Benko J. Adanja

Influence of socio-economic and other factors on rheumatic fever occurrence.

Conditional logistic regression analysis of case-control study data showed that the following factors were significantly related to rheumatic fever occurrence: home dampness, change of place of residence during the last 5 years, low education of mother, body weight below normal, frequent sore throat and positive family history of rheumatic fever.

Risk factors for laryngeal cancer

This case-control study comprised 100 histologically verified laryngeal cancer patients and 100 hospital controls matched with cases by sex, age and place of residence. The following variables were tested for their association with cancer of the larynx: marital status, educational level, hard liquor consumption, cigarette smoking, unfavorable working conditions, sudden and frequent temperature changes at work, cold housing, loud speech at work, frequent hoarseness, frequent and persistent cough, persistently swollen neck glands, tonsillectomy and laryngeal surgery. According to conditional logistic regression analysis, significant association with laryngeal cancer was found for unfavourable working conditions for more than 10 years (OR=4.36; 95% CI=1.92–9.91), hard liquor consumption for more than 5 years (OR=2.59; 95% CI=1.14–5.87), cigarette smoking for more than 10 years (OR=7.29; 95% CI=2.41–22.09), tonsillectomy (OR=4.80; 95% CI=1.61–14.30) and frequent and persistent cough prior to disease (OR=8.17; 95% CI=1.72–38.76).

Trends in cancer mortality of the digestive tract in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1975-1989.

During the period of 1975–1989, in the Belgrade population increasing mortality trends were established for colon and rectal cancer, cancer of the pancreas and gallbladder and bile ducts cancer, for both sexes, and for esophageal cancer in males. Stomach and liver cancer mortality decreased in females. In males, stomach cancer mortality after a prolonged steady decrease suddenly rose in the years 1988 and 1989. Mortality rates series for esophageal cancer in females and for liver cancer in males did not fit any usual trend function.