Collective effective dose received by the population of Egypt from building materials

Natural radioactivity due to the presence of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in selected building materials (cement, sand, bricks, gypsum and ceramic) used in Egypt was measured using a gamma-ray spectrometer with an HPGe detector. The average activity concentrations observed in different building materials ranged from 10.0 +/- 1.3 to 109 +/- 6, <2 to 55.8 +/- 2.2 and 5.5 +/- 1.7 to 684 +/- 34 Bq kg(-1) for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. Based on these, together with previously reported results, the effective doses received by the residents of different types of house within all Egyptian governorates were assessed using the WinMat computer program. The results were below 1 mSv a(-1) in all cases. The collective effective dose indoors was assessed as 15,000 man Sv and the excess effective dose due to building materials was 0.07 mSv a(-1).

Modest increase in temperature affects ODC activity in L929 cells: Low-level radiofrequency radiation does not

The effects of low-level radiofrequency (RF) radiation and elevated temperature on ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity were investigated in murine L929 fibroblasts. The cells were exposed at 900 MHz either to a pulse-modulated (pulse frequency 217 Hz; GSM-type modulation) or a continuous wave signal at specific absorption rate (SAR) levels of 0.2 W kg(-1) (0.1-0.3 W kg(-1)) and 0.4 W kg(-1) (0.3-0.5 W kg(-1)) for 2, 8, or 24 h. RF radiation did not affect cellular ODC activity. However, a slight increase in temperature (0.8-0.9 degrees C) in the exposure system lead to decreased ODC activity in cell cultures. This was verified by tests in which cells were exposed to different temperatures in incubators. The results show that ODC activity is sensitive to small temperature differences in cell cultures. Hence, a precise temperature control in cellular ODC activity studies is needed.

Socioeconomic inequalities in health expectancy in Finland and Norway in the late 1980s

Studies on health inequalities have usually focused either on mortality or on morbidity. This concerns national studies as well as international comparisons of health inequalities. This paper seeks to bridge the gap by applying health expectancy as a synthetic overall measure of health. The purpose of the study is to compare socioeconomic inequalities in health expectancy in Finland and Norway in the late 1980s. Additionally, the major methodological issues in the use of health expectancy in the study of health inequalities are identified. Data on mortality by level of education derive from linked national follow-up studies (1986-1990) of population censuses. Data on the prevalence of morbidity by level of education derive from nationally representative surveys of the noninstitutionalised adult population in 1985/87. Persons aged 25-74 years were included. Four measures of morbidity were used: limiting long-standing illness, extremely limiting long-standing illness, functional disabilities and perceived less than good health. The association between mortality/morbidity and level of education in each 5-year age/sex group was determined by a regression-based method. Partial life expectancies and partial health expectancies for ages 25-74 were then calculated by using the mortality quotients and morbidity prevalences predicted by the regression model for those at the top and the bottom of the educational hierarchy in each 5-year age group, using an application of the method first presented by Sullivan. Although various measures of health expectancy were used, the result were consistent. In absolute terms the size of socioeconomic inequalities in health expectancy in Finland and Norway is on the same level. In relative terms, however, the size of inequalities in health expectancy is greater in Norway. If one considers premature mortality to be more severe than any indicator of morbidity, the mortality morbidity mix of the health inequalities is less favourable to Finland, since the size of absolute inequalities in mortality is greater in Finland. Health expectancy measures provide a promising measure for assessing and comparing the pattern and the size of health inequalities.

Health expectancy by level of education in Finland

Using the method first presented by Sullivan, the article presents results on health expectancy by level of education and gender in the late 1980s in Finland. The life tables by level of education cover the years 1986-90. Indicators of disability and poor health were based on three variables from the nationwide 1986 Survey on Living Conditions (N = 12,057): limiting long-standing illness, functional disability or poor self-perceived health. Two cutting points indicating different levels of severity of disability or poor health were used for each measure, giving six dichotomous indicators. Disability-free life expectancy and life expectancy with disability were found to depend strongly on the indicator of disability, but the patterns of differences both between genders and between educational categories were largely independent of the indicators used. Life expectancy as well as disability-free life expectancy showed a systematic relationship with level of education: the higher the level of education, the higher the life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy. The differences between educational categories in disability-free life expectancy were markedly larger than in total life expectancy. Life expectancy with disability was shortest among the more educated and longest among the less educated. Due to the higher life expectancy and the higher prevalence of disability among women, life expectancy with disability was longer among women than men according to all indicators.