Occupational and Environmental Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Deployment to bases with open burn pits and mortality of US Military Veterans.","authors":"Christian Hoover, Amal N Trivedi, Anila Bello, William J Culpepper, Joseph Gasper, Rachel Gaither, Lan Jiang, Christopher Rennix, Aaron Schneiderman, Gregory A Wellenius, Susan R Woskie, David A Savitz","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109704","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109704","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Five million US Veterans had possible exposure to open burn pits used for waste disposal through service in Iraq (2003-2011) and Afghanistan (2001-2014). Burn pits generate toxic exposures that may be associated with adverse health outcomes. We examined all-cause and cause-specific mortality in relation to deployment to bases with open burn pits.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analysed a cohort of 474 634 Veterans who received some healthcare from the Veterans Health Administration, linked to Department of Defense deployment records to identify assignments to bases with burn pits. In multivariable logistic regression models, we assessed the association between duration of deployment to bases with burn pits and all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality from the six most common causes among this population of Veterans.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Duration of deployment to bases with burn pits was modestly related to all-cause mortality, with adjusted ORs of 1.07 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.15), 1.08 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.16) and 1.16 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.27) across tertiles, but not associated with mortality due to cancer, heart disease or chronic liver disease/cirrhosis. Positive associations were also found for unintentional injuries, suicide and stroke.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These data are suggestive of an association between duration of deployment to bases with burn pits and overall mortality, but not from cancer or heart disease. Unexpected associations with injury and suicide call for a more detailed evaluation. Conclusions are restricted by the broad aggregations of causes of death, a limited number of deaths in this relatively young cohort and the lack of more detailed information on exposure to burn pits.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"632-634"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142896505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Method for the detection and quantification of viral contamination during the preparation of gene therapy drugs in a hospital pharmacy.","authors":"Laure Deramoudt, Marine Pinturaud, Peggy Bouquet, Anne Goffard, Nicolas Simon, Pascal Odou","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109574","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109574","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The objective of the present study was to develop a method for sampling and detecting an adenovirus-derived gene therapy (GT) vector on isolator worksurfaces.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used a quantitative PCR (q-PCR) to detect the viral genome in standard dilutions of pure GT product and extracts of sampled surfaces. We compared three devices for surface sampling (a cotton compress, a cotton swab and a polyester flocked swab) and performed positive control, negative control and induced contamination tests for each.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our results showed that the GT pure product is detected by the q-PCR assay and is amplified throughout the range of dilutions. The mean difference between the expected and measured number of vector particles in the q-PCR assay was 1.27 log. The numbers of particles in the total extracted volume were 4.66×10⁸ for the polyester swab (7.8% of the initial quantity), 3.82×10⁸ for a cotton compress (6.4%) and 2.88×10⁷ for a cotton swab (4.8%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These initial results suggest that viral monitoring of worksurfaces is feasible and will help us to validate the GT product supply chain.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"615-621"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142780798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Occupational noise exposure and maternal pregnancy complications: register-based cohort from urban areas in four Nordic countries.","authors":"Tytti P Pasanen, Pekka Tiittanen, Nina Roswall, Kerstin Persson Waye, Jenny Selander, Nestor Sanchez Martinez, Mattias Sjöström, Natalia Vincens, Mikael Ögren, Gunn Marit Aasvang, Jorunn Evandt, Norun Hjertager Krog, Kjell Vegard Weyde, Jibran Khan, Mika Gissler, Jonas Christoffer Lindstrøm, Aslak Harbo Poulsen, Göran Pershagen, Mette Sorensen, Timo Lanki","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109724","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109724","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess the role of occupational noise exposure on pregnancy complications in urban Nordic populations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A study population covering five metropolitan areas in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden was generated using national birth registries linked with occupational and residential environmental exposures and sociodemographic variables. The data covered all pregnancies during 5-11 year periods in 2004‒2016, resulting in 373 184 pregnancies. Occupational noise exposure was based on a Swedish-developed job-exposure-matrix, containing measured A-weighted annual 8 hour noise levels (L_Aeq8h), and linked with person-specific job-history. Outcomes included diagnosed gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, mild pre-eclampsia and severe pre-eclampsia. The data were analysed with logistic regression models separately in each country, adjusting for maternal (age, parity, birth year, education and marital status) and residential environmental factors (low neighbourhood income, NO₂ and green and blue space). The results were combined by meta-analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Occupational noise exceeding 80 dB, compared with less than 70 dB, was associated with an increased odds of gestational diabetes in all countries, with a combined OR of 1.26 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.51), and mild pre-eclampsia in all countries except Finland, resulting in a combined OR of 1.22 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.51). Further adjustment by maternal body-mass index attenuated these associations. No association with gestational hypertension or severe pre-eclampsia was found.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Register data from four nationalities show that gestational diabetes and, tentatively, mild pre-eclampsia was increased among pregnant workers working in occupations where noise levels exceed 80 dB L_Aeq8h but not in occupations with lower noise levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"603-609"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142978783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Drillers and bulldozer operators have experienced exceptionally high exposures to respirable crystalline silica in US surface coal mines.","authors":"Yuan Shao, Kirsten S Almberg, Lee S Friedman, Robert A Cohen, Leonard H T Go","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109689","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109689","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Previous studies suggest respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is an important driver of resurgent pneumoconiosis among US coal miners. Although greater attention has been focused on dust exposures in underground coal miners, surface miners are also at risk of severe disease. This study explores RCS exposure in this population.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analysed 91 950 respirable quartz samples from 4127 US surface coal mines from 1982 to 2023. We calculated the geometric mean of respirable quartz concentration for each mine-year combination. Then, for each calendar year, we averaged the geometric means across all mines. We used generalised estimating equation models with a natural logarithm link function and Poisson distribution to evaluate the marginal effects of mine characteristic variables on the mass concentration of respirable quartz based on individual dust sample results.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Drillers and bulldozer operators had annual mean respirable quartz exposures as high as 0.58 and 0.32 mg/m3, respectively, while other occupations combined had exposure of 0.08 mg/m³. The mean mine-level respirable quartz mass concentrations decreased substantially over time for all three occupation groups. Drillers or bulldozer operators, mine location in Central Appalachia and lack of a mine safety committee were predictive of higher respirable quartz mass concentrations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These data demonstrate exceptionally high RCS overexposures among certain groups of surface coal miners, particularly drillers and bulldozer operators in the 1980s and 1990s. Despite recent improvement in RCS levels, these data underscore the importance of continued medical surveillance of current and former surface coal miners.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"622-627"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mortality and cancer incidence in the UK glass reinforced plastics manufacturing industry: a cohort study.","authors":"William Mueller, Lucy Darnton, Mette Wulf Christensen, Finlay Brooker, Henrik A Kolstad, Damien Martin McElvenny","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109699","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109699","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, styrene is probably carcinogenic for lymphohaematopoietic neoplasms, with insufficient evidence for other cancer sites. We compared mortality and cancer incidence (for the first time) in a UK cohort occupationally exposed to high levels of styrene to that of the general population of England and Wales.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The follow-up for mortality ran from 1969 to 2022, while the follow-up for cancer incidence ran from 1971 to 2020. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) and standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for cancer and non-cancer outcomes. Additional analyses compared mortality and cancer incidence with respect to the median age at and time since first exposure.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 1319 males contributed 53 687 person-years of follow-up in the all-cause mortality analysis. Mortality analyses did not indicate any clear increased risks. There was an indication of higher mortality of cancers of the trachea, bronchus or lung (SMR=1.30 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.70)). Mortality from lymphatic and haematopoietic neoplasms was elevated in those first exposed younger than 25 years of age (SMR=2.20 (95% CI 1.12 to 3.92)). The SIR analysis suggested reduced cancer incidence for all malignant neoplasms combined (SIR=0.85 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.96)). The incidence of lymphatic and haematopoietic neoplasms, especially myeloid proliferations and neoplasms, was elevated in those first exposed before 25 years old.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study provides some limited evidence in support of styrene being a cause of lymphohaematopoietic, particularly myeloid neoplasms and lung cancers. This cohort is contributing to an ongoing international study to help clarify these associations.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"610-614"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142854817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Roadmap to effective and attainable workplace heat standards in the USA and beyond.","authors":"Barrak Alahmad, Andreas D Flouris, Zachary J Schlader, Jacob Berry, Fabiano Amorim, Vidhya Venugopal, Rebekah A I Lucas, Heath J Prince, David H Wegman, Jason Glaser","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109735","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109735","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"543-544"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142471226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of female sex and occupational exposures when examining the rates and risks of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).","authors":"Annette Leclerc, Bradley Evanoff, Alexis Descatha","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109800","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109800","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"545-546"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142731153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Presence and concentration of lead in keys and keyring items.","authors":"Benjamin Stroebel, Zaynab Rezania, Duzong Yang, Stephanie J Yendell","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109726","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109726","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Environmental lead is a persistent hazard that disproportionately affects children. Keys are known sources of lead exposure in children, but little is known about the specific lead content or frequency of lead in keys. We identified differences in lead concentration and frequency across items with different physical characteristics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study tested a convenience sample of keys and keychain objects using an X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean lead concentration across 362 objects tested was 1722 ppm (SD 3657 ppm; range 95.5-44 400 ppm). Lead was present in the majority (64%) of objects tested. Door keys had the highest concentration of lead (mean 2646 ppm; SD 3701 ppm). Door keys had significantly more lead than both vehicle keys (p<0.0001) and electronic fobs (p=0.0004). Gold-coloured keys contained significantly more lead than silver-coloured keys (p<0.0001). Copied keys were significantly more likely to contain detectable levels of lead compared with original keys (p<0.0001); however, this relationship was not significant when controlling for key type. There was a positive association between key age and lead concentration (p=0.009).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Keys were less likely to contain lead if they were silver-coloured; car keys or electronic fobs; and newer. However, several categories of keys with less lead contained high lead levels, and the majority of items tested (64%) contained more lead than limits on lead in keys that were implemented in Minnesota after data collection (90 ppm). The levels of lead identified highlight the need for public education and potential additional regulatory guidelines for keys.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"592-594"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142546585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term clinical follow-up of irritant-induced occupational asthma.","authors":"Jussi Lantto, Hille Suojalehto, Hanna Jantunen, Irmeli Lindström","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109540","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109540","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occupational exposure to irritants is associated with poor asthma control, but the long-term clinical characteristics of irritant-induced occupational asthma (IIA) are poorly known.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate whether any distinguishable features contribute to IIA patients' poor outcomes and whether clinical characteristics change over time.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We re-evaluated 28 IIA patients with a median of 6.8 years (IQR 4.6-11.1) after their diagnosis at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in 2004-2018. We measured their lung function, non-specific bronchial hyper-responsiveness, inflammation profile and exercise capacity using an ergometric bicycle test. The participants also underwent an Asthma Control Test (ACT) and responded to questionnaires assessing their laryngeal hypersensitivity (LHQ) and dysfunctional breathing (Nijmegen Questionnaires, NQ).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At follow-up, 22 (79%) participants used inhaled corticosteroids, 4 (14%) had asthma exacerbation within 1 year, 11 (39%) had ACT<20 (ie, poor asthma symptom control), 7 (26%) had abnormal spirometry and 8 (36%) had a positive methacholine challenge test result. 17 (61%) participants showed at least one elevated eosinophilic inflammation marker. Six (23%) had an abnormal LHQ score and 7 (26%) had an abnormal NQ score. 15 (58%) participants showed reduced physical capacity that was related to extensive asthma medication, poor asthma symptom control and acute IIA phenotype. A higher ACT score was the only significant change between diagnosis and follow-up (p=0.014).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Most of the IIA patients had normal lung function at follow-up, which had only changed a little over time. Reduced physical capacity was a common finding and appears to be related to poor asthma symptom control.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"588-591"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142624074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microbial exposure during recycling of domestic waste: a cross-sectional study of composition and associations with inflammatory markers.","authors":"Karoline Kærgaard Hansen, Pil Rasmussen, Vivi Schlünssen, Karin Broberg, Kirsten Østergaard, Emma Enshelm Tranchant, Torben Sigsgaard, Henrik A Kolstad, Anne Mette Madsen","doi":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109628","DOIUrl":"10.1136/oemed-2024-109628","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aims to investigate (1) the microbial community composition by work characteristics and (2) the association between microbial genera level and inflammatory markers among recycling workers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study, inhalable dust was collected with personal samplers from 49 production (86 samples) and 10 administrative workers (15 samples). Four groups of micro-organisms were identified down to species-level (aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, and fungi grown at 25°C and 37°C). Inflammatory markers were measured in serum collected at the end of the work shift. Microbial community composition was investigated using redundancy analysis and heatmaps. Associations between the most prevalent microbial genera and inflammatory markers were explored by mixed-effects regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Community composition of all groups of micro-organisms except fungi (37°C) differed between production and administrative workers and by type of waste and season among the production workers. Overall, <i>Bacillus</i>, <i>Staphylococcus</i>, <i>Aspergillus</i> and <i>Penicillium</i> were the most prevalent genera. CC16 concentrations increased with <i>Penicillium</i> genus level, C reactive protein and serum amyloid A with <i>Staphylococcus</i>, interleukin 2 (IL-2) and tumour necrosis factor with <i>Bacillus</i>, and IL-8 with <i>Aspergillus</i>. IL-1B decreased with <i>Staphylococcus</i> genus level. Remaining analyses showed no statistically significant associations between microbial genera level and inflammatory markers.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Recycling workers are exposed to different compositions of microbial species than administrative workers depending on the type of waste handled and season. Specific systemic inflammatory effects were suggested for a limited number of microbial genera that need to be corroborated by future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":19459,"journal":{"name":"Occupational and Environmental Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"580-587"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11671902/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142668329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}