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ObjectivesExposure to aircraft noise has been shown to have adverse health effects, causing annoyance and affecting the health-related quality of life, sleep, and mental states of those exposed to it. This study aimed to determine sleep quality in participants residing near an airfield and to evaluate the relationship between the levels of aircraft noise and sleep quality.MethodsNeighboring regions of a military airfield were divided into three groups: a high exposure group, a low exposure group, and a control group. A total of 1082 participants (aged 30–79 years) completed a comprehensive self-administered questionnaire requesting information about demographics, medical history, lifestyle, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.ResultsOf the 1082 participants, 1005 qualified for this study. The prevalence of sleep disturbance was 45.5% in the control group, 71.8% in the low exposure group, and 77.1% in the high exposure group (p for trend < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, we determined the exposure–response relationship between the degree of aircraft noise and sleep quality. Of the participants with a normal mental status, the prevalence of sleep disturbance was 2.61-fold higher in the low exposure group and 3.52-fold higher in the high exposure group than in the control group.ConclusionThe relationship between aircraft noise and health should be further evaluated through a large-scale follow-up study.

Background: Few studies have been conducted to identify risk factors for balance and vestibular dysfunction in general populations, but previous studies have reported evidence of adverse effects of lead and cadmium on balance control in high-risk groups.Objective: We evaluated the relationship between blood lead and cadmium levels and balance and vestibular dysfunction in a general population study.Methods: We analyzed data from the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of 5,574 adults ≥ 40 years of age. Balance dysfunction was evaluated by the Romberg Test of Standing Balance on Firm and Compliant Support Surfaces, which examines the ability to stand unassisted using four test conditions to evaluate vestibular system, vision, and proprioception inputs that contribute to balance. Blood levels of lead and cadmium were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. Associations were estimated using logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. Associations with time to loss of balance were estimated using adjusted Cox proportional hazard models.Results: The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for balance dysfunction in association with the highest quintile (3.3–48 µg/dL) versus the lowest quintile (< 1.2 µg/dL) of lead was 1.42 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07, 1.89]. The corresponding OR for cadmium (0.9–7.4 µg/L vs. < 0.2 µg/L) was 1.27 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.60). The adjusted hazard ratio for time to failure for the most physiologically challenging balance test among subjects with the highest vs. lowest quintiles of blood lead was 1.24 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.48). Cadmium levels were not associated with time to failure.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that blood lead and cadmium levels may be associated with balance and vestibular dysfunction in a general sample of U.S. adults.

BackgroundWe focused on whether changes in the occupational status of older male adults can be influenced by social engagement and health status measured at the baseline.MethodsThis study used a sample of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), and the study population was restricted to 1.531 men who were aged 55 to 80 years at the 2006 baseline survey and participated in the second survey in 2008. Social engagement and health status, measured by the number of chronic diseases, grip strength, and depressive symptoms as well as covariates (age, marital status, educational level, and household income) were based on data from the 2006 baseline survey. Occupational engagement over the first and second survey was divided into four categories: ‘consistently employed’ (n = 892), ‘employed-unemployed’ (n = 152), ‘unemployed-employed’ (n = 138), and ‘consistently unemployed’ (n = 349).ResultsIn the multinomial model, the ‘consistently employed’ and ‘unemployed-employed’ groups had significantly higher social engagement (1.19 and 1.32 times, respectively) than the referent. The number of chronic diseases was significantly associated with four occupational changes, and the ‘unemployed-employed’ had the fewest chronic conditions.ConclusionOur finding suggests that social engagement and health status are likely to affect opportunities to continue working or to start working for older male adults.

The concentration of airborne bacteria and fungi in public buildings is regulated by law in Korea. Levels are investigated during the moderate seasons, spring (March-May) and autumn (September-November), using a six-stage cascade impactor. Total concentrations of airborne bacteria and fungi range from 290 to 940 cfu Á m À3 and 330 to 540 cfu Á m À3 , respectively. The levels of airborne bacteria and fungi are significantly highest in a kindergarten building and lowest in an elderly welfare facility ( p50.05). The ratio of respirable to total concentration range from 30 to 40% for airborne bacteria and from 55 to 70% for airborne fungi but there is no significant difference among the public buildings examined ( p40.05). The mean ratios of indoor and outdoor concentrations of airborne bacteria and fungi are below 1.0 regardless of the fraction of particle size and building type. The indoor concentration of airborne bacteria and fungi do not correlate significantly with indoor temperature and relative humidity ( p40.05). However, this does have a significant positive correlation with CO 2 and the number of people per area of the sampling site ( p50.05), which implies that the activity of residents has considerable effect on the levels of both airborne bacteria and fungi.