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  • Articles  (69)
  • Other exposures  (23)
  • Air pollution, air quality, Other exposures  (22)
  • Open access  (16)
  • Respiratory  (6)
  • Open access, Other exposures  (2)
  • 2010-2014  (69)
  • 1
    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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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2014-12-17
    Description: Objective The study was designed to investigate whether beryllium exposure was related to illness diagnosed as sarcoidosis. Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and sarcoidosis are clinically and pathologically indistinguishable, with only the presence of beryllium-specific T-lymphocytes identifying CBD. Testing for such cells is not feasible in community studies of sarcoidosis but a second characteristic of CBD, its much greater incidence in those with a glutamic acid residue at position 69 of the HLA-DPB1 gene (Glu69), provides an alternative approach to answering this question. Methods Cases of sarcoidosis aged 18–60 years diagnosed in Alberta, Canada, from 1999 to 2005 were approached through their specialist physician, together with age-matched and sex-matched referents with other chronic lung disease. Referents were grouped into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and other lung disease. Participants completed a telephone questionnaire, including industry-specific questionnaires. DNA was extracted from mailed-in mouthwash samples and genotyped for Glu69. Duration of employment in types of work with independently documented beryllium exposure was calculated. Results DNA was extracted for 655 cases (270 Glu69 positive) and 1382 referents (561 positive). No increase in sarcoidosis was seen with either Glu69 or beryllium exposure (none, 〈10, ≥10 years) as main effects: longer duration in possible beryllium jobs was related to COPD. In Glu69 positive men with exposure ≥10 years, the trend towards increasing rate of COPD was reversed, and a significant interaction of duration of exposure and Glu69 was detected (OR=4.51 95% CI 1.17 to 17.48). Conclusions The gene–environment interaction supports the hypothesis that some cases diagnosed as sarcoidosis result from occupational beryllium exposure.
    Keywords: Respiratory
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 3
    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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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2014-11-07
    Description: Objectives To investigate inter-reader agreement for the detection of pleural and parenchymal abnormalities using CT in a large cross-sectional study comprising information on individual cumulative exposure to asbestos. Methods The project was approved by the hospital ethics committee, and all patients received information on the study and gave their written informed consent. In 5511 CT scans performed in a cohort of retired workers previously exposed to asbestos and volunteering to participate in a multiregional survey programme (Asbestos Related Diseases Cohort, ARDCO), double randomised standardised readings, triple in case of disagreement, were performed by seven trained expert radiologists specialised in thoracic imaging and blind to the initial interpretation. Inter-reader agreement was evaluated by calculating the -weighted coefficient between pairs of expert readers and results of routine practice and final diagnosis after expert reading. Results -Weighted coefficients between trained experts ranged from 0.28 to 0.52 (fair to good), 0.59 to 0.86 (good to excellent) and 0.11 to 0.66 (poor to good) for the diagnosis of asbestosis, pleural plaques and fibrosis of the visceral pleura, respectively. -Weighted coefficients between results of routine practice and final diagnosis after expert reading were 0.13 (poor), 0.53 (moderate) and 0.11 (poor) for the diagnosis of asbestosis, pleural plaques and fibrosis of the visceral pleura, respectively. Conclusions Interpretation of benign asbestos-related thoracic abnormalities requires standardisation of the reading and trained readers, particularly for participants asking for compensation, and with a view to the longitudinal survey of asbestos-exposed workers.
    Keywords: Respiratory
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 5
    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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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2014-10-09
    Description: Objectives Previous research has indicated that occupational exposure to pesticides and possibly airborne endotoxin may increase the risk of developing Parkinson disease (PD). We studied the associations of PD with occupational exposure to pesticides, specifically to the functional subclasses insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, and to airborne endotoxin. In addition we evaluated specific pesticides (active ingredients) previously associated with PD. Methods We used data from a hospital-based case–control study, including 444 patients with PD and 876 age and sex matched controls. Exposures to pesticides from application and re-entry work were estimated with the ALOHA+job-exposure matrix and with an exposure algorithm based on self-reported information on pesticide use. To assess exposure to specific active ingredients a crop-exposure matrix was developed. Endotoxin exposure was estimated with the DOM job-exposure matrix. Results The results showed almost no significant associations. However, ORs were elevated in the higher exposure categories for pesticides in general, insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, and below unity for endotoxin exposure. The analyses on specific active ingredients showed a significant association of PD risk with the fungicide benomyl. Conclusions This study did not provide evidence for a relation between pesticide exposure and PD. However, the consistently elevated ORs in the higher exposure categories suggest that a positive association may exist. The possible association with the active ingredient benomyl requires follow-up in other studies. This study did not provide support for a possible association between endotoxin exposure and PD.
    Keywords: Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2014-09-09
    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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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2014-09-09
    Description: Objective To investigate the role of occupational exposure to chlorinated solvents in lung cancer aetiology. Methods ICARE (Investigation of occupational and environmental CAuses of REspiratory cancers) is a French, multicentre, population-based, case–control study. Information on the lifelong work history of 2926 cases and 3555 controls was collected using standardised questionnaires. Occupational exposures were assessed using job-exposure matrices for five chlorinated solvents. Solvents were studied separately and in combinations. ORs were computed using unconditional logistic regression models adjusted for classic risk factors, including a history of cigarette smoking and exposure to asbestos. Adjustment for socioeconomic status (SES) was also made. Results After adjustment for exposure to asbestos, we observed a positive, statistically significant association with lung cancer for men and women exposed to a combination of perchloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene and dichloromethane (DCM). Further adjustment for SES slightly decreased this association. In contrast, no statistically significant associations were found for other solvent combinations. Conclusions These results suggest that exposure to PCE may constitute a risk factor for lung cancer, especially among women, who seem to have a higher prevalence of exposure than men.
    Keywords: Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2014-09-09
    Description: Objective To develop a job-exposure matrix (JEM) that estimates exposure to eight variables representing different aspects of shiftwork among female workers. Methods Occupational history and shiftwork exposure data were obtained from a population-based breast cancer case–control study. Exposure to light at night, phase shift, sleep disturbances, poor diet, lack of physical activity, lack of vitamin D, and graveyard and early morning shifts, was calculated by occupational code. Three threshold values based on the frequency of exposure were considered (10%, 30% and 50%) for use as cut-offs in determining exposure for each occupational code. JEM-based exposure classification was compared with that from the OccIDEAS application (job-specific questionnaires and assessment by rules) by assessing the effect on the OR for phase shift and breast cancer. Using data from the Australian Workplace Exposure Study, the specificity and sensitivity of the threshold values were calculated for each exposure variable. Results 127 of 413 occupational codes involved exposure to one or more shiftwork variables. Occupations with the highest probability of exposure shiftwork included nurses and midwives. Using the 30% threshold, the OR for the association between phase shift exposure and breast cancer was decreased and no longer statistically significant (OR=1.14, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.42). The 30% cut-off point demonstrated best specificity and sensitivity, although results varied between exposure variables. Conclusions This JEM provides a set of indicators reflecting biologically plausible mechanisms for the potential impact of shiftwork on health and may provide an alternative method of exposure assessment in the absence of detailed job history and exposure data.
    Keywords: Other exposures
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    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2014-08-09
    Description: Objective We examined occupational exposures and sperm morphology to establish whether exposures implicated differed from those affecting motile sperm concentration. Methods Computer aided sperm morphometric assessment was undertaken on morphology slides obtained as part of a multi-centre study in 1999–2002 of occupational factors in male infertility. Men attending 14 fertility clinics across the UK were recruited and gave a semen sample. Before results of the semen analysis were known, the men completed detailed questionnaires about their employment and lifestyle. Occupational exposures were assessed by occupational hygienists. Data were analysed using an unmatched case-referent design, allowing for clustering and for confounders. Three case definitions were used: poor morphology (normal morphology 〈4%), low motile sperm count (MSC) (〈4.8 x 10 6 ) and either condition. Results Morphology results were available for 1861/2011 men employed at the time of recruitment. Of these 1861, 296 (15.9%) had poor morphology; of the 2011with sperm count, 453 (22.5%) had low MSC; 654/1981 (33.0%) had either condition. Poor morphology, adjusted for confounding, was related to self-reported lifetime exposure to lead (OR=1.33; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.75). Low MSC was also related to self-reported lead and to hygienist-assessed glycol ether exposure. Self-reported use of paint stripper (OR=1.47; 95% CI 1.07 to 2.03) and lead, but not glycol ether, were significantly related to the combined case definition. Conclusions While this study did not identify any occupational exposure uniquely related to sperm morphology, the capacity of the study to detect risk was increased by including morphology with sperm concentration and motility.
    Keywords: Other exposures
    Print ISSN: 1351-0711
    Electronic ISSN: 1470-7926
    Topics: Medicine
    Published by BMJ Publishing Group
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