Back to Search
Start Over
Mortality among sons of female dental personnel - a national cohort study.
- Source :
-
Journal of Perinatal Medicine . Sep2014, Vol. 42 Issue 5, p655-661. 7p. - Publication Year :
- 2014
-
Abstract
- Aims: Dental personnel are exposed to mercury when using dental amalgam. This exposure constitutes a potential hazard to offspring of women working in dentistry. The present study examined increased mortality risk in offspring of mothers working in dentistry. Methods: Mortality was compared between sons of dental personnel and sons of nondental health-care personnel. Hazard ratios were calculated for three decades (1960s-1980s), when the magnitude of mercury exposure in dentistry was likely to have varied. Results: During the 1960s, there was a statistically significant increase in the risk of neonatal mortality for sons of dental nurses when compared with sons of assistant nurses: hazard ratio (HR) 1.82 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1.04-3.22). There was no increased risk in the subsequent decades, but a trend test demonstrated a consistent decrease in the risk over the three decades: HR for trend 0.63 (95% CI: 0.44-0.90). The raised mortality risk was limited to neonatal mortality. The comparison between dentists and physicians had insufficient statistical power. Conclusions: There is no increased mortality risk among sons of female dentists after the 1960s. Although the results should be interpreted with caution, they suggest a modestly raised risk of neonatal mortality, during the 1960s, when exposure to mercury was thought to be highest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *ACADEMIC medical centers
*CHILD mortality
*CONFIDENCE intervals
*DENTAL amalgams
*DENTAL assistants
*DENTISTS
*INFANT mortality
*MERCURY poisoning
*MORTALITY
*OCCUPATIONAL diseases
*REGRESSION analysis
*RESEARCH funding
*PROPORTIONAL hazards models
*DATA analysis software
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 03005577
- Volume :
- 42
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Perinatal Medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 98563763
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2013-0270