Epidemiology
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A large follow-up study in Denmark showed a two-fold higher incidence of malignant melanoma in patients with Parkinson disease than in the general population. Using a population-based case-control approach, we investigated the prevalence of malignant melanoma, skin carcinoma, and other cancers before a first hospitalization or outpatient visit for Parkinson disease. ⋯ Our finding of an increased prevalence of malignant melanoma and skin carcinoma before the diagnosis of Parkinson disease weakens the suggested hypothesis that these cancers are caused by the treatment of Parkinson disease. The finding of a decreased prevalence of smoking-related cancers preceding Parkinson disease is consistent with the well-known higher risk of Parkinson disease among nonsmokers.
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Ross River virus disease is spread by mosquitoes, and an average of 5000 people are infected each year in Australia. It is one of the few infectious diseases for which climate-based early warning systems could be developed. The aim of this study was to test whether supplementing routinely collected climate data with mosquito surveillance data could increase the accuracy of disease prediction models. ⋯ We found that climate data are inexpensive and easy to collect and allow the prediction of Ross River virus disease epidemics within the time necessary to improve the effectiveness of public health responses. Mosquito surveillance data provide a more expensive early warning but add substantial predictive value.
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Living close to major roads or highways has been suggested to almost double the risk of dying from cardiopulmonary causes. We assessed whether long-term exposure to air pollution originating from motorized traffic and industrial sources is associated with total and cause-specific mortality in a cohort of women living in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ⋯ Living close to major roads and chronic exposure to NO2 and PM10 may be associated with an increased mortality due to cardiopulmonary causes.