Documents preventive medicine 10 results

"Il n'y a pas de fatalité : si les cas de cancer du sein ont dramatiquement augmenté ces dernières décennies dans les pays occidentaux, c'est que les facteurs de risque présents dans notre environnement quotidien se sont multipliés. La bonne nouvelle, c'est qu'il est possible de faire reculer l'épidémie, à condition de bien identifier les causes et de mener les politiques publiques adéquates. Ce livre propose une synthèse claire et accessible de l'état de la recherche scientifique sur le sujet pour combattre les idées reçues : certes, certains cancers ont des causes génétiques, l'espérance de vie a augmenté et le dépistage s'est amélioré. Mais, quand on compare les taux de différents pays, on constate une très forte disparité liée aux modes de vie et aux facteurs de risques. Ainsi, d'après les bons résultats du Bhoutan, il serait théoriquement possible de réduire de 95 % le taux de cancer du sein en Belgique ! Il est temps de faire connaître les nombreuses données disponibles et de se mobiliser contre un étau qui nous touche tous, de près ou de loin. Si l'exposition au pesticide DDT a été reconnue cancérigène cinquante ans après les premières dénonciations, n'attendons pas cinquante autres années pour proscrire le bisphénol A et autres perturbateurs endocriniens de nos vies !"

"Da un decennio circa si è venuta precisando e affermando nel movimento sindacale italiano quella originale linea di difesa della salute e dell'integrità psicofisica del lavoratore, che si fonda sulla conoscenza e sul controllo dell'ambiente di lavoro e persegue l'elimittazione dei tanti fattori di nocività' · derivanti da un'organizzazione del lavoro e da processi produttivi impostati esclusivamente sulla logica del profitto. Non si considera più l'ambiente di lavoro come un dato di assoluta pèrtinenza della direzione aziendale, nei cui confronti i lavoratori potrebbero tutt'al più rivendicare compensazioni salariati, cioè la « monetizzazione » di nocività, rischi o danni. « La salute non si vende » ! Compete quindi ai lavoratori interessati, al gruppo omogeneo che accumula un'esperienza collettiva nel dato ambiente di lavoro, indagarne e interpretarne gli effetti, reperire le cause di nocività1 imporre le trasformazioni in grado di eliminarle. ..."

"This article assesses the effectiveness of pension provision and health insurance in preventing ill health among older people in developing countries. It argues that, until recently, social protection agendas devoted insufficient attention to health risk prevention, instead focusing on the reduction of income poverty through cash transfers. The article shows that there is little reliable evidence to indicate that providing older people with pension benefits enhances their health status and that these effects should not be taken for granted by policy-makers. The article then focuses on the effect of inclusion in health insurance schemes on health outcomes for older people, with specific reference to outcomes related to hypertension. Drawing on newly-available data from the World Health Organization for Ghana, Mexico and South Africa, it shows that older people with health insurance are marginally more likely to be aware of health conditions such as hypertension and more likely to have them under control. Nevertheless, the great majority of hypertensive older people, insured or uninsured, are not effectively treated. The chief barriers to treatment are shown to be mainly related to awareness and service provision, rather than financial ones. Consequently, the capacity of pensions or health insurance to enhance health outcomes for older people in such countries, including in rural areas, is heavily contingent upon health education, health screening and adequate health service provision. These interventions should be viewed as an integral element of mainstream social protection strategies, rather than adjuncts to them. Yet, in practice, social protection and health promotion continue to be treated as almost entirely separate spheres, thus presenting substantial institutional barriers to developing combined interventions."

"A steady increase in the incidence of allergic diseases can be observed since 1950s. For such atopic diseases as bronchial asthma, pollinosis or atopic dermatitis, a significantly increased morbidity rate in the general population has been found. Strikingly enough, the highest prevalence of asthma and allergy was recorded in highly developed countries. It can thus be assumed that the high rate of asthma may be an attribute of the post-industrial societies. The prevalence of occupational allergies is thought to be in direct proportion to the rate with which allergies occur in the general population. In view of the changing environment and lifestyles in the developing countries, their communities are expected to be faced with similar negative epidemiological effects concerning allergies. To counteract the spreading of negative health effects, the following measures need to be undertaken:
1. Limitation of exposure to strongallergens.
2. Modification of the training curriculum for medical personnel and of health service infrastructure, according to new tasks and challenges.
3. Considering a possibility of introducing a system of surveillance over occupational allergies and asthma, like the Surveillance of Work-related and Occupational Respiratory Disease (SWORD) system implemented in UK. This system ensures effective cooperation between specialists in preventive medicine, occupational hygiene services and research workers dealing with occupational health that enables prompt response to emerging hazards."

'In 2015, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics established the prevention of exposures to environmental reprotoxic substances as a priority for health professionals. However, available information about reproductive hazards is voluminous, dispersed, and complex, and this is a severe limitation for physicians to incorporate the prevention of environmental exposure into standard preventive care. One difficulty frequently cited by physicians is the lack of evidence-based information. The objective of our study was to identify a list of environmental chemical hazards to reproduction. We used lists present in relevant regulations or included in scientific reports or databases to identify reproductive hazards. The reproductive hazards were prioritized according to the strength of evidence concerning their impact on fertility or development of the offspring. We identified 1251 reproductive hazards. Our prioritization approach resulted in a high-priority classification for 462 risk factors belonging to the following eight classes: drugs (n = 206), metals (n = 116), pesticides (n = 38), organic solvents (n = 27), synthesizing and/or processing agents in industrial processes (n = 23), phthalates (n = 13), perfluorinated compounds (n = 13), and other compounds (n = 26). Despite the limitations of this work, the generated lists constitute a useful working basis to put in place innovative environmental preventive measures according to the principle of evidence-based medicine."

"The cancer risk associated with exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogens such as asbestos, benzene, radiation, or lifestyle carcinogens such as cigarette smoking depends on the entire history of exposure to the carcinogen, including the age of exposure and the time-varying intensity of exposure. While the importance of temporal aspects of exposure and risk has been highlighted for some time, the vast majority of epidemiological studies of cohorts use cumulative exposure as the measure of exposure, even when detailed exposure data are available for each member of the cohort. One reason is that the detailed history of exposure is difficult to incorporate in the traditional statistical models used to analyze epidemiological data. In contrast, time-dependent parameters associated with time-varying concentrations of exposure can be easily accommodated in statistical analyses based on multistage models. ..."

"This viewpoint delves into the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in occupational medicine, highlighting its profound impact on preventive healthcare. AI's integration into various aspects of occupational health is reshaping diagnostics, risk assessment, and healthcare administration. The paper emphasizes AI's learning, planning, reasoning, and problem-solving capabilities, which are pivotal in enhancing diagnostic accuracy for conditions like occupational tumor detection and longterm health effects from exposure to low-level hazards of chemicals. AI may be valuable for monitoring workplace health and safety, employing predictive analytics for early risk detection, and preventing occupational injuries and work-related diseases. In this viewpoint, the authors explore AI's role in managing health data through natural language processing, aiding physicians in clinical documentation and patient communication. It is needed to address ethical challenges related to AI implementation in the healthcare sector and occupational health practice, such as data protection and decision-making accountability. In conclusion, AI may expand worker training and health literacy scope, demonstrating its comprehensive utility in fostering a safer, healthier, and more informed workforce in occupational health settings"