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The fortieth anniversary of EPA is an opportunity to congratulate the Agency on how far it has come and to consider the challenges of the future. It is a time [...]

Objectives. We sought to determine whether social class modifies the effect of BMI on breast cancer incidence. Methods. Participants included 5642 postmenopausal White women recruited in 1989 to CLUE II, a prospective cohort study in Washington County, Maryland. We obtained exposure data from CLUE II and the 1990 US Census. We used survival and random-effects Cox proportional hazards analyses to determine the association of social class and BMI with breast cancer incidence. Results. Education was independently associated with increased risk of breast cancer incidence (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01, 1.11; P Conclusions. Social class moderates the influence of body size on breast cancer incidence. Public health efforts, therefore, should advocate for policies that improve social conditions to decrease the burden of breast cancer. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:146-151. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.126979)

This essay argues that the tools of social science and public health research rarely are used to challenge the contemporary arrangements of our social structure and, secondly, to underscore approaches for research that remain under-examined and unexplored. doi: 10.1300/J051v16n03_14 KEYWORDS. Social science and public health research, racial and ethnic health, child health, public systems and poverty

This article suggests that contemporary efforts to reconnect urban planning and public health can benefit from a critical historical review of the two fields, particularly strategies based on removal and displacement of waste and people, scientific rationality, moral environmentalism, and increased specialization. The article offers a set of reconnection strategies that draw from this review, emphasizing alternative paradigms of precaution and prevention, institution building, and local knowledge. I offer examples of specific practices that embody these ideas, such as health impact assessment, food systems planning, and promoting networks of community health workers, that address both the physical and social determinants of health and might effectively reconnect planning and public health to meet the challenges facing twenty-first-century cities. Keywords: city planning; public health; health impact assessment; social justice

The empirical study of the relationship between the density of the residential environment and walking and total physical activity is done with the help of seven hundred and fifteen participants in the U.S. It is found that higher densities may have many benefits like efficient use of infrastructure, housing affordability, energy efficiency and possibly vibrant street life but density alone does not appear to have better influence on public health campaign aimed at increasing physical activity and mitigating obesity, in the U.S.

Despite growing recognition of violence's health consequences and the World Health Organization's recent classification of police officers' excessive use of force as a form of violence, public health investigators have produced scant re search characterizing police-perpetrated abuse, Using qualitative data from a study of a police drug crackdown in 2000 in 1 New York City police precinct, we explored 40 injection drug using and 25 non drug using precinct residents' perceptions of and experiences with police-perpetrated abuse. Participants, particularly injection drug users and non drug using men, reported police physical, psychological, and sexual violence and neglect; they often associated this abuse with crackdown related tactics and perceived officer prejudice. We recommend that public health research address the prevalence, nature, and public health implications of police violence.

Objective: The objective of this study was to follow up a cohort of subjects who completed detoxification treatment and a deaddiction program based on the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) model. The factors associated with complete abstinence were investigated. Method: Patients (187 men) admitted consecutively to an addiction facility, who fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence, were recruited for the study. Patients with major psychopathology were excluded from the cohort. The program was based on the principles of AA. The final outcome at 1 year was determined by visiting the patient and talking to the family and members of the local AA group. Results: Of the 187 initially recruited, five were excluded due to the presence of major psychopathology, one committed suicide and seven could not be traced. Of the 174 patients followed up, 58 (33.3%) remained sober (complete abstinence for the past year) at I year. Patients coming from distant places and those with follow-up workers in their localities fared better than those from the local area and those from towns where there was no one to motivate them to continue with AA meetings. These variables were significantly associated with sobriety even after adjusted for other confounders using multivariate techniques. Conclusions: A third of the cohort remained sober at 1-year follow-up. The patients' initial motivation and continued support once they returned to their communities were associated with being sober at follow-up. (J Stud. Alcohol 65: 546-549, 2004), ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE is a major public health problem in many countries, including India. Affiliation with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA; Twelve Step Facilitation [TSF] therapy) has emerged in western countries as a [...]

Objective: Alcohol-impaired offenders have high prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders; however, differences in prevalence rates among ethnic minorities have not been investigated. This study compares lifetime prevalence estimates of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders (alcohol and drug abuse and dependence, nicotine dependence, major depressive disorder [MDD], dysthymia, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and antisocial personality disorder [ASPD]) among Hispanics, American Indians and non-Hispanic whites convicted of driving while alcohol-impaired. Method: Offenders (758 women, 631 men) previously referred to a screening program in Bernalillo County, NM, were interviewed for this study using a structured diagnostic interview. Results: Adjusting for age, education, income and marital status, Hispanic women had significantly higher rates of alcohol abuse (odds ratio [OR] = 2.2) and lower rates of alcohol dependence (OR = 0.3), drug abuse (OR = 0.4) and nicotine dependence (OR = 0.3) than non-Hispanic white women. American-Indian women showed significantly lower rates of alcohol dependence (OR 0.5), nicotine dependence (OR = 0.2) and MDD (OR = 0.3) than non-Hispanic white women. Hispanic men had significantly lower rates of alcohol dependence (OR = 0.6), drug dependence (OR = 0.5), nicotine dependence (OR = 0.2), MDD (OR = 0.5) and ASPD (OR = 0.4) than non-Hispanic white men. American-Indian men also reported significantly lower rates of drug dependence (OR = 0.5), nicotine dependence (OR = 0.2) and ASPD (OR = 0.3) than non-Hispanic white men. Conclusions: After statistically adjusting for demographic differences, minority groups were in general less affected by substance abuse problems and had similar or lower rates of other psychiatric disorders when compared with non-Hispanic whites., DRIVING AFTER DRINKING is a major public health problem. It is the largest single cause of alcohol-related deaths, and impaired-driving arrests are second only to drug-related offenses as the most [...]

Objective: Because research has indicated women may be at increased risk for alcohol-related health problems, identifying risk factors for alcohol use among college women has become increasingly important. Previous studies report a relationship between premenstrual symptoms (PMS) and alcohol consumption among women seeking treatment for symptoms; however, results have been inconsistent among nonclinical samples. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between premenstrual symptomatology and alcohol consumption in a sample of college women. Method: Women (N = 193) from a large urban university consented to complete an assessment battery of health behavior questionnaires which included a retrospective assessment of PMS severity and typical weekend and weekday alcohol consumption during the past year. Results: Results revealed that PMS severity significantly predicted annual weekday alcohol consumption but did not predict annual weekend alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Our study suggests the relationship between PMS and alcohol consumption exists in nonclinical samples of college women who are relatively early in their drinking careers, before the development of severe alcohol-related problems. Thus, premenstrual symptomatology may be an important risk factor for alcohol consumption among college women. Education on the relationship between PMS and risk for alcohol misuse may provide beneficial information for both alcohol prevention and intervention efforts on college campuses and may be helpful in identifying women at risk for heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol problems., ALCOHOL USE among college students is considered one of the most significant public health concerns on college campuses today (Hingson et al., 2002). Two thirds of college students report alcohol [...]

Adverse work characteristics and poor social support have been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and other adverse health outcomes in otherwise apparently healthy adults. We undertook a cross-sectional study to evaluate the relationship between objective health status and work characteristics in industrial workers in Germany. Volunteers (n = 324) were recruited from a representative random sample (n = 537) of employees of an airplane manufacturing plant. Psychosocial work characteristics were assessed by the 52-item, 13-subscale salutogenetic subjective work analysis (SALSA) questionnaire, which assesses potentially salutogenic and pathogenic conditions. Factor analysis revealed three factors: decision latitude, job demands and social support. Biological health status was determined by the revised allostatic load score with 14 components: body-mass index, waist-to-hip ratio; systolic and diastolic blood pressure: plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor-necrosis factor-[alpha], HDL, cholesterol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; glycosylated hemoglobin; urinary cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and albumin. Score points were given for values in the high-risk quartile (maximum = 14). General linear models revealed that older individuals and men had significantly higher allostatic load scores than younger participants or women. Of the SALSA factors, only job demands related significantly to aliostatic load. The effect of demands was stronger in older individuals. Post-hoc analysis showed possible positive associations between high job demands and blood pressure or CRP, and between low social support and nocturnal excretion of cortisol or plasma levels of CRP. We conclude that this cross-sectional study on industrial employees found a weak association between a health summary score based on objective medical data and self-reported adverse work characteristics. Keywords: Allostatic load; Risk factors; Cardiovascular disease; Job demands; Decision latitude; Social support; Germany

Political correctness refers to a heterogeneous variety of political positions, which have a weak relationship to health policy and clinical medicine. The importance of people taking personal responsibility for their own health rather than the passive creatures of social programs is mentioned.

Political correctness is considered as a major concern of public health. The goal of public health as a pursuit of social justice is warping the indispensable mission of the physician's profession.

A study is done to assess the benefits of SO2 and PM10 absorption by trees. The effects of this on the extension of life expectancy and the reduction of hospital admissions are explained.

Russia faced a serious downfall in life expectancy during the 1990s. Co-relation between life expectancy and electoral turnout being positive, further investigations can give more insight into the association between public health and political participation.

Poverty is sometimes viewed as a public health issue, as it has adverse consequences for health and psychological well-being, especially for children. Poverty breeds violence, and is linked to poor health and shorter life-expectancy.

A practical framework, developed for the practice of medicine and public health, for encouraging the use of evidence-based conservation action is presented. It is suggested that government money should not be provided for carrying out biodiversity action that has no scientific basis unless appropriate trials and monitoring are built in to the system. The principle of evidence-based action should be established as a benchmark of professionalism in conservation practice just as it is in medicinal profession.