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| 2. |
- Axmon, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Factors affecting time to pregnancy
- 2006
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Ingår i: Human Reproduction. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0268-1161 .- 1460-2350. ; 21:5, s. 1279-1284
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Both lifestyle factors and occupational and environmental factors have been suggested to affect the female reproductive system. In the present study, the separate and joint effects of several such factors are investigated. METHODS: Information on time to pregnancy (TTP) was available for 1578 women randomly selected from the general Swedish population. The information was collected retrospectively by using self-administered questionnaires. By means of logistic regression of survival data, fecundability odds ratios were determined for many factors. Multivariate models were used to determine which factors had the most impact on TTP. RESULTS: Several lifestyle factors were found to associate with TTP. However, only use of oral contraceptives prior to attempting to conceive, menstrual cycle length, age at conception and parity remained in the multivariate models. Together, these factors explained 14% of the variance in TTP. Excluding first and second month conceptions, only age at conception and menstrual cycle length remained in the multivariate models, together explaining only 8% of the variance in TTP. CONCLUSIONS: Although information on several factors was available, the multivariate model explained only a small fraction of the variation in the observed time to pregnancies. Furthermore, female biological factors seemed more important predictors of TTP than lifestyle factors.
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| 3. |
- Hagmar, L., et al.
(författare)
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Intra-individual variations and time trends 1991-2001 in human serum levels of PCB, DDE and hexachlorobenzene
- 2006
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Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 64:9, s. 1507-1513
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: An important question is whether human serum levels of persistent organic pollutants has continued to decrease during the last decades. The aim of this study was to assess intra-individual variations over time of serum levels of 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-ethene (p,p'-DDE) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB), considering the impact of a number of possible determinants. Methods: Blood samples were drawn for the same 39 subjects in 1991 and 2001. Interviews were made at both occasions. Lipid adjusted serum concentrations of CB-153, p,p'-DDE and HCB were determined in both sets of blood samples using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The fatty acid composition of the serum lipids was analyzed by means of gas-liquid chromatography. Result: The CB-153 concentrations in serum had averagely decreased with 34% in between 1991 and 2001 (p < 0.001). Of individual determinants only increasing BMI was associated with decreasing CB-153 levels (beta = -1.0, 95% CI -1.8, -0.2, p = 0.01), explaining 13% of the variation. The average decrease of p,p'-DDE was 55%, and could only weakly be associated with a relative increase of BMI (beta = - 1.0, 95% CI-2.3, 0.2, p=0.09), explaining only 5% of the variation. The average decrease of HCB was 53%, and was associated only with high fish consumption in 1991, explaining 12% of the variation. Conclusions: The results support a continuing decrease in human body burdens of PCBs, DDE and HCB during the 1990s. The explanatory factors relative change of BMI and fish consumption explained only a minor part of the time-related variations in serum levels.
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| 5. |
- Lind, M. L., et al.
(författare)
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Incidence of hand eczema in female Swedish hairdressers
- 2007
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Ingår i: Occup Environ Med. - : BMJ. - 1470-7926 .- 1351-0711. ; 64:3, s. 191-5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To estimate the occurrence of hand eczema in hairdressers in Sweden. METHODS: The occurrence of hand eczema was estimated in a Swedish longitudinal retrospective cohort study including all female graduates from vocational schools for hairdressers from 1970 to 1995. A stratified sample from the general population acted as controls. A self-administered questionnaire including questions on the occurrence of hand eczema, skin atopy, working periods and number of hair treatments performed per week was sent to the participants. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of hand eczema were estimated. RESULTS: The incidence rate of hand eczema in hairdressers was 23.8 cases/1000 person-years, whereas in hairdressers who were aged <25 years it was 37.1/1000 person-years. The corresponding IRR for hairdressers compared with controls was 2.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2 to 2.8), and that for younger hairdressers was 3.1 (95% CI 2.6 to 3.5). The mean age at onset of hand eczema was 21.6 years for hairdressers and 21.2 years for controls. The 1-year prevalence of hand eczema was 18.0% for hairdressers and 12.1% for controls. A large number of hair treatments involving exposure to skin irritants and sensitisers were reported. The incidence rate of hand eczema was higher among individuals with a history of childhood eczema, both for hairdressers and for controls, giving an (age-adjusted) IRR of 1.9 and 2.2, respectively. The attributable fraction of hand eczema from skin atopy was 9.6%. A synergistic effect of skin atopy and hairdressing was found on the occurrence of hand eczema. The relative excess risk due to interaction was 1.21 (95% CI 0.21 to 2.21; p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Hairdressers are highly exposed to skin-damaging substances. The self-reported incidence of hand eczema was substantially higher in female hairdressers than in controls from the general population and than that found previously in register-based studies. For many individuals, onset of hand eczema occurs early in life. Only about 10% of the hand eczema cases among hairdressers would be prevented if no one with skin atopy entered the trade.
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| 7. |
- Stronati, A., et al.
(författare)
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Relationships between sperm DNA fragmentation, sperm apoptotic markers and serum levels of CB-153 and p,p '-DDE in European and Inuit populations
- 2006
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Ingår i: Reproduction. - : Bioscientifica. - 1470-1626 .- 1741-7899. ; 132:6, s. 949-958
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) are suspected to interfere with hormone activity and the normal homeostasis of spermatogenesis. We investigated the relationships between sperm DNA fragmentation, apoptotic markers identified on ejaculated spermatozoa and POP levels in the blood of 652 adult males (200 Inuits from Greenland, 166 Swedish, 134 Polish and 152 Ukrainian). Serum levels of 2, 2', 4, 4', 5, 5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153), as a proxy of the total POP burden, and of 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-ethylene (p,p'-DDE), as a proxy of the total DDT exposure were determined. Sperm DNA fragmentation was measured by using the TUNEL assay, whereas immunofluorescence methods were utilized for detecting proapoptotic (Fas) and anti-apoptotic (Bcl-xL) markers. Both TUNEL assay and apoptotic markers were statistically differed across the four populations. No correlation between neither sperm DNA fragmentation nor apoptotic sperm parameters and the large variations in POPs exposure was observed for the separate study groups. However, considering the European populations taken together, we showed that both %TUNEL positivity and Bcl-xL were related to CB-153 serum levels, whereas our study failed to demonstrate any relations between DDE and %TUNEL positivity and apoptotic sperm biomarkers (Fas and Bcl-xL) in any region or overall regions. These results suggest that CB-153 and related chemicals might alter sperm DNA integrity and Bcl-xL levels in European adult males, but not in the highly exposed Inuit men. Additional issues (genetic background, lifestyle habits and characterization of total xeno-hormonal activities) need to he investigated in order to fully assess the population variations observed.
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