The risk of infertility among hairdressers. Five-year follow-up of female hairdressers in a Danish national registry.
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BACKGROUND: One in seven married couples is involuntarily infertile. Several chemical exposures in the work environment have been hypothesized to affect female reproduction, and some are present in products used in hairdressing and related trades. Recent Swedish findings indicate that employment in hairdressing poses a risk for female reproductive function. This study examined the possible association between work as a hairdresser and subsequent hospital contact due to female infertility. METHODS: A cohort of all women in Denmark aged 20-44 years on 1 January 1998 (baseline) and registered as economically active hairdressers, according to national registers, was formed to calculate age-standardized risk ratios (RRs) for hospital contacts due to female infertility during a 5-year follow-up period. Hairdressers were compared to a standard population, that is, all economically active women in Denmark aged 20-44 years at baseline, and to women working as shop assistants. RESULTS: Sixty-eight cases of hospital contact due to female infertility were observed among the female hairdressers. On the basis of the standard population, the expected number was 73.27, which gives an observed RR of 0.928 (95% CI: 0.72-1.18). Hairdressers and shop assistants exhibited similar rates of hospital contact due to female infertility (1.01; 95% CI: 0.77-1.29). CONCLUSION: The findings are not corroborating the hypothesis that hairdressers are at increased risk of infertility, but small risks in the entire group or high risks in small subgroups may not be detected by the study. (+info)
AIDS awareness in an Indian metropolitan slum dweller: a KAP (knowledge, attitude, practice) study.
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OBJECTIVE: To assess the awareness and attitude towards AIDS and PLHA in slum dwellers of Chennai, an Indian metropolis by KAP (Knowledge, Attitude, Practice) study. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted in a representative sample of 650 subjects (400 females and 250 females), aged 15-45 years, by means of a questionnaire in the local dialect Tamil. RESULTS: The overall literacy rate was 64%, with males being 70% and females being 60% literate. 20% of males and 11% of females do not know about a disease called AIDS. Only 67% of males and 55% of females are aware of the sexual mode of transmission. 34% of males and 50% females opine that AIDS is also a hereditary disease. Also 45% of males and 62% of females feel that AIDS also spreads by air, fomites, or mosquito-bite. Only 30% of males and 22% females know about the possible symptoms of AIDS. 30% of males and 45% of females never ask for a new syringe if not provided, as they are totally unaware of its significance. 43% of males and 78% of females do not know about the risk of a barber's blade. 56% of males and 71% of females feel that AIDS can be treated at least by a traditional medicine. Lastly, 48% of males and 60% females prefer outcasting an AIDS patient from the slum. CONCLUSIONS: AIDS awareness in the slum dwellers of Chennai is very poor. Corresponding awareness in suburbs and rural areas will be much worse. Conventional IEC methods targeting general population via mass media are not reaching the slum dwellers, even in a metropolitan city. A specially designed targeted intervention is needed. (+info)
Barbershops as hypertension detection, referral, and follow-up centers for black men.
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Barbershops constitute potential sites for community health promotion programs targeting hypertension (HTN) in black men, but such programs have not been evaluated previously. Here we conducted 2 nonrandomized feasibility studies to determine whether an enhanced intervention program of continuous blood pressure (BP) monitoring and peer-based health messaging in a barbershop lowers BP more than standard screening and health education (study 1) and can be implemented by barbers rather than research personnel (study 2). In study 1, we measured changes in HTN treatment and BP in regular barbershop customers with poorly controlled HTN assigned for 8 months to either an enhanced intervention group (n=36) or a contemporaneous comparison group (n=27). Groups were similar at baseline. BP fell by 16+/-3/9+/-2 mm Hg in the enhanced intervention group but was unchanged in the comparison group (P<0.0001, adjusted for age and body mass index). HTN treatment and control increased from 47% to 92% (P<0.001) and 19% to 58% (P<0.001), respectively, in the enhanced intervention group, whereas both remained unchanged in the comparison group. In study 2, barbers were trained to administer the enhanced intervention continuously for 14 months to the entire adult black male clientele (n=321) in 1 shop. Six barbers recorded 8953 BP checks during 11 066 haircuts, thus demonstrating a high degree of intervention fidelity. Furthermore, among 107 regular customers with HTN, treatment and control increased progressively with increasing intervention exposure (P<0.01). Taken together, these data suggest that black-owned barbershops can be transformed into effective HTN detection, referral, and follow-up centers. Further research is warranted. (+info)
Rare occupational disease of hair dressers: interdigital pilonidal sinus.
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Interdigital pilonidal sinus is a rare occupational disease related to work with short hair. Hair dresser's disease is the interdigital pilonidal sinus encountered in male barbers. A case of pilonidal sinus in the interdigital web is reported. We performed surgical excision and primary closure. There were neither complications nor recurrence in the third month after excision. We propose that surgical excision is inevitable and that any primary treatment can improve the patients' postoperative comfort. Thus, primary closure or closure with a flap, instead of secondary healing, should always be the first choice of treatment for a defect due to excision of an interdigital pilonidal sinus. (+info)
Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Brazilian hairdressers.
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