| 1. |
- Kim, Jeong-Lim, et al.
(författare)
-
Impact of occupational exposures on exacerbation of asthma: a population-based asthma cohort study.
- 2016
-
Ingår i: BMC pulmonary medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2466. ; 16:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Asthma is a prevalent chronic disease and occupation contributes to approximately 15 % of cases among adults. However, there are still few studies on risk factors for work-exacerbated asthma. The current study investigated the association between asthma exacerbations and occupational exposures.The study comprised all currently working adults (n = 1356) who reported ever asthma in prior population-based cohorts. All subjects completed a questionnaire about exposures, occupations and exacerbations of asthma. Exposure to high and low molecular weight agents, irritating agents and asthmagens were classified using the asthma-specific job exposure matrix for northern Europe (N-JEM). Severe exacerbation of asthma was defined as sought emergency care at a hospital, admitted to a hospital overnight, or made an urgent visit to a primary care physician or district medical office due to breathing problems during the last 12 months. Moderate exacerbation was defined as both being not severe exacerbation and an additional visit to a primary care physician or district medical office, or had extra treatments with corticosteroid tablets. Mild exacerbation was defined as being neither severe nor moderate exacerbation, and increasing usage of inhaled corticosteroids. Multiple logistic regression was applied to investigate the association between exacerbation of asthma and occupational exposures while adjusting for potential confounders.Approximately 26 % of the working asthmatics reported exacerbation, and more than two-thirds of them had moderate or severe exacerbation. From 23 to 49 % of the asthmatics reported occupational exposure to a variety of different types of agents. Exposure to any gas, smoke or dust (OR 1.7[95 % CI 1.2-2.6]) was associated with severe exacerbation of asthma, as were organic dust (OR 1.7[1.2-2.5]), dampness and mold (OR 1.8[1.2-2.7]), cold conditions (OR 1.7[1.1-2.7]), and a physically strenuous job (OR 1.6[1.03-2.3]). Asthmagens and low molecular weight agents classified by the N-JEM were associated with mild exacerbation, with OR 1.6[1.1-2.5] and OR 2.2[1.1-4.4], respectively.Self-reported exposure to any gas, smoke or dust, organic dust, dampness and mold, cold conditions and physically strenuous work, and jobs handling low molecular weight agents were associated with exacerbation of asthma. Reduction of these occupational exposures may help to reduce exacerbation of asthma.
|
|
| 2. |
- Murgia, Nicola, et al.
(författare)
-
Occupational risk factors for airway obstruction in a population-based study in Northern Europe
- 2021
-
Ingår i: American Journal of Industrial Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0271-3586 .- 1097-0274. ; 64:7, s. 576-584
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Airway obstruction is a key feature of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Smoking habits and workplace exposures to vapors, gas, dusts, and fumes (VGDF) could cause or exacerbate airway obstruction. The aim of this study is to evaluate the risk of airway obstruction due to smoking and workplace exposure, and their interaction, in a large population-based study. Methods In this cross-sectional study, a sample (n = 6153) of the Swedish population aged between 24 and 76 years underwent a questionnaire, clinical examination, blood test, and spirometry to gather information on airway obstruction classified by Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria or American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) criteria, risk factors, and confounders. Occupational exposures to VGDF were rated according to a specific job-exposure matrix. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to evaluate risk factors for airway obstruction in smokers and nonsmokers. Results In total, 9.8% had airway obstruction by GOLD criteria and 10.3% by ATS/ERS. Smokers with a high likelihood of exposure to VGDF had a higher risk of airway obstruction than those not exposed (odds ratio [OR]: 1.74, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-2.65 by GOLD; OR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.06-2.37 by ATS/ERS) especially those >50 years of age. In smokers highly exposed to VGDF, risk estimates were higher than in the whole population, and the interaction between high exposure to VGDF and smoking further increased the risk of airway obstruction. Conclusions This study suggests a possible role for interaction between cigarette smoking and VGDF exposure on the risk of airway obstruction.
|
|
| 3. |
- Albin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
-
Incidence of asthma in female Swedish hairdressers.
- 2002
-
Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ. - 1470-7926 .- 1351-0711. ; 59:2, s. 119-23.
-
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.
|
|
| 4. |
- Bonlokke, Jakob H., et al.
(författare)
-
Exposures and Health Effects of Bioaerosols in Seafood Processing Workers - a Position Statement
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Agromedicine. - 1059-924X .- 1545-0813. ; 24:4, s. 441-448
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2019, © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Occupational hazards exist in the processing of seafood both in land-based facilities as well as on board vessels. Recent findings on occupational injury and respiratory health risks among seafood processing workers were presented and discussed at the IFISH5 conference. Particular emphasis was put on the challenges that im/migrant workers encounter, the greater risks onboard factory vessels, especially where processing machinery are retrofitted to older vessels not primarily designed for this purpose, and the difficulties in assessing and preventing bioaerosol exposures and associated respiratory health risks despite recent advances in characterising agents responsible for allergic and non-allergic reactions. Based on appraisal of existing knowledge in the published literature and new findings presented at the conference, recommendations for immediate actions as well as for future research have been proposed. Among these include the importance of improving extraction ventilation systems, optimising machinery performance, enclosure of bioaerosol sources, improved work organization, and making special efforts to identify and support the needs of im/migrant workers to ensure they also benefit from such improvements. There is a need for studies that incorporate longitudinal study designs, have improved exposure and diagnostic methods, and that address seafood processing in countries with high seafood processing activities such as Asia and those that involve im/migrant workers worldwide. The medical and scientific community has an important role to play in prevention but cannot do this in isolation and should cooperate closely with hygienists, engineers, and national and international agencies to obtain better health outcomes for workers in the seafood industry.
|
|
| 5. |
- Brisman, Jonas, 1954, et al.
(författare)
-
The incidence of respiratory symptoms in female Swedish hairdressers
- 2003
-
Ingår i: American Journal of Industrial Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0271-3586. ; 44:6, s. 673-8.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Airway diseases in hairdressers are a concern. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate the risk for three respiratory symptoms, wheeze, dry cough, and nasal blockage, in hairdressers. Methods A questionnaire on respiratory symptoms, atopy, smoking, and work history was answered by 3,957 female hairdressers and 4,905 women from the general population as referents. Incidence rates (IR) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs)for the three symptoms were estimated. Results The IRs of all three studied symptoms were higher in the hairdressers compared with the referents. Smoking modified the effects of cohort affiliationfor all threesymptoms; the combined effect from hairdressing work and smoking was less than expected. In addition, the effect of cohort affiliation for wheeze was also modified by atopy, and the effect of cohort affiliation for nasal blockage was also modified by calendar year. Conclusions Hairdressing work was associated with increased incidences of respiratory symptoms. Smoking had a negative modifying effect.
|
|
| 6. |
- Dahlman-Höglund, Anna, 1964, et al.
(författare)
-
Antibodies given orally in the neonatal period can affect the immune response for two generations: evidence for active maternal influence on the newborn's immune system.
- 1999
-
Ingår i: Scandinavian journal of immunology. - 0300-9475. ; 50:6, s. 651-6
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two day old Wistar rats were tube fed with 1 or 10 micrograms of a mouse IgG1 monoclonal anti-idiotypic (a-Id) antibody that was directed against an anti-Escherichia coli-K13 capsular polysaccharide antibody. A control group was given 10 micrograms of an unrelated control antibody. Six weeks after the administration of antibodies, the rats were intestinally colonised with an ovalbumin (OVA)-producing E. coli O6K13 strain. At 8 weeks of age, the male rats (first generation) and the offsprings of the female rats (second generation), were parenterally immunised with OVA and dead wild type E. coli O6K13, and the immune response was followed. In the rats of the first generation, there were no major differences between the groups in the immune response to the bacterium. However, the offspring of the neonatally a-Id administered rats had a profoundly affected immune response to the idiotypically connected antigen K13, but also to other antigens on the bacteria. Thus, a-Id treatment in the first generation gave, in the second generation, a greatly enhanced serum antibody response to the spatially related antigens OVA and O6 LPS, as well as to the idiotypically connected antigen K13. Concurrently, the in vitro spleen cell proliferative response to both OVA and the wild type bacterium was lowered. Overall, greater effects were seen with the higher dose of a-Id. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that by giving monoclonal antibodies idiotypically connected to a single bacterial component to neonatal rats, one profoundly influence the immune response also to other-spatially related-bacterial antigens in their offsprings.
|
|
| 7. |
- Dahlman-Höglund, Anna, 1964, et al.
(författare)
-
Endotoxin in Size-Separated Metal Working Fluid Aerosol Particles
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Annals of Occupational Hygiene. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0003-4878 .- 1475-3162. ; 60:7, s. 836-844
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patients with airway symptoms working in metal working industries are increasing, despite efforts to improve the environmental air surrounding the machines. Our aim was to analyse the amount of endotoxin in size-separated airborne particles of metal working fluid (MWF) aerosol, by using the personal sampler Sioutas cascade impactor, to compare filter types, and to compare the concentration of airborne endotoxin to that of the corresponding MWFs. In a pilot field study, aerosols were collected in two separate machine halls on totally 10 occasions, using glass fibre and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filters in parallel at each station. Airborne endotoxin was distributed over all size fractions. While a major part was found in the largest size fraction (72%, 2.5-10 μm), up to 8% of the airborne endotoxin was detected in the smallest size fraction (<0.25 μm). Comparing the efficiency of the filter types, a significantly higher median endotoxin level was found with glass fibres filters collecting the largest particle-size fraction (1.2-fold) and with PTFE filters collecting the smallest ones (5-fold). The levels of endotoxin in the size-separated airborne particle fractions correlated to those of the MWFs supporting the aerosol-generating machines. Our study indicates that a significant part of inhalable aerosols of MWFs consists of endotoxin-containing particles below the size of intact bacteria, and thus small enough to readily reach the deepest part of the lung. Combined with other chemical irritants of the MWF, exposure to MWF aerosols containing endotoxin pose a risk to respiratory health problems. © 2016 The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.
|
|
| 8. |
- Dahlman-Höglund, Anna, 1964, et al.
(författare)
-
Exposure to parvalbumin allergen and aerosols among herring processing workers.
- 2013
-
Ingår i: The Annals of occupational hygiene. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1475-3162. ; 57:8, s. 1020-9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are increasing reports of allergies and respiratory symptoms among workers in the fish processing industry, coinciding with an increasing use of high-pressure water in the processing plants. However, few studies have measured exposure in these work environments.
|
|
| 9. |
- Dahlman-Höglund, Anna, 1964, et al.
(författare)
-
Immune response against ovalbumin in rats colonized with an ovalbumin-producing Escherichia coli and the influence of feeding ovalbumin.
- 1994
-
Ingår i: International archives of allergy and immunology. - 1018-2438. ; 105:4, s. 381-5
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The influence of feeding ovalbumin (OA) on the development of IgE/IgG antibodies and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) against OA was studied in rats colonized from birth with an Escherichia coli genetically manipulated to produce OA. At 21 days of age, colonized pups and pups with a normal intestinal flora were weaned onto either an OA-containing or a conventional diet without OA. At 2 months of age the colonized rats showed an increased DTH reaction to OA, but they did not have any anti-OA antibodies in serum. The rats were then immunized intracutaneously with OA in Freund's complete adjuvant. After immunization the colonized rats fed the conventional diet had a significantly higher DTH reaction to OA and significantly higher serum levels of IgE anti-OA antibodies than the uncolonized rats on the same diet. The colonized rats eating the OA-containing diet showed a 73% decrease in the DTH reaction to OA and also significantly lower levels of IgE and IgG antibodies against OA compared with the colonized rats fed conventional diet. The dams colonized as adults by the OA-producing E. coli developed IgE anti-lipopolysaccharide antibodies in serum while the pups colonized via the dams at birth did not. Neonatal colonization with an E. coli strain producing OA resulted in increased DTH reactivity against OA and priming for secondary IgE anti-OA response. Feeding the animals an OA-containing diet from weaning abrogated this intestinally induced hypersensitivity and rendered the animals orally tolerant to OA.
|
|
| 10. |
- Dahlman-Höglund, Anna, 1964, et al.
(författare)
-
Induction of IgE antibodies and T-cell reactivity to ovalbumin in rats colonized with Escherichia coli genetically manipulated to produce ovalbumin.
- 1992
-
Ingår i: Immunology. - 0019-2805. ; 76:2, s. 225-8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The immune response to ovalbumin (OA) and the bacterial antigens, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and fimbriae were studied in conventional rats colonized from birth with an Escherichia coli strain producing OA. The colonized rats had developed IgE antibodies against OA, but not against the fimbrial or the LPS antigens from the E. coli at 2 months of age. At this time all rats were primed with OA given intracutaneously in Freund's complete adjuvant. Two weeks later the colonized rats showed a 35% greater delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction to OA, measured as ear swelling, than the controls. Thus bacteria carrying antigens resembling potential allergens might aggravate, or participate in the induction of allergic symptoms. In addition such bacteria could be efficient vaccine vectors in protection against parasites. The study illustrates the importance of the mode of antigen presentation for the subsequent immune response.
|
|
