Incidence of disease

Morbidity The incidence of disease in a community or a working group. 

Fig. 16.1 Reported incidence of paralytic poliomyelitis in England and Wales during the 1950s and 1960s. After introduction of vaccination programmes the incidence of disease dropped from an endemic incidence of ca. 5000 cases per year to fewer than 10.

For some toxins it is possible to demonstrate an apparent improvement in functional response at levels of exposure which are below a threshold. This effect, which has been termed hormesis , is most effectively demonstrated in the consistently improved longevity of animals whose caloric intake is restricted rather than allowing them to feed ad lib (Tannenbaum, 1942). Clearly in this instance, the observed effects are the result of exposure to a complex mixture of chemicals whose metabolism determines the total amount of energy available to the organism. But it is also possible to show similar effects when single chemicals such as alcohol (Maclure, 1993), or caffeic acid (Lutz et al., 1997) are administered, as well as for more toxic chemicals such as arsenic (Pisciotto and Graziano, 1980) or even tetrachloro-p-dibenzodioxin (TCDD) ( Huff et al., 1994) when administered at very low doses. It is possible that there are toxins that effect a modest, reversible disruption in homeostasis which results in an over-compensation, and that this is the mechanism of the beneficial effect observed. These effects would not be observed in the animal bioassays since to show them it would be necessary to have at least three dose groups below the NOAEL. In addition, the strain of animal used would have to have a very low incidence of disease to show any effect. 

Curcumin (diferuloyl methane) is the main pigment of turmeric. It is widely used as a colorant and preservative agent. No data regarding its daily intake in western countries are available intake may reach 80 to 200 mg in adult Indians. To date, no study has explored the effect of curcumin consumption on the incidence of diseases, but many beneficial effects on health have been reported in cell and animal models. These include anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, anti-atherosclerotic, and anti-Alzheimer s disease properties. ... 

It should be emphasised that if animals are suffering then the farmer is encouraged to use the most effective veterinary method for alleviating suffering as quickly as possible. However, attention to husbandry, nutrition and stress factors will markedly reduce the incidence of disease. 

Racial and ethnic groups may also vary in the extent to which they are carriers of autosomal recessive or dominant diseases that could be inherited by offspring. African Americans will be subject to many of the same diseases as whites, for example, cystic fibrosis, but the incidence of the disease may vary. In some cases, however, the incidence of disease may be higher among African Americans, just as it is for some white subgroups, for example, the higher incidence of Tay-Sachs disease and BRCA1 and -2 mutations in Ashkenazi Jews. 

Conklin AE, Erich MS, liebman M, Lambert D, Gallandt ER, Halteman WA (2002) Effects of red clover (Trifolium pratense) green manure and compost soil amendments on wild mustard (Brassica kaber) growth and incidence of disease. Plant Soil 238 245-256 Cook SM, Khan ZR, Pickett JA (2007) The use of push-pull strategies in integrated pest management. Annu Rev Entomol 52 375-400... 

Incidence rate. The rate of occurrence of new cases of a disease, adverse reaction, or other event in a given population at risk (e.g., the incidence of disease A is Y patients per year per 100,000 population). 

Information on the incidence of disease related to fibrous materials is overwhelmingly focused on asbestos, with a few studies being done on glass fiber exposure. This is not surprising in view of the long history of use and the initial identification of the medical problems associated with asbestos. 

NRDC contended that the suspension of these subtherapeutlc uses of penicillin and the tetracyclines In animal feeds poses no human health problem. No potential human health problem has been Identified In the literature. Any risk of eating meat from an animal that becomes 111, because penicillin and the tetracyclines were not available, could be alleviated by using substitute antibiotics and better farming practices to prevent or reduce the Incidence of disease. Moreover, there would be an Increased probability of effectively treating the diseases with therapeutic levels of antibiotics If they were not used at subtherapeutlc levels. 

Nienhuis H, Goldacre M, Seagroatt V, et al. Incidence of disease after vasectomy a record linkage retrospective cohort study. BMJ 1992 304 743-6. 

The relative effect of treatment reflects the proportional difference between treatment groups in the incidence of disease events. In the Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly (SHEP) trial, the incidence of major CHD events over 4.5 years in patients assigned active treatment was 4.4% while in those assigned placebo it was 5.9%. This represents a relative risk of 0.73 or a relative risk reduction of 27%. 

If, unusually, we can demonstrate a connection between a particular chemical and an incident of disease, how do we know which particular exposure to that chemical, and thus which particular source, was responsible This is the problem of multiple sources for any one particular chemical there are usually many sources of exposure, but only by identifying the source that has caused my disease can I identify the human conduct that has caused it, and which therefore is responsible for it. 

DNA damage in the presence of cytochrome P450s (CYPs) and Cu(II) in vitro or in cells [Yoshino et al., 2004 Ahsan et al., 1999]. At higher concentrations curcumin exhibited genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in different systems [Cao et al., 2007]. At last, in vivo intervention trials using typical antioxidants such as ascorbate or carotenes yielded mostly disappointing results in terms of protection against oxidation-related diseases, sometime even increased the incidences of diseases [Stevenson and Hurst, 2007 Dinkova-Kostova and Talalay, 2008]. Obviously, the direct antioxidant capacity of plant phenolic compounds cannot explain their cytoprotective activities. 

The naturally occurring incidences of diseases, abnormalities, and other impairments that are, at least in part, genetically caused. 

The health or environmental benefits (e.g., reduced incidence of disease, protection of particular species, or biological diversity) do not need to be monetized. 

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