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The article presents a study to assess the relationships of physical job tasks and living conditions with occupational injuries in a randomly selected 516 coal miners. A standardized self-administered questionnaire were given, in which the data were analyzed through logistic regression method. Results revealed that job tasks and living conditions have increased the musculoskeletal disorders. Thus, occupational physicians are advised to help such workers seek remedial measures.

Background: Association of thyroid dysfunction with plasma homocysteine levels and vitamin B12 has previously been reported. We evaluated these associations in the elderly in San Teodoro, a mountainous village of Sicily. Methods: Subjects (n=279) aged 60–85 years (119 males and 160 females) were examined using self-reported signs, clinical examination and laboratory tests. Results: Hypothyroidism and/or goiter were two characteristics that were not associated with a significant change in homocysteine when compared with euthyroidism and the absence of goiter. Vitamin B12 was significantly higher in subjects in the first quartile of the thyroid-stimulating hormone distribution, compared with those in the fourth quartile (371±207 vs. 297±196 pmol/L, p=0.0121). Homocysteine was significantly higher in the first quartile of the free tri-iodothyronine distribution compared to the third quartile (18.0±5.7 vs. 16.0±6.2 μmol/L, p=0.0130) and was correlated with log tri-iodothyronine in euthyroid subjects (p=0.0254). In multivariate analysis, homocysteine was associated with vitamin B12 (p=0.0014), folate (p<0.0001), creatinine (p<0.0001) and age (p<0.0001), but not with either free tri-iodothyronine (p=0.7680), tetra-iodothyronine (p=0.5706) or thyroid-stimulating hormone (p=0.2294). Conclusions: Our results suggest that the influence of thyroid hormones on homocysteine is much weaker in elderly subjects than in selected patients with hypothyroidism. Clin Chem Lab Med 2007;45:143–7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Homocysteine is associated with age, folate and vitamin B12. Our study investigated the functional and clinical characteristics of the elderly (aged 60–85 years) of San Teodoro, a village in Central Sicily, and evaluated associations with vitamin B12, folate and homocysteine. Methods: Subjects (n=280) were examined after door-to-door recruitment using interview, physician examination and laboratory tests. Results: A total of 19.3% of the population had a low blood level of folate (<7 nmol/L) and 3.2% had low vitamin B12 concentration (<100 pmol/L). The level of dependency, determined by the Barthel index, influenced homocysteine blood levels (p<0.0001), independent of age (p<0.0001), folate (p=0.0028) and vitamin B12 (p=0.0165). Homocysteine was significantly associated with stroke (p=0.0027) and peripheral arterial vascular disease (p=0.0001), but not with myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, venous thrombosis or cancer. Vitamin B12 was lower in myocardial infarction and higher in diabetes and venous thrombosis compared to the other diseases. Conclusions: The prevalence of deficits in folate and vitamin B12 was paradoxically high in the mountainous northeastern area of Sicily. Our study also underlines the association of homocysteine with dependency of the elderly and with stroke and peripheral arteriopathy. Clin Chem Lab Med 2007;45:136–42. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]