[Health surveillance of workers exposed to asbestos: an example of cooperation between the occupational prevention system and the national health system]. / La Vigilancia de la Salud de los trabajadores expuestos al amianto: ejemplo de colaboracion entre el sistema de prevencion de riesgos laborales y el sistema nacional de salud.

The Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs and the Autonomous Governments of Spain have designed and agreed by consensus with the sanitary professionals and major employer's organizations and Unions a Integral Health Surveillance Programme of asbestos-exposed workers, in order to assure appropriate, uniform and harmonized action throughout the national territory with relation to these workers. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: This initiative started from the Occupational Health Working group of the Interterritorial Council, with inputs from the Asbestos Working Group of the National Occupational Safety and Health Commission. It was agreed with occupational medicine and infirmary professionals and was approved by the Health and Labour authorities. The program is organised in seven main activities. CURRENT PROGRAM STATUS: two years after the Programme approval a total of 5778 workers are included in the Registry of asbestos-exposed workers. 208 workers have COPD, 198 benign pleural disease, 8 lung cancer, 10 mesothelioma and 7 workers have other cancers possibly related to asbestos (gastric, larynx and colon cancer). REMARKS: the agreement and participation reached in this Programme allow achieving much higher coverage of occupational prevention policies than those obtained with a mere law approval, as we could see during the second year of implementation of the Programme in which the number of attended workers has doubled.

[Are occupation and education interchangeable as social indicators in community health? A study in an employed population]. / Son la ocupación y la educación intercambiables como indicadores sociales en salud comunitaria? Un estudio en población ocupada.

OBJECTIVE: Epidemiological studies and interventions to reduce inequalities in community health require the assignation of exhaustive and easy-to-obtain social indicators. Occupation and education are two of the most often used. In this study we attempt to evaluate the association between education and occupation among adult working population because if, in the absence of one of these two variables, it will be feasible to use the remaining with the lesser lost of socio-economic information. DESIGN: From a representative sample (n = 3091) of general population (18-65 years old) drawn out from a prevalence survey on chronic disease risk factors performed in the Region of Murcia, a log-lineal analysis has been made between education and occupation among working people (65.8% of males and 34.2% of females from the original sample). RESULTS: Men present significant association between managerial positions and university education. The association drops between clerks and high school graduates to increase among all manual workers with or without primary schooling education. Among women--with a lesser number of participants--the education/occupation association describes the same pattern but with higher magnitudes in the positive associations between managerial positions and university education. For both genders, the greatest associations are found in both diagonals of the education by occupation tables indicating: better occupation, more education, and the opposite. CONCLUSIONS: The classification of working people according to education and occupation presents association, internal consistency and gradient. In absence of comprehensive information regarding occupation, education could be an alternative as socio-economic indicator.

[Factors related with compliance with tuberculosis chemoprophylaxis]. / Factores relacionados con el cumplimiento de la quimioprofilaxis contra la tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine therapeutic tolerance and compliance level with antituberculous chemoprophylaxis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 587 patients were proposed for antituberculous chemoprophylaxis with isoniazid from January 1995 to June 1996 in Murcia (Spain). RESULTS: 3.6% of the patients gave up treatment because of hepatic intolerance and 73% completed the prophylaxis. Non-compliance related factors were: social risk factors (odds ratio [OR] = 9.31), previous history of allergies (OR = 2.87), previous personal history of tuberculosis-related events (OR = 0.49) and interaction between sex and age. CONCLUSIONS: Support and intervention measures directed to risk groups of a social origin deem to be needed. Control measures and information provided to middle-aged males, with particular emphasis to the first weeks of prophylaxis, should also be implemented.

[Tuberculous infection in schoolchildren in the 1st year of basic general education in the Murcia region (1985-1992)]. / Infección tuberculosa en escolares de 1st de EGB de la región de Murcia (1985-1992).

OBJECTIVE: To find the evolution of the prevalence of tubercular infection. DESIGN: Study of the tendency of the findings from crossover surveys carried out during the last 7 years. SETTING: First-year EGB students from public and private schools in the Autonomous Community of Murcia. INTERVENTION: Performing the Mantoux intradermoreaction test with 2 UT of PPDRT23/TWEEN80 for the first 5 years and 5 UT of PPDCT68/TWEEN80 the last 2, with any induration over 5 mm. being considered positive. A clinical study of school students found positive and of their family contacts. RESULTS: Coverage was established at about 80% (71,520 tests studied), with prevalence diminishing from 0.97% to 0.44%, this establishing a downward tendency (p < 0.001). 6.5% of the tuberculin-test positive students (21) and 2.8% of the family contacts (34) were diagnosed with tuberculosis. CONCLUSIONS: At the moment we lack data to suggest an increase in endemic tuberculosis among the school population. The results mentioned justify tuberculosis surveys of school students, although low prevalence suggests that the age at which it is performed should be raised.