| 1. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Mineral fibres, fibrosis, and asbestos bodies in lung tissue from deceased asbestos cement workers
- 1990
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In: British Journal of Industrial Medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 47:11, s. 767-774
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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| 2. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Retention patterns of asbestos fibres in lung tissue among asbestos cement workers
- 1994
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In: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - 1470-7926. ; 51:3, s. 205-211
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Retention patterns in lung tissue (determined by transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry) of chrysotile, tremolite, and crocidolite fibres were analysed in 69 dead asbestos cement workers and 96 referents. There was an accumulation of tremolite with time of employment. Among workers who died within three years of the end of exposure, the 13 with high tremolite concentrations had a significantly longer duration of exposure than seven in a low to intermediate category (medians 32 v 20 years; p = 0.018, one sided). Crocidolite showed similar patterns of accumulation. In workers who died more than three years after the end of exposure, there were no correlations between concentrations of amphibole fibres and time between the end of exposure and death. Chrysotile concentrations among workers who died shortly after the end of exposure were higher than among the referents (median difference in concentrations 13 million fibres (f)/g dry weight; p = 0.033, one sided). No quantitative differences in exposure (duration or intensity) could be shown between workers with high and low to intermediate concentrations. Interestingly, all seven workers who had had a high intensity at the end of exposure (> 2.5 f/ml), had low to intermediate chrysotile concentrations at death, whereas those with low exposure were evenly distributed (31 subjects in both concentration categories); hence, there was a dependence between last intensity of exposure and chrysotile concentration (p = 0.014). Among 14 workers with a high average intensity of exposure, both those (n = 5) with high tissue concentrations of chrysotile and those (n = 10) with high tissue concentrations of tremolite fibres had more pronounced fibrosis than those with low to intermediate concentrations (median fibrosis grades for chrysotile: 2 v 1, p = 0.021; for tremolite: 2 v 0.5, p = 0.012). Additionally, workers who died shortly after the end of exposure with high concentrations of chrysotile and crocidolite had smoked more than those with low intermediate concentrations (medians for chrysotile 35 v 15 pack-years, p = 0.030; for crocidolite 37 v 15 pack-years, p = 0.012). The present data indicate that chrysotile has a relatively rapid turnover in human lungs, whereas the amphiboles, tremolite and crocidolite, have a slower turnover. Further, chrysotile retention may be dependent on dose rate. Chrysotile and crocidolite deposition and retention may be increased by tobacco smoking; chrysotile and tremolite by fibrosis.
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| 3. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Mortality and cancer morbidity in cohorts of asbestos cement workers and referents
- 1990
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In: British Journal of Industrial Medicine. - 0007-1072. ; 47:9, s. 602-610
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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. |
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| 5. |
- Andren, P, et al.
(author)
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Environmental exposure to lead and arsenic among children living near a glassworks
- 1988
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-1026 .- 0048-9697. ; 77:1, s. 25-34
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Concentrations of lead (Pb) in blood (B-Pb, geometric mean 34.6 micrograms l-1, n = 127) and inorganic arsenic (As) and its metabolites in urine (U-As, mean 5.1 micrograms/g creatinine, n = 35) did not differ between children living in a village close to a glassworks emitting both Pb and As and children living in a reference area. There was no significant effect on B-Pb and U-As related to parents working at the glassworks or consumption of domestically grown vegetables. Neither was there any significant effect upon B-Pb of sex, age, potentially lead-exposing hobbies, or consumption of canned foods. Boys had higher U-As than girls (5.8 vs 4.2 micrograms/g creatinine, p = 0.005), and there was a decrease with age (range 8.4-10.4 years, 27% per year, p = 0.01). Further, parental smoking habits had a significant effect on both B-Pb and U-As. In children of non-smoking parents the B-Pb was 30 micrograms l-1, in children with one parent who smoked 39 micrograms l-1 (smoking father 37, smoking mother 41 micrograms l-1) and in children with two parents who smoked 47 micrograms l-1 (p less than 0.001). The corresponding values for U-As were 4.2, 5.5, and 13 micrograms/g creatinine, respectively (p = 0.01).
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| 6. |
- Ewers, Sven-Börje, et al.
(author)
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Prognostic significance of flow cytometric DNA analysis and estrogen receptor content in breast carcinomas--a 10 year survival study
- 1992
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In: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. - 1573-7217. ; 24:2, s. 115-126
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The prospective prognostic significance of flow cytometry derived DNA-ploidy status, the level of the S-phase fraction (SPF), estrogen receptor (ER) content, and combinations of these factors, was evaluated with respect to overall survival (OS) in a series of 516 breast cancer patients who were without signs of residual or distant disease after primary completed treatment. The median duration of survival follow-up time was ten years (range, 95-148 months) for surviving patients. Of the single factors, ER was the only significant predictor among node-negative patients; the ten-year OS rate was 71% in cases with ER-rich tumors vs. 62% for ER-poor tumors (p = 0.03). Where tumors were both non-diploid and ER-poor, the ten-year OS rate was 58%, as compared to 75% for the remaining node-negative patients (p = 0.003), who constituted a low-risk group whose survival was comparable with that in the age-matched normal population. Among patients with 1-3 positive nodes, the ten-year OS rate was 65% in patients whose tumors had an SPF < 7.3% vs. 50% if the SPF was > or = 7.3% (p = 0.01), and 58% in cases with ER-rich tumors vs. 45% where the tumors were ER-poor (p = 0.02). In a multivariate analysis, apart from age and menopausal status the combination of ploidy status and ER content was the significant (p = 0.002) predictor of OS in node-negative patients. Thus, combining ploidy and ER status, both of which are variables easily determined, enabled the selection of a subgroup of patients at high risk of relapse and reduced survival whose prognosis should be improved by effective adjuvant systemic treatment, whereas the remaining low risk N0 patients can not be expected to derive any survival benefit from adjuvant therapy since their predicted survival is already on a par with that of the general population.
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| 7. |
- Willers, Stefan, et al.
(author)
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Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the household and urinary cotinine excretion, heavy metals retention, and lung function
- 1992
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In: Archives of Environmental Health. - 0003-9896. ; 47:5, s. 357-563
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The relationship between urinary levels of cotinine (U-cotinine) and arsenic (U-As), blood levels of cadmium (B-Cd), blood levels of lead (B-Pb), lung function, and questionnaire data on smoking habits were studied in 107 parents and their 46 children (7-10 y of age). There was a statistically significant relationship between the reported amount of tobacco smoked and U-cotinine levels. Nonsmokers who were married to persons who smoked had three times higher U-cotinine levels than nonsmokers whose spouses did not smoke. There was a significant association between the number of parents who smoked in the family and the U-cotinine levels of children. If only one parent smoked, maternal smoking was of greater importance than paternal smoking. There was also an association between U-cotinine and B-Cd. A study of lung function in the children revealed that vital capacity and functional residual capacity (corrected for sex, age, and height) increased as the number of parents who smoked increased. Therefore, the present study showed that (1) U-cotinine was a useful index of active smoking and environmental tobacco smoke exposure in adults and children, (2) U-cotinine was associated with the blood concentration of cadmium, and (3) environmental tobacco smoke exposure was associated with changes in lung function of children.
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| 8. |
- Willers, Stefan, et al.
(author)
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Relation between lead and cadmium in blood and the involuntary smoking of children
- 1988
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - 0355-3140. ; 14:6, s. 385-389
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The blood lead (PbB) and blood cadmium (CdB) levels, as well as the parental smoking habits, of 133 children aged 4 to 11 years were studied. The children were from a town with a lead smeltery and a surrounding rural area. There was a significant association between the higher PbB levels of the children and involuntary (parental) smoking in the home. The CdB levels of the children were not affected by parental smoking habits. The children whose parents did not smoke at home had lower PbB values than those with one smoking parent. These children, in turn, had lower levels than children with two smoking parents. Mothers who smoked had a greater impact than fathers who smoked. There was also a dose-response relationship between the amount of tobacco smoked by the mother and the PbB level of the child. The PbB value was higher for the children living near industrial lead emissions than for children from the rural area. The association between PbB level and involuntary smoking is probably not due to inhalation of lead originating from tobacco smoke. A small airways disease affecting the absorption of inhaled lead particles is proposed as an explanation.
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