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The article presents a case study on occupational exposures and its connection with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on respondents aged 45 years old and above. The results suggest that occupational exposures most strongly linked with COPD were diesel exhaust, irritant gases and vapors, mineral dust and metal dust.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate work-related asthma among health maintenance organization (HMO) members. Recent reports suggest that the incidence of work-related asthma may be much higher than Sentinel Event Notification Systems for Occupational Risks (SENSOR) data estimate. Methods: Using the HMO's electronic medical record, we identified 1747 persons with evidence of new or recurrent asthma. Interviews with 352 of them elicited information about workplace exposures, symptoms, and home environment. Indus- trial hygienists rated the potential asthmagenicity of the respondents' work environments. Results: Based on the industrial hygienist ratings and self-reported work-relatedness of asthma symptoms, we classified 33 % of those interviewed as having potentially work-related asthma, suggesting an overall work-related asthma incidence/recurrence rate of 28 cases per 10,000. Conclusions: The contribution of occupation to the occurrence of adult onset asthma may be much higher than typically suggested in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the study on the accelerometer-based estimates' reliability in the physical activity levels of obese and overweight adults before and after a lifestyle weight loss program. It states that the study incorporates obese and overweight participants. It mentions that during waking hours, the participants wore RT3 accelerometer for seven days at baseline. It concludes that significant increase in reliability is not resulted by the length of wear time requirements. It suggests that researchers should manage a balance between feasibility and what is required in answering the research questions.