| 1. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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0253 Hairdressers are occupationally exposed to ortho- and meta- toluidine
- 2014
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ. - 1470-7926 .- 1351-0711. ; 71 Suppl 1, s. 32-33
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hairdressing work is classified as carcinogenic based on excess risk for bladder cancer. We aimed at evaluating if current hairdressers are exposed to established/suspected bladder carcinogens (aromatic amines) and indicate possible sources of exposure.
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| 2. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of exposure to insulation wool on lung function and cough in Swedish construction workers
- 1998
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - 1470-7926. ; 55:10, s. 661-667
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether application of insulation wool adversely affects lung volumes and increases the occurrence of symptoms of airway irritation. METHODS: Data from nationwide health check ups in 1981-93 of male construction workers born in 1955 or later were used to investigate cross sectional (n = 96,004) and longitudinal (n = 26,298) associations between lung volumes, vital capacity (VC), and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and exposure to insulation wool by combining a job exposure matrix (JEM) and self reported exposure. Data on 12 month prevalence of persistent cough not associated with the common cold was available for the period 1989-92. Potential confounding from smoking, exposure to asbestos, silica, and isocyanates, was considered in the analyses. RESULTS: For those in the highest exposure category (self reported duration of exposure of > or = 11 years, and high exposure according to the JEM) VC was on average 2.5 cl lower (95% CI -6.5 to 1.5) than in those with no exposure. The corresponding figures for FEV1 was -2.4 cl (95% CI -6.1 to 1.3). In the longitudinal analyses, the yearly change in VC between the first and last spirometry for those in the highest exposure category was 0.50 cl (95% CI -0.97 to 1.98) less than in the unexposed category. The corresponding figure for FEV1 was 0.89 cl (95% CI - 0.70 to 2.06). High exposure to insulation wool, asbestos, or silica, during the 12 months preceding the check up was associated with increased odds ratios (ORs) for persistent cough of the same magnitude as current smoking. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate no effects on VC or FEV1 from exposure to insulation wool. Recent exposure to insulation wool, asbestos, and silica was associated with an increased prevalence of persistent cough.
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| 3. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Incidence of asthma in female Swedish hairdressers.
- 2002
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ. - 1470-7926 .- 1351-0711. ; 59:2, s. 119-23.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of asthma in hairdressers. METHODS: The incidence of asthma was retrospectively estimated in a Swedish nationwide study including all female hairdressers certified from vocational schools from 1970 to 1995, and a stratified sample of women from the general population were referents. A postal questionnaire included questions on respiratory tract symptoms, atopy, smoking, working periods as a hairdresser, and number of specific hair treatments performed/week. Reported exposures were validated by occupational hygienists. Rate ratios of incidence (IRRs) of asthma were estimated by Poisson regression, adjusted for calendar year of observation, hay fever, smoking, and region of domicile. RESULTS: The crude incidences of asthma/1000 person-years were: 3.9 during active years as a hairdresser, 2.8 among the hairdressers when not working in the profession, and 3.1 among the referents. The corresponding IRR for being an active hairdresser compared with the referents was 1.3 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.0 to 1.6). Moderate effects on risk of asthma were found both from hairdressing work (IRR=1.6 (1.1 to 2.2) among never-smokers) and from smoking (IRR=1.6 (1.2 to 2.2) among referents). However, the combined effect from hairdressing work and smoking (IRR=1.5 (1.0 to 2.1)) was less than expected (p=0.02). No effect modification by respiratory atopy was found. The hairdressers most often performing hair bleaching treatments (IRR=1.5 (0.7 to 3.0)) or using hair spray (IRR=1.4 (0.8 to 2.4)) had, compared with the most infrequent users, a slightly, but not significantly higher incidence of asthma. Exposure to persulphates in hair bleach was estimated to be 0.04-0.15 mg/m(3) during mixing of the powder. Reported average number of bleaching treatments agreed well with those performed according to a diary. CONCLUSIONS: Active hairdressing work was associated with a moderately increased incidence of asthma among lifelong non-smokers. The results are moderately supportive, but not conclusive, of associations between asthma and exposure to hair bleach or hair spray.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Retention patterns of asbestos fibres in lung tissue among asbestos cement workers
- 1994
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - 1470-7926. ; 51:3, s. 205-211
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)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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| 6. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Survival in cohorts of asbestos cement workers and controls
- 1996
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - 1470-7926. ; 53:2, s. 87-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To measure the impact on survival of being exposed to asbestos cement dust. METHODS: Survival of 866 asbestos cement workers and 755 controls was studied with Cox's proportional hazards regression models with age as the basic time variable. The effect of cumulative exposure up to the age of 40 was investigated in an internal analysis of 635 asbestos cement workers who had dose estimates. RESULTS: The death risk was higher for the asbestos cement workers than for the controls with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.15 (95% confidence interval was 1.00 to 1.31). The increased risk found seemed to be confined to the period 20-40 years from start of employment. The estimates of the cohort effect were almost unaffected by adjustment for smoking habits. The estimates of the exposure effect rose with increasing dose (< 4 fibre-years/ml (f-y/ml): HR = 1.00, 4-9.9 f-y/ml: HR = 1.06, > or = 10 f-y/ml: HR = 1.35, for workers with at least five years of employment), and were higher when restricted only to deaths from malignant or non-malignant respiratory disease. However, none of the point estimates were significantly increased. Median age at death was two years lower in the high than in the low, exposure group. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that even a moderate asbestos exposure may shorten the median duration of life in an exposed population. Compared with the estimated effect on duration of life from ever being a smoker, that of ever being an asbestos cement worker was less, although that of having a high exposure was similar.
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| 7. |
- Alhamdow, Ayman, et al.
(författare)
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Fluorene exposure among PAH-exposed workers is associated with epigenetic markers related to lung cancer
- 2020
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ. - 1351-0711 .- 1470-7926. ; 77:7, s. 488-495
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives Exposure to high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may cause cancer in chimney sweeps and creosote-exposed workers, however, knowledge about exposure to low-molecular-weight PAHs in relation to cancer risk is limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate occupational exposure to the low-molecular-weight PAHs phenanthrene and fluorene in relation to different cancer biomarkers. Methods We recruited 151 chimney sweeps, 19 creosote-exposed workers and 152 unexposed workers (controls), all men. We measured monohydroxylated metabolites of phenanthrene and fluorene in urine using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. We measured, in peripheral blood, the cancer biomarkers telomere length and mitochondrial DNA copy number using quantitative PCR; and DNA methylation ofF2RL3andAHRRusing pyrosequencing. Results Median PAH metabolite concentrations were higher among chimney sweeps (up to 3 times) and creosote-exposed workers (up to 353 times), compared with controls (p<0.001; adjusted for age and smoking). n-ary sumation OH-fluorene (sum of 2-hydroxyfluorene and 3-hydroxyfluorene) showed inverse associations with percentage DNA methylation ofF2RL3andAHRRin chimney sweeps (B (95% CI)=-2.7 (-3.9 to -1.5) forF2RL3_cg03636183, and -7.1 (-9.6 to -4.7) forAHRR_cg05575921: adjusted for age and smoking), but not in creosote-exposed workers. In addition, n-ary sumation OH-fluorene showed a 42% mediation effect on the inverse association between being a chimney sweep and DNA methylation ofAHRRCpG2. Conclusions Chimney sweeps and creosote-exposed workers were occupationally exposed to low-molecular-weight PAHs. Increasing fluorene exposure, among chimney sweeps, was associated with lower DNA methylation ofF2RL3andAHRR, markers for increased lung cancer risk. These findings warrant further investigation of fluorene exposure and toxicity.
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| 8. |
- Alhanti, Brooke, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental exposures contribute to respiratory and allergic symptoms among women living in the banana growing regions of Costa Rica
- 2022
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ. - 1470-7926 .- 1351-0711. ; 79:7, s. 469-476
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: This research evaluates whether environmental exposures (pesticides and smoke) influence respiratory and allergic outcomes in women living in a tropical, agricultural environment. METHODS: We used data from 266 mothers from the Infants' Environmental Health cohort study in Costa Rica. We evaluated environmental exposures in women by measuring seven pesticide and two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites in urine samples. We defined 'high exposure' as having a metabolite value in the top 75th percentile. We collected survey data on respiratory and allergic outcomes in mothers as well as on pesticides and other environmental exposures. Using logistic regression models adjusted for obesity, we assessed the associations of pesticide exposure with multiple outcomes (wheeze, doctor-diagnosed asthma, high (≥2) asthma score based on symptoms, rhinitis, eczema and itchy rash). RESULTS: Current pesticide use in the home was positively associated with diagnosed asthma (OR=1.99 (95% CI=1.05 to 3.87)). High urinary levels of 5-hydroxythiabendazole (thiabendazole metabolite) and living in a neighbourhood with frequent smoke from waste burning were associated with a high asthma score (OR=1.84 (95%CI=1.05 to 3.25) and OR=2.31 (95%CI=1.11 to 5.16), respectively). Women who worked in agriculture had a significantly lower prevalence of rhinitis (0.19 (0.01 to 0.93)), but were more likely to report eczema (OR=2.54 (95%CI=1.33 to 4.89)) and an itchy rash (OR=3.17 (95%CI=1.24 to 7.73)). CONCLUSIONS: While limited by sample size, these findings suggest that environmental exposure to both pesticides and smoke may impact respiratory and skin-related allergic outcomes in women.
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| 9. |
- Almroth, Melody, et al.
(författare)
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Job control, job demands and job strain and suicidal behaviour among three million workers in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ. - 1351-0711 .- 1470-7926. ; 79:10, s. 681-689
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective To investigate the association between job control, job demands and their combination (job strain) and suicide attempts and deaths among male and female workers in Sweden.Methods Job control and demands were measured separately for men and women using a job exposure matrix, which was linked to around three million individuals based on their occupational title in 2005. Suicide attempts and deaths were measured in the hospital and cause of death registers from 2006 to 2016. HRs were estimated using discrete proportional hazards models with annually updated age as the time axis. Models were adjusted for sociodemographic, family, health, labour market and childhood factors, as well as the time-varying effects of unemployment, sick leave and family factors during follow-up.Results Low job control was associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts and deaths among both men and women while high job demands tended to be associated with a decreased risk. The combination of job control and job demands (job strain) reflected the increased risk of low control jobs and the decreased risk of high demand jobs. Associations were attenuated but still present after adjustments.Conclusions Low job control is related to suicide attempts and deaths, and this is only partially explained by important covariates measured both prebaseline and during follow-up. Attempts to increase job control among workers may be beneficial in preventing suicide.
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| 10. |
- Andersson, Axel G, et al.
(författare)
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Large difference but high correlation between creatinine and cystatin C estimated glomerular filtration rate in Mesoamerican sugarcane cutters.
- 2022
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Ingår i: Occupational and environmental medicine. - : BMJ. - 1470-7926 .- 1351-0711. ; 79:7, s. 497-502
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To explore the relationship between creatinine and cystatin C based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in actively working sugarcane cutters.This cohort study included 458 sugarcane cutters from Nicaragua and El Salvador. Serum samples were taken before and at end of harvest seasons and analysed for creatinine and cystatin C. Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) formulas were used to calculate eGFRs based on creatinine (eGFRcr), cystatin C (eGFRcys) and both creatinine and cystatin C (eGFRcrcys) at each time point. Bland-Altman plots and paired t-tests were used to compare the difference between eGFRcr and eGFRcys, and the difference in eGFRs between before and at end of the harvest seasons.The mean eGFRcr was higher than eGFRcys in both cohorts; absolute difference 22 mL/min/1.73 m2 (95% CI 21 to 23) in Nicaragua and 13 mL/min/1.73 m2 (95% CI 11 to 15) in El Salvador. Correlations between eGFRcr and eGFRcys were high, with r=0.69, 0.77 and 0.67 in Nicaragua at pre-harvest, end-harvest and cross-harvest, and r=0.89, 0.89 and 0.49 in El Salvador.Creatinine increases among heat-stressed workers reflect reduced glomerular filtration as estimated using eGFRcys, a marker independent of muscle mass and metabolism. The discrepancy between eGFRcr and eGFRcys may indicate reduced glomerular filtration of larger molecules and/or systemic bias in CKD-EPI performance in this population.
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