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  • Air pollution, air quality, Other exposures  (22)
  • Asbestos, Other exposures  (3)
  • Open access, Other exposures  (2)
  • Epidemiology
  • 2010-2014  (27)
  • 1
    Publication Date: 2014-12-17
    Description: Introduction We evaluated associations between three a-cellular measures of the oxidative potential (OP) of particulate matter (PM) and acute health effects. Methods We exposed 31 volunteers for 5 h to ambient air pollution at five locations: an underground train station, two traffic sites, a farm and an urban background site. Each volunteer visited at least three sites. We conducted health measurements before exposure, 2 h after exposure and the next morning. We measured air pollution on site and characterised the OP of PM 2.5 and PM 10 using three a-cellular assays; dithiotreitol (OP DTT ), electron spin resonance (OP ESR ) and ascorbic acid depletion (OP AA ). Results In single-pollutant models, all measures of OP were significantly associated with increases in fractional exhaled nitric oxide and increases in interleukin-6 in nasal lavage 2 h after exposure. These OP associations remained significant after adjustment for co-pollutants when only the four outdoor sites were included, but lost significance when measurements at the underground site were included. Other health end points including lung function and vascular inflammatory and coagulation parameters in blood were not consistently associated with OP. Conclusions We found significant associations between three a-cellular measures of OP of PM and markers of airway and nasal inflammation. However, consistency of these effects in two-pollutant models depended on how measurements at the underground site were considered. Lung function and vascular inflammatory and coagulation parameters in blood were not consistently associated with OP. Our study, therefore, provides limited support for a role of OP in predicting acute health effects of PM in healthy young adults.
    Keywords: Air pollution, air quality, Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2014-12-17
    Description: Objectives To estimate the numbers of workers exposed to known and suspected occupational carcinogens in Canada, building on the methods of CARcinogen EXposure (CAREX) projects in the European Union (EU). Methods CAREX Canada consists of estimates of the prevalence and level of exposure to occupational carcinogens. CAREX Canada includes occupational agents evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as known, probable or possible human carcinogens that were present and feasible to assess in Canadian workplaces. A Canadian Workplace Exposure Database was established to identify the potential for exposure in particular industries and occupations, and to create exposure level estimates among priority agents, where possible. CAREX EU data were reviewed for relevance to the Canadian context and the proportion of workers likely to be exposed by industry and occupation in Canada was assigned using expert assessment and agreement by a minimum of two occupational hygienists. These proportions were used to generate prevalence estimates by linkage with the Census of Population for 2006, and these estimates are available by industry, occupation, sex and province. Results CAREX Canada estimated the number of workers exposed to 44 known, probable and suspected carcinogens. Estimates of levels of exposure were further developed for 18 priority agents. Common exposures included night shift work (1.9 million exposed), solar ultraviolet radiation exposure (1.5 million exposed) and diesel engine exhaust (781 000 exposed). Conclusions A substantial proportion of Canadian workers are exposed to known and suspected carcinogens at work.
    Keywords: Open access, Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2014-10-09
    Description: The 2014 International Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH) meeting in Chicago, USA, focused on the theme: ‘Challenges for Occupational Epidemiology in the 21st Century’. These are exciting times and with them come no end to challenges faced by occupational epidemiology. And participants eagerly engaged in vigorous discussion on a number of current concerns with both wisdom and wit. Ultimately each individual must decide what challenges are most important and how best to address those selected for first order attention. Nonetheless, some overview of challenges could prove worthwhile and so six general areas are provided as a focus for consideration. Concentrating on important problems Acting on what we find Advancing occupational disease and injury surveillance Relying on worker self-reports Looking at data Addressing health disparities Concentrating on the important problems We always run the risk of studying what we know how to study...
    Keywords: Air pollution, air quality, Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2014-09-09
    Description: The fetus and infant are especially vulnerable to the effects of environmental agents that disrupt developmental processes because their organs are rapidly growing and developing, their metabolism is immature and their intakes can be greater relative to their body weight. In utero and early postnatal stressors, including environmental contaminant exposures, can permanently change the body's structure, physiology and metabolism, predisposing individuals to the development of serious chronic pathologies later in life (eg, cardiovascular, respiratory and neurodegenerative disease), a hypothesis grounded in the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) paradigm for which there is a growing evidential basis. Up to relatively recently, good epidemiological evidence for early-life developmental effects was available only for a few pollutants, mostly at high-level exposure, such as lead, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). 1 The past decade has seen rapid increase in the study of effects of environmental agents at lower doses on...
    Keywords: Air pollution, air quality, Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2014-07-11
    Description: Objectives To investigate the association between preeclampsia and maternal exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM 10 ) and 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) mass and sources. Methods Our analysis was based on a hospital cohort of pregnant women (N=3182) residing in Barcelona, Spain, during 2003–2005. Positive matrix factorisation source apportionment (PMF2) was used to identify sources of PM 10 and PM 2.5 samples obtained by an urban background monitor, resulting in detection of eight sources. We further combined traffic-related sources (brake dust, vehicle exhaust and secondary nitrate/organics) to generate an indicator of combined traffic sources. Logistic regression models were developed to estimate the association between preeclampsia and exposure to each PM source and mass separately during the entire pregnancy and trimester one, adjusted for relevant covariates. Results For the exposure during the entire pregnancy, we found a 44% (95% CI 7% to 94%) and a 80% (95% CI 4% to 211%) increase in the risk of preeclampsia associated with one IQR increase in exposure to PM 10 brake dust and combined traffic-related sources, respectively. These findings remained consistent after an alternative source apportionment method (Multilinear Engine (ME2)) was used. The results for PM 2.5 mass and sources and also exposure during trimester one were inconclusive. Conclusions: Risk of preeclampsia was associated with exposure to PM 10 brake dust and combined traffic-related sources.
    Keywords: Air pollution, air quality, Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2014-06-10
    Description: Objectives To assess the effects of long-term variations in ambient air pollutants on longitudinal changes in exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), a potentially useful biomarker of eosinophilic airway inflammation, based on data from the southern California Children's Health Study. Methods Based on a cohort of 1211 schoolchildren from eight Southern California communities with FeNO measurements in 2006–2007 and 2007–2008, regression models adjusted for short-term effects of air pollution were fitted to assess the association between changes in annual long-term exposures and changes in FeNO. Results Increases in annual average concentrations of 24-h average NO 2 and PM 2.5 (scaled to the IQR of 1.8 ppb and 2.4 μg/m 3 , respectively) were associated with a 2.29 ppb (CI 0.36 to 4.21; p=0.02) and a 4.94 ppb (CI 1.44 to 8.47; p=0.005) increase in FeNO, respectively, after adjustments for short-term effects of the respective pollutants. In contrast, changes in annual averages of PM 10 and O 3 were not significantly associated with changes in FeNO. These findings did not differ significantly by asthma status. Conclusions Changes in annual average exposure to current levels of ambient air pollutants are significantly associated with changes in FeNO levels in children, independent of short-term exposures and asthma status. Use of this biomarker in population-based epidemiological research has great potential for assessing the impact of changing real world mixtures of ambient air pollutants on children's respiratory health.
    Keywords: Air pollution, air quality, Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2014-04-10
    Description: Background Asbestos is a known carcinogen. However, little is known about the differential effects of size-specific asbestos fibres. Previous research has examined the relationship with lung cancer of each fibre group in the absence of others. Attempts to model all fibre groups within a single regression model have failed due to high correlations across fibre size groups. Methods We compare results from frequentist models for individual fibre size groups, and a hierarchical Bayesian model that included all fibre groups to estimate the relationship of size-specific asbestos fibre groups to lung cancer mortality. The hierarchical model assumes partial exchangeability of the effects of size-specific asbestos fibre groups to lung cancer, and is capable of handling the strong correlation of the exposure data. Results When fibre groups are modelled independently with a frequentist model, there appears to be an increase in the dose-response with increasing fibre size. However, when subject to a hierarchical structure, this trend vanishes, and the effects of distinct fibre groups appear largely similar. Conclusions This is the first occasion where distinct asbestos fibre groups have been assessed in a single regression model; however, even the use of a hierarchical modelling structure does not appear to overcome all the statistical fluctuations arising from the high correlations across fibre groups. We believe these results should be compared with other occupational cohorts with similar fibre group information. Finally, results for the smallest fibre group may be suggestive of a carcinogenic potential for nanofibres.
    Keywords: Asbestos, Other exposures
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    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2014-03-06
    Description: Objectives In attempts to overcome the limitations of self-reported data in occupational health research, job-exposure matrices, which assign exposure by occupation, have emerged as an objective approach for assessing occupational exposures. On the basis of a lung cancer case–control study conducted in the Greater Toronto Area, 1997–2002, assessment of occupational exposure to asbestos was compared using self-reports and a general population job-exposure matrix (DOM-JEM). Methods Cases and frequency matched controls provided life-time job histories and self-reported exposures to potential lung carcinogens including asbestos through a detailed questionnaire. Exposure to asbestos was also assigned to each job by linking occupational histories with DOM-JEM. Agreement in classification of exposed and unexposed jobs according to self-reports and DOM-JEM was evaluated using Cohen's . Risks for lung cancer were estimated using unconditional logistic regression for each exposure assessment approach. Results The prevalence of occupational asbestos exposure was greater when based on DOM-JEM than when based on self-reports. Agreement in classifying exposure to jobs between the two assessment approaches was poor. The risk of lung cancer was not elevated among workers who self-reported asbestos exposure, whereas workers considered exposed on the basis of DOM-JEM were almost twice as likely as unexposed workers to be diagnosed with lung cancer (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.7). Conclusions It is generally assumed by epidemiologists that self-reported exposure assessments result in inflated risk estimates. In this study, self-reports found no association with a well-established risk factor, whereas a high-quality job-exposure matrix revealed relative risk estimates that are more consistent with previous findings.
    Keywords: Asbestos, Other exposures
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    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2014-03-06
    Description: Aims The relation between Dupuytren's contracture and occupational exposure to hand-transmitted vibration (HTV) has frequently been debated. We explored associations in a representative national sample of workers with well-characterised exposure to HTV. Methods We mailed a questionnaire to 21 201 subjects aged 16–64 years, selected at random from the age-sex registers of 34 general practices in Great Britain and to 993 subjects chosen randomly from military pay records, asking about occupational exposure to 39 sources of HTV and about fixed flexion contracture of the little or ring finger. Analysis was restricted to men at work in the previous week. Estimates were made of average daily vibration dose ( A (8) root mean squared velocity (rms)) over that week. Associations with Dupuytren's contracture were estimated by Poisson regression, for lifetime exposure to HTV and for exposures in the past week 〉 A (8) of 2.8 ms –2 rms. Estimates of relative risk (prevalence ratio (PR)) were adjusted for age, smoking status, social class and certain manual activities at work. Results In all 4969 eligible male respondents supplied full information on the study variables. These included 72 men with Dupuytren's contracture, 2287 with occupational exposure to HTV and 409 with A (8)〉2.8 ms –2 in the past week. PRs for occupational exposure to HTV were elevated 1.5-fold. For men with an A (8)〉2.8 ms –2 in the past week, the adjusted PR was 2.85 (95% CI 1.37 to 5.97). Conclusions Our findings suggest that risk of Dupuytren's contracture is more than doubled in men with high levels of weekly exposure to HTV.
    Keywords: Open access, Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2014-03-06
    Description: Objectives We evaluated interactions between SERPINA1 PiMZ genotype, associated with intermediate α1-antitrysin deficiency, with outdoor particulate matter ≤10 µm (PM 10 ), and occupational exposure to vapours, dusts, gases and fumes (VGDF), and their effects on annual change in lung function. Methods Pre-bronchodilator spirometry was performed in 3739 adults of the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults (SAPALDIA) for whom SERPINA1 genotypes were available. At baseline in 1991, participants were aged 18–62 years; follow-up measurements were conducted from 2001 to 2003. In linear mixed regression models of annual change in lung function, multiplicative interactions were evaluated between PiMZ genotype (PiMM as reference) and change in PM 10 (μg/m 3 ), and VGDF exposure (high-level, low-level or no exposure as reference) during follow-up. Results Annual declines in forced expiratory flow at 25–75% of forced vital capacity (FEF 25–75% ) (–82 mL/s, 95% CI –125 to –39) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s over forced vital capacity (FEV 1 /FVC) (–0.3%, 95% CI –0.6% to 0.0%) in association with VGDF exposure were observed only in PiMZ carriers (P interaction 〈0.0001 and P interaction =0.03, respectively). A three-way interaction between PiMZ genotype, smoking and VGDF exposure was identified such that VGDF-associated FEF 25–75% decline was observed only in ever smoking PiMZ carriers (P interaction =0.01). No interactions were identified between PiMZ genotype and outdoor PM 10 . Conclusions SERPINA1 PiMZ genotype, in combination with smoking, modified the association between occupational VGDF exposure and longitudinal change in lung function, suggesting that interactions between these factors are relevant for lung function decline. These novel findings warrant replication in larger studies.
    Keywords: Air pollution, air quality, Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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