Monday, August 3, 2015

Stuart Millheiser: What Funeral Directors Should Know About ALS

By Jason McDonald


When it comes to the working world, depending on the field being focused on, it's easy to imagine that varied levels of risk exist. Specifically, some workers may become more sickly than others, depending on what they are exposed to. As far as ALS is concerned, which is a serious condition in its own right, funeral directors may want to be careful. There's plenty to learn, as supported by Stuart Millheiser, and these details should give you a better understanding of this job.

As an article on TIME detailed, ALS risk seems to be associated with those who work as funeral directors. What was focused on the most was formaldehyde and, more specifically, how the workers in question are exposed to it on a regular basis. Of course, this is a relatively normal chemical compound with a number of uses to take into consideration. Of course, there is far more to learn about, as supported by such names as Stuart Millheiser.

Research that was published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry detailed the deaths associated with ALS and exposure to formaldehyde. There was a study that sampled a total of 1.5 million Americans, each with different jobs. Suffice it to say, exposure to the aforementioned compound would vary on a person-by-person basis. To say that the results stunned me would be an understatement, as I am sure was the case for other readers as well.

Funeral directors - mostly men who were exposed to high amounts of formaldehyde, were approximately 4.5 times more likely to die from ALS, than those who worked jobs with little to no exposure. Andrea Roberts, who was one of the authors involved in the study mentioned earlier, stated that females usually had different job descriptions compared to men in the field. More often than not, Roberts said, female employees tended to work more with clients, as opposed to becoming involved in embalming, which is where formaldehyde exposure was most prominent. This is more worthwhile information to be highlighted by the likes of Stuart Millheiser.

To say that this type of research is interesting would be nothing short of an understatement. Researchers are always looking for more information about ALS, whether it's in terms of causes, the people who are afflicted the most, or what have you. The study mentioned earlier is definitely a step in the right direction, not only for researchers and medical specialists but those who'd like to raise awareness in general. When it comes to ALS, as a whole, new information is always welcome.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment