Herbicide/pesticide effects on intestinal epithelial growth.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of some common herbicides and pesticides on the growth of normal intestinal and colonic epithelial cells. Preconfluent cultures of normal rat intestinal cells (IEC-6 cell line) and normal human colonic epithelial cells were treated with 0.05-50 microM doses of atrazine, diazinon, and endosulfan. After 3 days of treatment, the change in cell proliferation was quantified by cell counting or the MTT growth assay. Both intestinal and colonic epithelial cell cultures had increases in cell growth when treated with as little as 1.0 microM atrazine, diazinon, or endosulfan. The observed changes in both cultured intestinal and colonic cell growth rates were not due to the influence of the vehicle control dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). That is, the treatment of the cell cultures with concentrations of DMSO as high as 0.5% for 3 days resulted in no change in cell growth compared with untreated control cultures. A consistent observation with all three of the compounds was that the highest doses (50 microM) had the least "proliferative potential" in stimulating either IEC-6 cell or human colonic epithelial cell growth. Within the concentration range used, none of the herbicides or pesticides caused a decrease in cell proliferation below that of the untreated control cultures. Overall, treatment of IEC-6 cell cultures with atrazine, diazinon, or endosulfan produced a biphasic growth response, whereas the same treatment in the human colonic epithelial cell cultures produced a more sustained level of growth over the same period. This culture system may provide the basis for an in vitro model to further study the cellular and molecular basis of the effects of herbicides and pesticides on intestinal epithelial proliferation.

Menstrual cycles in nurses handling antineoplastic drugs.

Given the association between high-dose antineoplastic drug therapy and effects on gonadal function, a cross-sectional study was designed to explore the relationship between low-dose occupational exposure to antineoplastic questionnaire survey of the members of two national organizations for nurses was conducted, resulting in a sample of 1,458 female subjects. Subjects obtained from the two organizations were compared on major demographic and work characteristics and were found to be similar on most factors other than occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs. An association was found between menstrual dysfunction and current handling of cancer drugs in subjects between ages 30 and 45 years [prevalence odds ratio (OR) = 1.6, confidence interval (CI) = 1.3-1.9]. A logistic regression analysis demonstrated that subjects ages 30-45 who were currently administering antineoplastic drugs had the highest adjusted OR (3.4, CI = 1.6-7.3) when compared with subjects with no previous or current handling. Additional risk factors significantly associated with menstrual irregularity were stress level of work and the interaction of smoking and stress.

Occupational exposure to bloodborne diseases and universal precautions: measurement of health care workers' self reported attitudes.

1. As the numbers of persons infected with bloodborne diseases continues to increase, it is paramount that all health care workers exhibit behaviors reflecting unerring compliance with universal precautions. 2. Physicians and RNs who are highly trained in bloodborne diseases and universal precautions, who have the tools available for universal precautions, and who are exposed to people with bloodborne diseases, are overwhelmingly not complying with universal precautions. 3. To better understand how attitudes impact behaviors, a valid and reliable tool was developed which measured health care workers' attitudes toward bloodborne diseases and universal precautions. 4. Training programs addressing attitudes and knowledge may help change health care workers' non-compliant behaviors into behaviors reflecting compliance with universal precautions.

Corporate perspective of the role of the occupational health nurse.

One hundred and twenty-three Ohio employers were surveyed about expectations for occupational health nurse performance of 20 current and desired future activities. Employers identified activities that (a) the nurse was currently performing, or (b) would be desired in the future, or (c) were not appropriate for the nurse. Findings showed occupational health nurses are counseling employees, treating illness and injury, evaluating safe return to work, and tracking workers' compensation cases. Activities most desired in the future are analyses of trends in health programs and study of cost-effective health program alternatives. Activities most frequently selected require skills of evaluation, budgeting, and cost-benefit analysis. Most occupational health nurses have not had the opportunity to learn skills of fiscal management; therefore meeting employer expectations will require new education.

Assessment of menstrual variability in working populations.

Though the relationship between exposure to chemicals and damage to ovarian tissue has been demonstrated, there have been few attempts to assess the effect of occupational exposures on menstrual cycles. Previous research has reported the mean cycle lengths and duration of flow for large populations. However, additional research is needed to analyze the variability of cycles of individual working women. Cycle length is the most assessable indicator of ovarian damage and subsequent effects on menstrual patterns, but the reliability of self-reports of cycle length has been shown to be poor. Improved methods to accurately assess individual menstrual variability are needed. Educational programs should be provided for workers to increase their knowledge of the effects of chemicals on reproductive functioning and ultimately to increase their sensitivity to recording accurate data on menstrual patterns. Numerous factors can affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal balance. The simultaneous effects of these factors and exposures to chemicals in the workplace need further investigation.