Documents Albin, María 7 results

"Objectives The effects of occupational and leisure-time exposures on the risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were investigated with emphasis on clonal chromosome aberrations (CCA) and morphological subtypes. Exposure to organic solvents was associated with an increased risk of AML. This association was not due to benzene exposure alone and may be modified by age. Furthermore, specific associations with trisomy 8, and possibly also erythroleukemia, were suggested. "

"Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate if exposure to chemicals in the workplace was associated with an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.
Methods
The study comprised women born 1923–1950 living in Malmö city, Sweden, 1991–1996, and enrolled for a prospective population cohort study. Occupational exposure to various chemicals was assessed from job-exposure matrices. An extensive set of individual data on hormonal breast cancer risk factors were collected via a baseline questionnaire and used for confounding control. First time diagnoses of invasive breast cancer were identified through the Swedish Cancer Registry until end of follow-up on 31 December 2013.
Results
Of 16 084 women, 1011 were diagnosed with breast cancer. Women exposed to chemicals in their occupational environment had a statistically significant increased risk [adjusted hazard ratio (HRadj) 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.54] of breast cancer, and the risk correlated with duration of exposure. Investigation of risk in association with specific chemicals showed a non-significantly elevated risk after exposure to organic solvents. More than ten years of exposure to diesel exhaust was associated with an increased risk (HRadj 1.69, 95% CI 1.01–2.82). Occupational chemical exposures account for 2% of the breast cancer cases in this population.
Conclusions
Occupational exposure to chemicals in general was associated with an elevated risk of breast cancer. A slight elevation of risk was seen after exposure to organic solvents. A statistically significant elevation of risk after >10 years of exposure to diesel exhaust was an unexpected finding."

"In an editorial in an earlier issue of this journal, Johanson & Tinnerberg (1) expressed serious and well-founded concern over the large number of future occupational cancer cases that will result if exposures for a number of substances are not reduced below the so-called "binding occupational exposure limit values" (BOELV) issued by the EU (2). The balance between what is perceived as possible to comply with and the foreseeable health gain when setting BOELV is further discussed in a letter to the Editor by Cherrie (3). This debate raises several important aspects of how to protect workers from cancer as well as other potentially lethal diseases. Herewith, we discuss some of these aspects. ..."

"In this discussion paper, we describe the history of the science and societal action resulting in the mitigation of neurotoxic disorders from exposure to organic solvents at the workplaces in Sweden. When alkyd paints were introduced in large scale in construction painting in the 1960s and 1970s, Scandinavian unions voiced increasing concern as members reported symptoms like headache and vertigo, supported by participatory studies and case studies. Although acute and chronic neurotoxic effects were established for some specific solvents such as carbon disulphide, this was not the case for those used in the new paints. Union advocacy promoted formal epidemiological studies, providing increasing evidence for chronic neurotoxicity at levels far below current occupational exposure levels. The results were widely disseminated and accepted and led to concerted action with preventive measures, most importantly substitution of the organic solvents in paints for indoor use, but also drastic reductions in occupational exposure limits. The findings also resulted in funding of further research on solvent toxicity and the establishment of expert groups to advice authorities on occupational standards for exposure to chemicals. The substitution strategy was subsequently adopted in many other countries and occupational exposure limits were lowered, although several years or even decades later.
While the societal context in Sweden was unique in many ways, we conclude that there are lessons to be learned from this preventive success when addressing current challenges."

"OBJECTIVE: To investigate if the preventive measures taken to reduce the occupational exposure to asbestos have resulted in a decreased incidence of pleural mesothelioma in Sweden. METHODS: The incidence of pleural mesothelioma between 1958 and 1995 for birth cohorts born between 1885 and 1964 was investigated. The cases of pleural mesothelioma were identified through the Swedish Cancer Register. RESULTS: In 1995, around 80 cases of pleural mesothelioma could be attributed to occupational exposure to asbestos. There is an increasing incidence in more recent birth cohorts in men. The incidence was considerably higher in the male cohort born between 1935 and 1944 than in men born earlier. CONCLUSIONS: The annual incidence of pleural mesothelioma attributable to occupational exposure to asbestos is today larger than all fatal occupational accidents in Sweden. The first asbestos regulation was adopted in 1964 and in the mid 1970s imports of raw asbestos decreased drastically. Yet there is no obvious indication that the preventive measures have decreased the risk of pleural mesothelioma. The long latency indicates that the effects of preventive measures in the 1970s could first be evaluated around 2005."

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 ≥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."

"Background: This study evaluates exposure to airborne particles, respiratory symptoms and lung function among waste-picking child labourers.Methods: We enrolled 103 exposed children at the dump in Managua, Nicaragua, and 103 non-exposed children. Exposure to particles was assessed by area sampling. Health data were obtained from a questionnaire, clinical examination and spirometry. Exposure effects were evaluated with multivariate regression analysis. Results: Exposure to particles was high (PM2.5 >330g/m3), with the highest value where the waste was discharged (1,600g/m3; high exposure). Wheeze was related to exposure status (p= 0.008). Compared to non-exposed children, the odds ratios were for “never highly exposed” 1.83 (95% CI: 0.81 to 4.15), and “ever highly exposed” 3.28 (95%CI: 1.55 to 6.95). Among children with wheeze an effect of high exposure on FEV1 was seen: -13% (95% CI: -15 to -1%).Conclusions: Exposure to small particles was unacceptably high and associated with wheeze, and decreased lung function."