Dtsch Arztebl Int
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We address the question whether professional soccer players with and without macroinjury of the knee joint are at an elevated risk for knee osteoarthritis. ⋯ A marked association was found between soccer playing and knee osteoarthritis in male professional soccer players. For female professional soccer players, the risk of knee osteoarthritis could not be assessed because of the lack of data. Knee injuries seem to play an important role in the development of knee osteoarthritis in professional soccer players.
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From 1946 to 1990, more than 400 000 people were employed by Wismut AG, a Soviet/Soviet-German corporation (German abbreviation: SAG/ SDAG), in the East German states of Saxony and Thuringia. In the early years in particular, employees were exposed to large amounts of radon and respirable crystalline silica. ⋯ Underground miners employed by Wismut AG displayed marked excess mortality due to silicosis/other pneumoconiosis and lung cancer. The contribution of individual occupational risk factors for these and other causes of death with increased SMR are being further investigated in analyses within the study cohort.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
In-Patient Pulmonary Rehabilitation to Improve Asthma Control.
Despite the availability of effective pharmaceutical treatment options, many patients with asthma do not manage to control their illness. This randomized trial with a waiting-list control group examined whether a 3-week course of inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) improves asthma control (primary endpoint) and other secondary endpoints (e.g., quality of life, cardinal symptoms, mental stress). The subsequent observational segment of the study investigated the long-term outcome after PR. ⋯ The trial showed that a 3-week course of PR leads to clinically relevant improvement in asthma control and secondary endpoints. Patients who do not achieve control of their asthma despite outpatient treatment therefore benefit from rehabilitation.