| 1. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Chest x ray films from construction workers: International Labour Office (ILO 1980) classification compared with routine readings
- 1992
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Ingår i: British Journal of Industrial Medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 49:12, s. 862-868
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The extent of agreement between International Labour Office (ILO) and clinical readings of chest x ray films from construction workers was studied. From a survey of 5898 workers 258 subjects with a profusion of small opacities of > or = 1/1 and a stratified sample of subjects with profusion < 1/1 were selected. Only 41% of the films classified as ILO profusion category > or = 1/1 were clinically recorded as non-normal for the parenchyma. The proportion of films recorded as pneumoconiotic (or possibly so) was especially low for irregular opacities (22%), but increased with the profusion category (both rounded and irregular) as well as with the size of rounded opacities (p 3/11, q 12/25, r 3/4). Only with the profusion category > or = 2/1 were most of the films recorded as pneumoconiotic. The specificity and sensitivity were highest in the geographical areas where a few clinical readers had assessed many films each. The proportion of false negative clinical reports was low for circumscribed pleural thickening of the chest wall (9%) and diaphragmatic pleural thickening (6%). For calcified pleural changes and for the combination of diffuse pleural thickening and obliteration of the costophrenic angle, false negative reports were absent. The present study shows an unsatisfactory sensitivity for clinical compared with ILO readings as a means for screening the parenchyma of workers with a risk of pneumoconiosis.
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| 2. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Mineral fibres, fibrosis, and asbestos bodies in lung tissue from deceased asbestos cement workers
- 1990
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Ingår i: British Journal of Industrial Medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 47:11, s. 767-774
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lung tissue from 76 deceased asbestos cement workers (seven with mesothelioma) exposed to chrysotile asbestos and small amounts of amphiboles, has been studied by transmission electron microscopy, together with lung tissue from 96 controls. The exposed workers with mesothelioma had a significantly higher total content of asbestos fibre in the lungs than those without mesothelioma, who in turn, had higher concentrations than the controls (medians 189, 50, and 29 x 10(6) fibres/g (f/g]. Chrysotile was the major type of fibre. The differences were most pronounced for the amphibole fibres (62, 4.7, and 0.15 f/g), especially crocidolite (54, 1.8 and less than 0.001 f/g), but were evident also for tremolite (2.9, less than 0.001, and less than 0.001 f/g) and anthophyllite (1.7, less than 0.001, and less than 0.001 f/g). For amosite, there was no statistically significant difference between lungs from workers with and without mesothelioma; the lungs of workers had, however, higher concentrations than the controls. Strong correlations were found between duration of exposure and content of amphibole fibres in the lungs. Asbestos bodies, counted by light microscopy, were significantly correlated with the amphibole but not with the chrysotile contents. Fibrosis was correlated with the tremolite but not the chrysotile content in lungs from both exposed workers and controls. Overall, similar results were obtained using fibre counts and estimates of mass.
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| 3. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Mortality and cancer morbidity in cohorts of asbestos cement workers and referents
- 1990
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Ingår i: British Journal of Industrial Medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 47:9, s. 602-610
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Total and cause specific mortality and cancer morbidity were studied among 1929 asbestos cement workers with an estimated median cumulative exposure of 2.3 fibre (f)-years/ml (median intensity 1.2 f/ml, predominantly chrysotile). A local reference cohort of 1233 industrial workers and non-case referents from the exposed cohort were used for comparisons. The risk for pleural mesothelioma was significantly increased (13 cases out of 592 deaths in workers with at least 20 years latency). No case of peritoneal mesothelioma was found. A significant dose response relation was found for cumulative exposure 40 years or more before the diagnosis, with a multiplicative relative risk (RR) of 1.9 for each f-year/ml. No relation was found with duration of exposure when latency was accounted for. There was a significant overrisk in non-malignant respiratory disease (RR = 2.6). The overall risks for respiratory cancer, excluding mesothelioma, and for gastrointestinal cancer were not significantly increased. Surprisingly, colorectal cancer displayed a clear relation with cumulative dose, with an estimated increase of 1.6% in the incidence density ratio for each f-year/ml (but not with duration of exposure).
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| 4. |
- Edling, C., et al.
(författare)
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Long-term follow up of workers exposed to solvents
- 1990
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Ingår i: British journal of industrial medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 47:2, s. 75-82
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Long term occupational exposure to organic solvents may cause adverse effects to the central nervous system. This collaborative study between six Swedish departments of occupational medicine examines the overall prognosis in terms of working capacity, symptoms, and psychometric test performance for individuals occupationally exposed to organic solvents. After re-analyses of the data from an initial clinical investigation of 111 men, the subjects were divided into two subgroups: one group of 65 with symptoms but no impairment on the tests and one group of 46 with toxic encephalopathy (symptoms and test impairment). At least five years after the initial examination the subjects were asked to attend a re-examination that included a structured medical interview and a psychometric investigation. The results indicate that effects on the central nervous system persist even when exposure has ceased. In the group of 46 more men had stopped working and were receiving sickness or early retirement pensions. This group also had reduced activity levels with regard to everyday life, leisure activities, and education or training and more neuropsychiatric symptoms. There was no support for the view that a solvent induced toxic encephalopathy is a progressive disease comparable with presenile dementia such as Alzheimer's disease or Pick's disease. If a worker was removed from exposure when he presented symptoms without signs of impairment in intellectual function recovery was seen in most cases.
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| 5. |
- Eriksson, M., et al.
(författare)
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Soft-tissue sarcomas and exposure to chemical substances : A case-referent study
- 1981
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Ingår i: British Journal of Industrial Medicine. - : BMJ. - 0007-1072. ; 38:1, s. 27-33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 1977 several patients were seen with soft-tissue sarcomas and previous exposure to phenoxy acids. This clinical observation resulted in a case-referent (case-control) study being undertaken which showed that exposure to phenoxy acids or chlorophenols, which are chemically related, gave a roughly six-fold increase in the risk for this type of tumor. A further case-referent study of soft-tissue sarcomas has now been performed to confirm these earlier findings and also to obtain further information on the effects of different phenoxy acids. This new investigation gave an increase of the same magnitude in the risk for soft-tissue sarcomas after exposure to phenoxy acids or chlorophenols, but this risk related also to exposure to phenoxy acids free from impurities, such as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Gustafson-Svärd, Christina, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of organic solvent mixtures on biological membranes - A simple experimental model
- 1985
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Ingår i: British journal of industrial medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 42:9, s. 591-595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A simple experimental model was used to study the influence of organic solvents and solvent mixtures on the integrity of biological membranes. Radiolabelled membranes were prepared biosynthetically by growing Escherichia coli in the presence of 14C-oleic acid; the bulk of the radioactivity was incorporated into 14C-phosphatidylethanolamine, the predominant phospholipid species in E coli membranes. The radiolabelled bacteria were incubated at 37 degrees C in the presence of solvent, and the mixture filtrated through a Millipore 0.45 micron filter. This filtration retained radiolabel associated with the bacteria, and only radiolabel released as a result of solvent action was allowed through the filter. The radioactivity in the filtrate was then counted and expressed as a percentage of the total radioactivity. Results showed that aliphatic alcohols released membrane constituents in relation to their hydrocarbon chain length (1-propanol greater than 2-propanol greater than ethanol greater than methanol); the effects of aliphatic alcohols were potentiated by acetone, ethyl methyl ketone, ethylene glycol, and N,N'-dimethylformamide, and the effects of ethanol were potentiated by 1-butanol, benzyl alcohol, and ethylacetate. These findings point to the possibility that certain mixtures of organic solvents are more damaging to membranes than the components of the mixture would indicate, and suggest that the experimental model used might help in showing mixtures that are particularly harmful.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Johansson, L G, et al.
(författare)
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Ferruginous bodies and pulmonary fibrosis in dead low to moderately exposed asbestos cement workers: histological examination
- 1987
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Ingår i: British Journal of Industrial Medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 44:8, s. 550-558
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Histological slides from the lungs of 89 dead asbestos cement workers have been examined with respect to ferruginous bodies and fibrosis. The results have been compared with individually matched controls with no known exposure to asbestos, and related to asbestos exposure, expressed as duration of exposure and cumulative asbestos dose, and smoking habits. The asbestos cement workers studied had been employed for on average 15 years, with a mean cumulative dose of 26 fibre-years per ml (f-y/ml). Clear dose-response relations between exposure (duration of exposure and cumulative asbestos dose) and level of ferruginous bodies were found. An association was evident already at a low cumulative dose (1-10 f-y/ml). Fibrosis was more common and more pronounced among the exposed workers than among controls. An association between ferruginous bodies and fibrosis was also found. Among the controls, but not among exposed workers, there was an association between smoking history and fibrosis.
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| 10. |
- Johansson, L, et al.
(författare)
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Histological type of lung carcinoma in asbestos cement workers and matched controls
- 1992
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Ingår i: British Journal of Industrial Medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 49:9, s. 626-630
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Histological types of lung carcinoma were examined in a case series of workers exposed to asbestos cement dust (n = 29) and matched controls (n = 87). The proportion of adenocarcinomas was 31% among the exposed subjects and 15% among the controls (mid-p = 0.05). Among workers with high exposure the proportion of adenocarcinoma was even higher (45%, 5/11; mid-p = 0.03). The proportion of peripheral tumours tended to be higher among exposed cases than controls (24 v 12%, mid-p = 0.12). Lobe of origin did not differ, however, between exposed cases and controls. Thus the study indicates an association between the degree of exposure to asbestos and adenocarcinoma of the lung, and a peripheral rather than central localisation of the tumours, but with virtually the same distribution of lobe of origin as in the general population.
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