Occupational lifestyle diseases: An emerging issue.

Lifestyle diseases characterize those diseases whose occurrence is primarily based on the daily habits of people and are a result of an inappropriate relationship of people with their environment. The main factors contributing to lifestyle diseases include bad food habits, physical inactivity, wrong body posture, and disturbed biological clock. A report, jointly prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Economic Forum, says India will incur an accumulated loss of $236.6 billion by 2015 on account of unhealthy lifestyles and faulty diet. According to the report, 60% of all deaths worldwide in 2005 (35 million) resulted from noncommunicable diseases and accounted for 44% of premature deaths. What's worse, around 80% of these deaths will occur in low and middle-income countries like India which are also crippled by an ever increasing burden of infectious diseases, poor maternal and perinatal conditions and nutritional deficiencies. According to a survey conducted by the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ASSOC-HAM), 68% of working women in the age bracket of 21-52 years were found to be afflicted with lifestyle ailments such as obesity, depression, chronic backache, diabetes and hypertension. The study 'Preventive Healthcare and Corporate Female Workforce' also said that long hours and working under strict deadlines cause up to 75% of working women to suffer from depression or general anxiety disorder, compared to women with lesser levels of psychological demand at work. The study cited scientific evidence that healthy diet and adequate physical activity - at least 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five days a week - helped prevent NCDs. In India, 10% of adults suffer from hypertension while the country is home to 25-30 million diabetics. Three out of every 1,000 people suffer a stroke. The number of deaths due to heart attack is projected to increase from 1.2 million to 2 million in 2010. The diet [or lifestyle] of different populations might partly determine their rates of cancer, and the basis for this hypothesis was strengthened by results of studies showing that people who migrate from one country to another generally acquire the cancer rates of the new host country, suggesting that environmental [or lifestyle factors] rather than genetic factors are the key determinants of the international variation in cancer rates. Some of the common diseases encountered because of occupational lifestyle are Alzheimer's disease, arteriosclerosis, cancer, chronic liver disease/cirrhosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, nephritis/CRF, and stroke. Occupational lifestyle diseases include those caused by the factors present in the vicinity like heat, sound, dust, fumes, smoke, cold, and other pollutants. These factors are responsible for allergy, respiratory and hearing problems, and heat or cold shock. So, A healthy lifestyle must be adopted to combat these diseases with a proper balanced diet, physical activity and by giving due respect to biological clock. Kids spending too much time slouched in front of the TV or PCs, should be encourage to find a physical sport or activity they enjoy. Fun exercises should be encouraged into family outings. A pizza-and-video evening should be replaced for a hike and picnic. Kids who do participate in sport, especially at a high competitive level, can find the pressure to succeed very stressful. To decrease the ailments caused by occupational postures, one should avoid long sitting hours and should take frequent breaks for stretching or for other works involving physical movements.

Pulmonary function and fuel use: a population survey.

BACKGROUND: In the backdrop of conflicting reports (some studies reported adverse outcomes of biomass fuel use whereas few studies reported absence of any association between adverse health effect and fuel use, may be due to presence of large number of confounding variables) on the respiratory health effects of biomass fuel use, this cross sectional survey was undertaken to understand the role of fuel use on pulmonary function. METHOD: This study was conducted in a village of western India involving 369 randomly selected adult subjects (165 male and 204 female). All the subjects were interviewed and were subjected to pulmonary function test. Analysis of covariance was performed to compare the levels of different pulmonary function test parameters in relation to different fuel use taking care of the role of possible confounding factors. RESULTS: This study showed that biomass fuel use (especially wood) is an important factor for deterioration of pulmonary function (particularly in female). FEV1 (p < .05), FEV1% (p < .01), PEFR (p < .05) and FEF(25-75) (p < .01) values were significantly lower in biomass fuel using females than nonusers. Comparison of only biomass fuel use vs. only LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) use and only wood vs. only LPG use has showed that LPG is a safer fuel so far as deterioration of pulmonary function is concerned. This study observes some deterioration of pulmonary function in the male subjects also, who came from biomass fuel using families. CONCLUSION: This study concluded that traditional biomass fuels like wood have adverse effects on pulmonary function.

Neurofibrosarcoma in the nasal cavity.

A nine month old male child presented with a swelling protruding from the right nasal cavity for two months. Other symptoms were mild breathlessness during suckling and blood stained nasal discharge. CT Scan sshowed a mass arising from the lasteral wall of the right nasal cavity with mild erosion of the adjacent bones. The tumor was excised with wide margin through a lateral rhinotomy approach under general anaesthesia. In histopathological examination it was found to be a low grade neurofibrosarcoma. The child recovered well and is free from any recurrence till the time of reporting.

Acute and chronic changes in pulmonary functions among Indian textile workers.

An epidemiological study was carried out in three textile mills of Ahmedabad. A total of 214 cotton dust exposed and 184 control subjects were examined for pulmonary function tests. Pulmonary function tests included forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second. The pulmonary function tests were carried out before starting the shift and after 7 hours of exposure on a vitalograph spirometer. The study shows that among the cotton dust exposed workers byssinotics behave distinctly and show the maximum acute and chronic changes in pulmonary functions. It seems that the effect of cotton dust exposure on the byssinotic subjects is more predominant than the effect of smoking.

Prevalence of byssinosis in textile mills at Ahmedabad, India.

In an epidemiological study carried out in three textile mills at Ahmedabad, India, 929 workers were examined from the spinning departments. The mean prevalence of byssinosis in the blow section was 29.62%, whereas in the card section it was 37.83%. The concentrations of cotton dust (dust less fly) were high in the blow and card sections (4.00 mg/m3 in the blow and 3.06 mg/m3 in the card section). This study suggests that the prevalence of byssinosis is not low in the textile mills of India as reported in many earlier Indian studies.

Biochemical changes in progressive muscular dystrophy. XIV. Skeletal muscle myosin mRNA translatability in dystrophic mice.

Variations in the content and translatability of the poly(A)+ RNA and mRNA molecules coding for myosin (M) were studied in the hind leg muscles of genetically dystrophic mice. The poly(A)+ RNA content of total skeletal muscle failed to increase normally during progression of the disease. M mRNA, isolated from dystrophic normally during progression of the disease. M mRNA, isolated from dystrophic murine muscle poly(A)+ RNA, was mostly found to be associated with the 26S RNA species. The translation of M mRNA in an in vitro heterologous wheat germ system was lower at 8 and 16 weeks in the dystrophic group as compared with the controls. Analysis of the translation products via sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, autoradiography, and densitometric autoradiographic tracing demonstrated the gradual disappearance of a protein band corresponding to M, the major component of skeletal muscle. cDNA was synthesized, using M mRNA that was isolated and purified from normal and dystrophic mouse muscle as a template. Total radioactivity was measured in some cDNA fractions produced from normal and dystrophic mouse muscle, while other fractions were utilized for separation and sizing of cDNA by disc gel electrophoresis. The cDNA from normal muscle was hybridized with M mRNA from normal and 16-week-old dystrophic mouse muscles. The cDNA probe, hybridization experiments, and studies involving the content and synthesis of M mRNA suggest that murine muscular dystrophy elicited a shorter species of mRNA or shorter sequences of the same species of mRNA coding for M. Not all poly(A)+ mRNA sequences coding for M, found in control mice, were present in their dystrophic counterparts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Lymphoid organ mRNA translatability in rats: effect of protein energy undernutrition in early life.

Synthesis of mRNA was studied in the spleen and thymus of rats that had been exposed to undernutrition early in life. To achieve this objective, lactating females were separated into two groups 1 wk after they gave birth to offspring. These control and experimental dams suckled 8-11 and 13-16 pups, respectively, for a period of 2 wk. The young of both groups were then killed, and their thymus and spleen were isolated. Polyadenylated RNA (poly A+ RNA) was fractionated by affinity chromatography on an oligo-dT-cellulose column. Poly A+ RNA content as well as the percentage of poly A+ RNA in relation to total RNA were both lower in the undernourished pups than in the controls. Analysis of the in vitro translation product primed by poly A+ RNA of the thymus and spleen revealed a rise in [35S]methionine incorporation in the undernourished offspring, the increase being greater in the thymus than in the spleen. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, autoradiography and densitometric autoradiographic tracings confirmed these findings and demonstrated that proteins were synthesized at a higher level in the spleen and thymus of the undernourished rats than in the controls. These results show that undernutrition early in life could modulate the metabolism of mRNA and, consequently, protein synthesis in the lymphoid organs of rats. Furthermore, the data suggest that cell-mediated immunity as well as humoral immunity are both deranged in protein energy undernutrition.

Brain mRNA translatability in rats: changes during long-term dietary restriction in the developmental period of life.

We studied the effects of graded dietary restriction on the amount and translatability of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule coding for brain proteins during the developmental period of life. Control experiments were performed on newborn, 1-, 3-, 6- and 27-week-old rats, whereas the dietary restriction studies, involving 10, 30 or 50% food deprivation, were conducted on weanling rats for periods of 3 or 24 weeks. Graded dietary restriction for 3 or 24 weeks caused a progressive reduction of the amount and translatability of mRNA in the rat brain. Complementary DNA (cDNA) probe and hybridization studies with [3H]cDNA revealed that food deprivation elicited a shorter species of mRNA or shorter sequences of the same species of mRNA coding for brain proteins and that not all polyadenylates mRNA [poly(A)+ mRNA] sequences found in control rats were present in the dietary-restricted animals. Furthermore, it appeared that food deprivation produced a shorter species of pre-mRNA via decreased polynucleotide elongation. The mRNA content of 27-week-old rat brains increased 12.5 times in comparison to newborns, representing an augmentation that was progressive and related to the developmental period of life of the animals. The translatability of mRNA was enhanced in the brain of 3-week-old rats, as compared to 1-week-old pups, and did not show any change thereafter. From these studies, it can be concluded that graded dietary restriction considerably modified the metabolism of mRNA in the rat brain, whereas minor alterations occurred during the developmental period of life in control animals.

Polyadenylated mRNA from the photosynthetic procaryote Rhodospirillum rubrum.

Total cellular RNA extracted from Rhodospirillum rubrum cultured in butyrate-containing medium under strict photosynthetic conditions to the stationary phase of growth has been fractionated on an oligodeoxythymidylic acid-cellulose column into polyadenylated [poly(A)+] RNA and poly(A)- RNA fractions. The poly(A)+ fraction was 9 to 10% of the total bulk RNA isolated. Analysis of the poly(A)+ RNA on a denaturing urea-polyacrylamide gel revealed four sharp bands of RNA distributed in heterodisperse fashion between 16S and 9S. Similar fractionation of the poly(A)- RNA resulted in the separation of 23, 16, and 5S rRNAs and 4S tRNA. Poly(A)+ fragments isolated after combined digestion with pancreatic A and T1 RNases and analysis by denaturing gel electrophoresis demonstrated two major components of 80 and 100 residues. Alkaline hydrolysis of the nuclease-resistant, purified residues showed AMP-rich nucleotides. Through the use of snake venom phosphodiesterase, poly(A) tracts were placed at the 3' end of poly(A)+ RNA. Stimulation of [3H]leucine incorporation into hot trichloroacetic acid-precipitable polypeptides in a cell-free system from wheat germ primed by the poly(A)+ RNA mixture was found to be 220-fold higher than that for poly(A)- RNAs (on a unit mass basis), a finding which demonstrated that poly(A)+ RNAs in R. rubrum are mRNAs. Gel electrophoretic analysis of the translation mixture revealed numerous 3H-labeled products including a major band (Mr, 52,000). The parent protein was precipitated by antibodies to ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase and comprised 6.5% of the total translation products.