk of death due to dengue was higher in pregnant women when compared to women childbearing age not pregnant (RR: 3.95; 95% CI 3.07 to 5.08, p <0.001), reaching a risk of 8.55 (95% CI: 6.08 to 12.02, p <0.001) in the third trimester of pregnancy. 3,898 live births in the group of positive pregnant women from 1,283 municipalities were included in the retrospective cohort study. The distribution of birth weight was similar among all study groups, ranging from 2.8 to 3.5 kg in 50% of newborns. The adjusted odds ratio for preterm birth was higher in the group of pregnant women positive for dengue than negative group compared in all trimesters (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.49; p = 0.006). The incidence of congenital malformations was <1% in all groups. Conclusions: this is the first study based on national data and establishes the baseline of the evaluated outcomes in live births before the introduction of Chikungunya and Zika virus in the country. Our findings reinforce the dengue as a major problem for pregnant women, indicating increased risk for death from the disease and preterm birth in live births, but not to congenital malformations or low birth weight. / Introdução: a dengue é a arbovirose de maior relevância mundial e um dos principais desafios de saúde no Brasil. O cenário de hiperendemicidade, com epidemias de grande magnitude e aumento de formas graves da doença levou também ao aumento de casos em grupos especiais, como as gestantes. A infecção por dengue durante a gestação tem sido associada ao desenvolvimento de desfechos maternos e infantis desfavoráveis, no entanto, essa evidência decorre de poucos estudos e com tamanhos de amostras reduzidos. Objetivo: avaliar o perfil epidemiológico das gestantes notificadas com dengue e a infecção sintomática pelo vírus da dengue na gestação como fator associado à prematuridade, baixo peso ao nascer e malformações congênitas nos nascidos vivos no Brasil. Métodos: um estudo descritivo dos casos prováveis de dengue em gestantes no Brasil, com início dos sintomas entre 2007 e 2015, foi realizado a partir de dados do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (Sinan). Em seguida, foi realizado um estudo de coorte retrospectivo baseado em um relacionamento probabilístico dos dados registrados no Sinan e no Sistema de Informações sobre Nascidos Vivos (Sinasc), no período de 2007 a 2013. Esse relacionamento foi realizado a partir das gestantes confirmadamente positivas e negativas para dengue e nascidos vivos usando o programa Fine-Grained Record Integration and Linkage (FRIL). Adicionalmente, um grupo de referência externo foi selecionado aleatoriamente entre nascidos vivos dos municípios de residência dos casos de dengue, no mesmo ano de início de sintomas. A regressão logística multivariada foi realizada para verificar a relação entre dengue sintomática durante a gestação e desfechos desfavoráveis em nascidos vivos, ajustadas para covariáveis relevantes. Resultados: 43.772 casos prováveis de dengue em gestantes ocorreram no período do estudo. A proporção de casos por trimestre de gestação apresentou distribuição semelhante, com freqüência ligeiramente maior no segundo trimestre da gravidez (32,6%). O risco do óbito por dengue foi maior na população de gestantes que na população de mulheres em idade fértil não gestante (RR: 3,95; IC 95% 3,07-5,08, p<0,001), sendo observado um risco relativo de 8,55 (IC95%: 6,08-12,02, p <0,001) para as gestantes no terceiro trimestre. 3.898 nascidos vivos do grupo de gestantes positivas provenientes de 1.283 municípios foram incluídos no estudo de coorte retrospectivo. A distribuição do peso ao nascer foi similar entre todos os grupos de estudo, variando de 2,8 a 3,5 Kg em 50% dos recém-nascidos. O odds ratio ajustado de prematuridade foi maior no grupo de gestantes positivas para dengue do que o grupo negativo, na comparação de todos os trimestres agregados (OR 1,26; IC 95% 1,06-1,49; p= 0,006). A incidência de malformações congênitas foi <1% em todos os grupos. Conclusões: este é o primeiro estudo realizado com dados nacionais e estabelece a linha de base dos desfechos em nascidos vivos antes da introdução dos vírus Chikungunya e Zika no País. Nossos achados reforçam a dengue como um importante problema para as gestantes, indicando risco aumentado para o óbito pela doença e prematuridade nos nascidos vivos, mas não para malformações congênitas ou baixo peso ao nascer.