Mortality rates were examined for Boston women, aged 15 to 44, from 1980 to 1989. There were 1234 deaths, with a rate of 787.8/100,000 for the decade. Leading causes were cancer, accidents, heart disease, homicide, suicide, and chronic liver disease. After age adjustment, African-American women in this age group were 2.3 times more likely to die than White women. Deaths at least partly attributable to smoking and alcohol amounted to 29.8% and 31.9%, respectively. Mortality was found to be related more directly to the general well-being of young women than to their reproductive status, and many deaths were preventable. African-American/White disparities were most likely linked to social factors. These findings suggest that health needs of reproductive-age women transcend reproductive health and require comprehensive interventions.

Objectives We aimed to recruit a representative sample of small manufacturing businesses (20-150 employees) for a group-randomized trial of an integrated workplace safety and smoking cessation program. Methods An initial sample was drawn from commercial databases, screened for duplicates or ineligibility and contacted. Participating and non-participating businesses were compared on size, location and type. Employee demographics of participating businesses were compared to a U.S. Census Bureau database of similar businesses. Results From an initial sample of 2716 businesses, 328 were eligible and 47 (9%) agreed to participate. Participating companies tended to be larger. Employees were similar to employees in the Census Bureau dataset. Conclusions Considerable resources were required to identify eligible businesses; commercial databases are the best resource but may not be comprehensive or current. The sample appeared to be representative of small manufacturing businesses in the study region.

Objectives We examined characteristics of employees in six occupational categories in small, manufacturing businesses (20–150 employees). Methods We analyzed survey data from 47 businesses (n=2577 employees; 86% response rate) and examined relationships between job type and socio-demographic, health, and organizational support characteristics. Analyses were adjusted for age and gender, and company as a random effect. Results Smoking rates were highest for production workers (33%), production managers (27%), and support staff (28%) and lowest for managers (11%) (p<.001). Job stress was higher for production workers and support staff than managers (p<0.0001). Managers perceived social capital (p<0.001), safety climate (p<0.0001) and support for smoking cessation (p<0.001) higher than production managers, production workers, and support staff. Conclusion Differences in characteristics by occupation call for integrated interventions that target working class employees, leverage the influence of production managers, and enhance organizational support.

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Purpose: Cytokines, aberrantly produced by cancer cells, have recently been implicated in the severity of cancerrelated pain. We hypothesize that functional variations in cytokine genes could explain the variability in cancerrelated pain.Methods: Pain, clinical and demographic variables were assessed at presentation and prior to initiating any cancer treatment in 514 patients with non -small cell lung cancer. Using the TaqMan method, we genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms in interleukin (IL)-6 (À174GC), , and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a; À308 GA), and determined their associations with pain severity in newly diagnosed early and advanced stage lung cancer.Results: White Caucasians with early (n = 252) and advanced stage (n = 262) non -small cell lung cancer comprised the sample. Pain severity predictably varied by stage of disease, sex, depressed mood, age, and genotype groups. Linear regression analyses showed TNF-À308GA (coeff = 0.16; P = 0.008); sex (coeff = 0.19; P = 0.001), and age (coeff = À0.16; P = 0.002) as significant predictors for pain severity in early stage lung cancer. Among those with advanced stage lung cancer, we observed statistically significant main effects for IL-8 À251 TA (coeff = 0.221; P < 0.001) and significant joint effects of IL-8 À251 TA and age (coeff = À0.0256; P < 0.001) and TNF-À308GA and age (coeff = 0.160; P < 0.016) on pain severity. Classification and Regression Tree analyses showed the same distinct patterns for early and advanced stage lung cancer. We investigated the prevalence of disclosure of genetic test results to first-degree relatives among women who had participated in BRCA1/2 testing 4 to 5+ years previously. We also assessed women's closeness to each of these relatives at the time they underwent testing, and examined disclosure-closeness relationships. ConclusionMethods: Interviews were conducted by telephone with 265 women-all of whom were the first members of their families to be tested for BRCA1/2 mutations. Respondents were asked if they had disclosed (yes/no) to their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, spouses, and children (as applicable).Results: The frequency of disclosure was 94.4% to mothers, 87.1% to fathers, 97.1% to sisters, 84.2% to brothers, 98.1% to spouses, and 82.0% to children (reported as a percentage of those who disclosed/presence of that relative category in the family). After controlling for the effect of positive genetic test results, women who felt more personally connected to their adult relatives were more likely to have disclosed to their mothers (r = 0.30, P = 0.007), fathers (r = 0.41, P = 0.00), brothers (r = 0.38, P = 0.001), and spouses (r = 0.22, P = 0.001); closeness was unrelated to disclosure to sisters and children, although older children (age >18) were more likely to be informed than younger children (r = 0.49, P = 0.00).Summary: These data suggest that the majority of firstdegree relatives were informed of women's test results. In addition to age and gender, family dynamics seem to be related to disclosure decisi...