| 1. |
- Bonde, Jens Peter Ellekilde, et al.
(författare)
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Occupational risk of COVID-19 related hospital admission in Denmark 2020–2021 : a follow-up study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - : Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - 0355-3140 .- 1795-990X. ; 49:1, s. 84-94
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Mounting evidence indicates increased risk of COVID-19 among healthcare personnel, but the evidence on risks in other occupations is limited. In this study, we quantify the occupational risk of COVID-19-related hospital admission in Denmark during 2020-2021.Methods: The source population included 2.4 million employees age 20-69 years. All information was retrieved from public registers. The risk of COVID-19 related hospital admission was examined in 155 occupations with at least 2000 employees (at-risk, N=1 620 231) referenced to a group of mainly office workers defined by a COVID-19 job exposure matrix (N=369 341). Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were computed by Poisson regression.Results: During 186 million person-weeks of follow-up, we observed 2944 COVID-19 related hospital admissions in at-risk occupations and 559 in referents. Adjusted risk of such admission was elevated in several occupations within healthcare (including health care assistants, nurses, medical practitioners and laboratory technicians but not physiotherapists or midwives), social care (daycare assistants for children aged 4-7, and nursing aides in institutions and private homes, but not family daycare workers) and transportation (bus drivers, but not lorry drivers). Most IRR in these at-risk occupations were in the range of 1.5-3. Employees in education, retail sales and various service occupations seemed not to be at risk.Conclusion: Employees in several occupations within and outside healthcare are at substantially increased risk of COVID-19. There is a need to revisit safety measures and precautions to mitigate viral transmission in the workplace during the current and forthcoming pandemics.
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| 2. |
- Bonde, Jens Peter, et al.
(författare)
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The epidemiologic evidence linking prenatal and postnatal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals with male reproductive disorders : A systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2016
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Ingår i: Human Reproduction Update. - 1355-4786. ; 23:1, s. 104-125
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: More than 20 years ago, it was hypothesized that exposure to prenatal and early postnatal environmental xenobiotics with the potential to disrupt endogenous hormone signaling might be on the causal path to cryptorchidism, hypospadias, low sperm count and testicular cancer. Several consensus statements and narrative reviews in recent years have divided the scientific community and have elicited a call for systematic transparent reviews. We aimed to fill this gap in knowledge in the field of male reproductive disorders. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE: The aim of this study was to systematically synthesize published data on the risk of cryptorchidism, hypospadias, low sperm counts and testicular cancer following in utero or infant exposure to chemicals that have been included on the European Commission's list of Category 1 endocrine disrupting chemicals defined as having documented adverse effects due to endocrine disruption in at least one intact organism. SEARCH METHODS: A systematic literature search for original peer reviewed papers was performed in the databases PubMed and Embase to identify epidemiological studies reporting associations between the outcomes of interest and exposures documented by biochemical analyses of biospecimens including maternal blood or urine, placenta or fat tissue as well as amnion fluid, cord blood or breast milk; this was followed by meta-analysis of quantitative data. OUTCOMES: The literature search resulted in 1314 references among which we identified 33 papers(28 study populations) fulfilling the eligibility criteria. These provided 85 risk estimates of links between persistent organic pollutants and rapidly metabolized compounds (phthalates and Bisphenol A) and male reproductive disorders. The overall odds ratio (OR) across all exposures and outcomes was 1.11 (95% CI 0.91-1.35). When assessing four specific chemical subgroups with sufficient data for meta-analysis for all outcomes, we found that exposure to one of the four compounds, p,p'-DDE, was related to an elevated risk: OR 1.35 (95% CI 1.04-1.74). The data did not indicate that this increased risk was driven by any specific disorder. WIDER IMPLICATIONS: The current epidemiological evidence is compatible with a small increased risk of male reproductive disorders following prenatal and postnatal exposure to some persistent environmental chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors but the evidence is limited. Future epidemiological studies may change the weight of the evidence in either direction. No evidence of distortion due to publication bias was found, but exposure-response relationships are not evident. There are insufficient data on rapidly metabolized endocrine disruptors and on specific exposure-outcome relations. A particular data gap is evident with respect to delayed effects on semen quality and testicular cancer. Although high quality epidemiological studies are still sparse, future systematic and transparent reviews may provide pieces of evidence contributing to the narrative and weight of the evidence assessments in the field.
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| 3. |
- Framke, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
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Contribution of income and job strain to the association between education and cardiovascular disease in 1.6 million Danish employees
- 2020
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Ingår i: European Heart Journal. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0195-668X .- 1522-9645. ; 41:11, s. 1164-1178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: We examined the extent to which associations between education and cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality are attributable to income and work stress.Methods and results: We included all employed Danish residents aged 30–59 years in 2000. Cardiovascular disease morbidity analyses included 1 638 270 individuals, free of cardiometabolic disease (CVD or diabetes). Mortality analyses included 41 944 individuals with cardiometabolic disease. We assessed education and income annually from population registers and work stress, defined as job strain, with a job-exposure matrix. Outcomes were ascertained until 2014 from health registers and risk was estimated using Cox regression. During 10 957 399 (men) and 10 776 516 person-years (women), we identified 51 585 and 24 075 incident CVD cases, respectively. For men with low education, risk of CVD was 1.62 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.58–1.66] before and 1.46 (95% CI 1.42–1.50) after adjustment for income and job strain (25% reduction). In women, estimates were 1.66 (95% CI 1.61–1.72) and 1.53 (95% CI 1.47–1.58) (21% reduction). Of individuals with cardiometabolic disease, 1736 men (362 234 person-years) and 341 women (179 402 person-years) died from CVD. Education predicted CVD mortality in both sexes. Estimates were reduced with 54% (men) and 33% (women) after adjustment for income and job strain.Conclusion: Low education predicted incident CVD in initially healthy individuals and CVD mortality in individuals with prevalent cardiometabolic disease. In men with cardiometabolic disease, income and job strain explained half of the higher CVD mortality in the low education group. In healthy men and in women regardless of cardiometabolic disease, these factors explained 21–33% of the higher CVD morbidity and mortality.
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| 4. |
- Glazer, Clara Helene, et al.
(författare)
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Male factor infertility and risk of death : a nationwide record-linkage study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Human Reproduction. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0268-1161 .- 1460-2350. ; 34:11, s. 2266-2273
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- STUDY QUESTION: What is the risk of death among men with oligospermia, unspecified male factor and azoospermia in the years following fertility treatment? SUMMARY ANSWER: No significantly elevated risk was observed among men with oligospermia and unspecified male factor, while an increased risk was found among men with azoospermia. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Previous studies have shown associations between male factor infertility and risk of death, but these studies have relied on internal reference groups and the risk of death according to type of male infertility is not well characterized. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: In this prospective record-linkage cohort study, we identified men who had undergone medically assisted reproduction (MAR) between 1994 and 2015. Data was linked to the Danish causes of death register and sociodemographic registers through personal identification numbers assigned to all Danish citizens at birth. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Men that had undergone MAR in Denmark (MAR Cohort; n = 64 563) were identified from the Danish IVF register, which includes data on whether infertility was due to male factor. For each man in the MAR cohort, five age-matched men who became fathers without fertility treatment were selected from the general population (non-MAR fathers; n = 322 108). Men that could not adequately be tracked in the Danish CPR register (n = 1259) and those that were censored prior to study entry (n = 993) were excluded, leaving a final population of 384 419 men. Risk of death was calculated by Cox regression analysis with age as an underlying timeline and adjustments for educational attainment, civil status and year of study entry. The risk of death was compared among men with and without male factor infertility identified from the IVF register (internal comparisons) as well as to the non-MAR fathers (external comparison). MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: The risk of death between the MAR cohort (all men, regardless of infertility) and the non-MAR fathers was comparable [hazard ratio (HR), 1.07; 95% CI, 0.98-1.15]. When the MAR cohort was limited to infertile men, these men were at increased risk of death [HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.12-1.44]. However, when stratified by type of male factor infertility, men with azoospermia had the highest risk of death, which persisted when in both the internal [HR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.54-3.41] and external comparison [HR, 3.32; 95% CI, 2.02-5.40]. No significantly elevated risk of death was observed among men with oligospermia [HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.87-1.50] and unspecified male factor [HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.75-1.61] compared with the non-MAR fathers. The same trends were observed for the internal comparison. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Duration of the follow-up was limited and there is limited generalizability to infertile men who do not seek fertility treatment. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Using national health registers, we found an increased risk of death among azoospermic men while no increased risk was found among men with other types of infertility. For the azoospermic men, further insight into causal pathways is needed to identify options for monitoring and prevention.
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| 5. |
- Hærvig, Katia Keglberg, et al.
(författare)
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Maternal Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Male Reproductive Function in Young Adulthood : Combined Exposure to Seven PFAS
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Health Perspectives. - 1552-9924. ; 130:10, s. 107001-107001
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Concerns remain about the human reproductive toxicity of the widespread per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during early stages of development. OBJECTIVES: We examined associations between maternal plasma PFAS levels during early pregnancy and male offspring reproductive function in adulthood. METHODS: The study included 864 young men (age range:18.9-21.2 y) from the Fetal Programming of Semen Quality (FEPOS) cohort established between 2017 and 2019. Plasma samples from their mothers, primarily from the first trimester, were retrieved from the Danish National Biobank and levels of 15 PFAS were measured. Seven PFAS had detectable levels above the limit of detection in formula presented of the samples and were included in analyses. Semen quality, testicular volume, and levels of reproductive hormones and PFAS were assessed in the young men. We used weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression to estimate the associations between combined exposure to maternal PFAS and reproductive function, and negative binomial regression to estimate the associations of single substances, while adjusting for a range of a priori-defined fetal and postnatal risk factors. RESULTS: By a 1-unit increase in the WQS index, combined maternal PFAS exposure was associated with lower sperm concentration (formula presented ; 95% CI: formula presented ), total sperm count (formula presented ; 95% CI: formula presented ), and a higher proportion of nonprogressive and immotile sperm (5%; 95% CI: 1%, 8%) in the young men. Different PFAS contributed to the associations with varying strengths; however, perfluoroheptanoic acid was identified as the main contributor in the analyses of all three outcomes despite the low concentration. We saw no clear association between exposure to maternal PFAS and testicular volume or reproductive hormones. DISCUSSION: In a sample of young men from the general Danish population, we observed consistent inverse associations between exposure to maternal PFAS and semen quality. The study needs to be replicated in other populations, taking combined exposure, as well as emerging short-chain PFAS, into consideration. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10285.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Petersen, Kajsa Ugelvig, et al.
(författare)
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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and male reproductive function in young adulthood; a cross-sectional study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-9351. ; 212
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large family of persistent industrial chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties. Objectives: To examine biomarkers of reproductive function in young adult males according to current environmental exposure to single and combined PFAS. Methods: The study population consisted of young men (n = 1041, age 18–21) from the Fetal Programming of Semen Quality (FEPOS) cohort. These men were recruited from pregnancies included in the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) between 1996 and 2002. From 2017 to 2019, participants answered an online questionnaire, completed a clinical examination and provided a blood and a semen sample. Exposure to 15 PFAS was measured in plasma. Six compounds were quantified above the limit of detection in at least 80% of the participants. We applied negative binomial regression and weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models to assess associations between single and combined exposure to PFAS and measures of semen quality, testicular volume and reproductive hormones among the young men. Results: We found no consistent associations between plasma concentrations of PFAS, semen quality and testicular volume. Higher levels of single and combined PFAS were associated with slightly higher levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (WQS 4% difference, 95% confidence interval: 0, 9). Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the main contributor to this finding with positive signals also from perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS). Discussion: We examined exposure to a range of common PFAS in relation to biomarkers of male reproductive function and found an association with higher levels of FSH among young men from the general population in Denmark. Further studies on especially combined exposure to PFAS are needed to expand our understanding of potential endocrine disruption from both legacy and emerging compounds in relation to male reproductive function.
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| 8. |
- Rugulies, Reiner, et al.
(författare)
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Persistent and changing job strain and risk of coronary heart disease : A population-based cohort study of 1.6 million employees in Denmark
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - : Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - 0355-3140 .- 1795-990X. ; 46:5, s. 498-507
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives This study aimed to examine the association between job strain and incident coronary heart disease (CHD) in Denmark, while accounting for changes of job strain.Methods We included all employees residing in Denmark in 2000, aged 30–59 years with no prevalent CHD (N=1 660 150). We determined exposure to job strain from 1996–2009 using a job exposure matrix (JEM) with annual updates. Follow-up for incident CHD was from 2001–2010 via linkage to health records. We used Cox regression to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between job strain and incident CHD.Results During 16.1 million person-years, we identified 24 159 incident CHD cases (15.0 per 10 000 person-years). After adjustment for covariates, job strain in 2000 predicted onset of CHD during a mean follow-up of 9.71 years (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.07–1.13). When analyzing changes in job strain from one year to the next and CHD in the subsequent year, persistent job strain (HR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03–1.10), onset of job strain (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.12–1.29) and removal of strain (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.12–1.28) were associated with higher CHD incidence compared to persistent no job strain. Associations were similar among men and women.Conclusions Job strain is associated with a higher risk of incident CHD in Denmark. As we used a JEM, we can rule out reporting bias. However, under- or overestimation of associations is possible due to non-differential misclassification of job strain and residual confounding by socioeconomic position.
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| 9. |
- Tolstrup, Janne S, et al.
(författare)
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Smoking and risk of coronary heart disease in younger, middle-aged, and older adults
- 2014
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Ingår i: American Journal of Public Health. - : AMER PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOC INC. - 0090-0036 .- 1541-0048. ; 104:1, s. 96-102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives. We investigated associations of smoking and coronary heart disease (CHD) by age. Methods. Data came from the Pooling Project on Diet and Coronary Heart Disease (8 prospective studies, 1974-1996; n = 192 067 women and 74 720 men, aged 40-89 years). Results. During follow-up, 4326 cases of CHD were reported. Relative to never smokers, CHD risk among current smokers was highest in the youngest and lowest in the oldest participants. For example, among women aged 40 to 49 years the hazard ratio was 8.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.0, 14) and 3.1 (95% CI = 2.0, 4.9) among those aged 70 years or older. The largest absolute risk differences between current smokers and never smokers were observed among the oldest participants. Finally, the majority of CHD cases among smokers were attributable to smoking. For example, attributable proportions of CHD by age group were 88% (40-49 years), 81% (50-59 years), 71% for (60-69 years), and 68% (70+ years) among women who smoked. Conclusions. Among smokers, the majority of CHD cases are attributable to smoking in all age groups. Smoking prevention is important, irrespective of age.
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