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Accelerated failure time model is a popular model to analyze censored time-to-event data. Analysis of this model without assuming any parametric distribution for the model error is challenging, and the model complexity is enhanced in the presence of large number of covariates. We developed a nonparametric Bayesian method for regularized estimation of the regression parameters in a flexible accelerated failure time model. The novelties of our method lie in modeling the error distribution of the accelerated failure time nonparametrically, modeling the variance as a function of the mean, and adopting a variable selection technique in modeling the mean. The proposed method allowed for identifying a set of important regression parameters, estimating survival probabilities, and constructing credible intervals of the survival probabilities. We evaluated operating characteristics of the proposed method via simulation studies. Finally, we apply our new comprehensive method to analyze the motivating breast cancer data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, and estimate the five-year survival probabilities for women included in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1990 and 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To honor Tom Waters's work on emerging occupational health issues, we review the literature on physical along with chemical exposures and their impact on functional outcomes.Background: Many occupations present the opportunity for exposure to multiple hazardous exposures, including both physical and chemical factors. However, little is known about how these different factors affect functional ability and injury. The goal of this review is to examine the relationships between these exposures, impairment of the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems, functional outcomes, and health problems with a focus on acute injury.Method: Literature was identified using online databases, including PubMed, Ovid Medline, and Google Scholar. References from included articles were searched for additional relevant articles.Results: This review documented the limited existing literature that discussed cognitive impairment and functional disorders via neurotoxicity for physical exposures (heat and repetitive loading) and chemical exposures (pesticides, volatile organic compounds [VOCs], and heavy metals).Conclusion: This review supports that workers are exposed to physical and chemical exposures that are associated with negative health effects, including functional impairment and injury. Innovation in exposure assessment with respect to quantifying the joint exposure to these different exposures is especially needed for developing risk assessment models and, ultimately, preventive measures.Application: Along with physical exposures, chemical exposures need to be considered, alone and in combination, in assessing functional ability and occupationally related injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Acute exposure to pesticides is associated with nausea, headaches, rashes, eye irritation, seizures, and, in severe cases, death. We characterized pesticide-related hospitalizations in Texas among children and teenagers for 2004-2013 to characterize exposures in this population, which is less well understood than pesticide exposure among adults. Methods. We abstracted information on pesticide-related hospitalizations from hospitalization data using pesticide-related International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes and E-codes. We calculated the prevalence of pesticide-related hospitalizations among children and teenagers aged ≤19 years for all hospitalizations, unintentional exposures, intentional exposures, pesticide classifications, and illness severity. We also calculated age- and sex-specific prevalence of pesticide-related hospitalizations among children. Results. The prevalence of pesticide-related hospitalizations among children and teenagers was 2.1 per 100,000 population. The prevalence of pesticide-related hospitalizations per 100,000 population was 2.7 for boys and 1.5 for girls. The age-specific prevalence per 100,000 population was 5.3 for children aged 0-4 years, 0.3 for children and teenagers aged 5-14 years, and 2.3 for teenagers aged 15-19 years. Children aged 0-4 years had the highest prevalence of unintentional exposures, whereas teenagers aged 15-19 years had the highest prevalence of intentional exposures. Commonly reported pesticide categories were organophosphates/carbamates, disinfectants, rodenticides, and other pesticides (e.g., pyrethrins, pyrethroids). Of the 158 pesticide-related hospitalizations, most were coded as having minor (n586) or moderate (n540) illness severity. Conclusion. Characterizing the prevalence of pesticide-related hospitalizations among children and teenagers leads to a better understanding of the burden of pesticide exposures, including the type of pesticides used and the severity of potential health effects. This study found differences in the frequency of pesticide-related hospitalizations by sex, age, and intent (e.g., unintentional vs. intentional). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study sought to investigate the prevalence of laparoscopic surgeon injury/illness symptoms and evaluate associations between symptoms and operating room ergonomics.Background: Although laparoscopic procedures significantly benefit patients in terms of decreased recovery times and improved outcomes, they contribute to mental fatigue and musculoskeletal problems among surgeons. A variety of ergonomic interventions and applications are implemented by surgeons to reduce health problems. Currently, there is a gap in knowledge regarding a surgeon's individual assessment of the operating room, an assessment that, in turn, would prompt the implementation of these interventions.Method: A new survey instrument solicited information from surgeons (N = 61) regarding surgeon demographics, perception, frequency of operating room equipment adjustment, and self-reported symptoms. Surgeons responded to questions addressing safety, ergonomics, and fatigue in the operating room, using a 5-point Likert-type scale that included the option undecided.Results: Surgeons who responded undecided were more likely to experience symptoms of injury/illness than respondents who were able to assess the features of their operating rooms. Symptoms were experienced by 100% of participants. The most prevalent symptoms were neck stiffness, back stiffness, and back pain.Conclusion: This study supports hypotheses that surgeons are experiencing body part discomfort and indicators of fatigue that may be associated with performing laparoscopy. Results suggest that awareness, knowledge, and utilization of ergonomic principles could protect surgeons against symptoms that lead to occupational injury.Application: The purpose of this brief report is to convey the importance of ergonomic principles in the operating room, specific to laparoscopic surgery and surgeon injury/illness symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture has been documented to be one of the most hazardous work environments for both adults and children. Adolescents may be especially vulnerable to adverse health effects from agricultural exposures due to the rapid growth and development experienced during those years. Separating the occupational, economic, and social issues in this population is difficult. Weak regulatory protection, lack of compliance with existing regulations, and gaps in service provision characterize the working conditions of adolescent farmworkers. Although there is increasing research on the impact of work organization on mental and physical health in adult working populations, there is a scarcity of research focused on this concept in young workers--and it remains virtually unaddressed in young farmworkers. Work characteristics of the informal work sector, better delineated in international literature, should be considered when planning research or interventions in this at-risk population. Further, the population of adolescent farmworkers is diverse, and research strategies and interventions need to be targeted and tailored to the heterogeneous groups. This article addresses some of the nontraditional work factors associated with the less-than-formal work organization and environments in the farmworker adolescent population and how these factors may inform the planning of research and interventions. Specifically, mobility, cultural patterns and social networks, alternative sampling strategies, alternative delivery of health care and education, and involvement of a wide range of players in the work environment of adolescent farmworkers should all be considered when conducting research or planning programs for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]