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INTRODUCTION: It has been shown that combat environment exposure, including burn pits that produce particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), is associated with lower respiratory tract disease in the military population with increased hypothetical risk of upper respiratory disease, but no study has been done that examines the effects of non-combat environmental exposures on the development of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in the active duty population. The primary goal of this study is to evaluate how air pollution exposure correlates to the development of CRS in active duty service members in the United States. METHODS: The military electronic medical record was queried for active duty service members diagnosed with CRS by an otolaryngologist between January 2016 and January 2018, who have never deployed, stationed in the United States from 2015 to 2018 (n = 399). For each subject, the 1-year mean exposure of PM2.5, particulate matter 10 (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone was calculated. The control group was comprised of the same criteria except these patients were diagnosed with cerumen impaction and matched to the case group by age and gender (n = 399). Pollution exposure was calculated based on the Environmental Protection Agency's data tables for each subject. Values were calculated using chi-square test for categorical variables and the Mann-Whitney U-test for continuous variables. RESULTS: Matched cases and controls (n = 399) with 33.1% male showed a statistically significant odds ratio (OR) of 5.99 (95% CI, 2.55-14.03) for exposure of every 5 µg/m3 of PM2.5 increase and the development of CRS when controlling for age, gender, and diagnosis year. When further adjusting for smoking status, the OR was still statistically significant at 3.15 (95% CI, 1.03-9.68). Particulate matter 10, ozone, and NO2 did not show any statistical significance. Odds ratios remained statistically significant when further adjusting for PM10 and ozone, but not NO2. Dose-dependent curves largely did not show a statistical significance; however, they did trend towards increased exposure of PM2.5 leading to an elevated OR. CONCLUSION: This study showed that PM2.5 exposure is a major independent contributor to the development of CRS. Exposure to elevated levels produced statistically significant odds even among smokers and remained significant when controlling for other measured pollutants. There is still much to be understood about the genesis of CRS. From a pollution exposure perspective, a prospective cohort study would better elucidate the risk of the development of CRS among those exposed to other pollutants.
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In Ethiopia, family medicine began in 2013. The objective of this study was to compare family medicine residents' attitudes about training in Ethiopia with those at a program in the United States. METHODS: Family medicine residents at Addis Ababa University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland completed a 43-item Likert scale survey in 2017. The survey assessed residents' attitudes about residency education, patient care, independence as family physicians, finances, impact of residency on personal life, and women's issues. We calculated descriptive statistics on the demographics data and analyzed survey responses using a two-sample t-test. RESULTS: A total of 18 (75%) Ethiopian residents and 18 (60%) US residents completed the survey (n=36). The Ethiopian residents had a wider age distribution (25-50 years) than the US residents (25-34 years). More US residents were female (72%) compared to the Ethiopian cohort (50%), while more Ethiopian residents were married (72%) compared to the US cohort (47%). There were statistically significant differences in attitudes toward patient care (P=0.005) and finances (P<0.001), differences approaching significance in attitudes toward residency education, and no significant differences in independence as family physicians, the impact of residency on personal life, and women's issues in family medicine. CONCLUSIONS: Across two very different cultures, resident attitudes about independence as family physicians, the impact of residency on personal life and women's issues, were largely similar, while cross-national differences in attitudes were found relative to residency education, patient care, and finances.