47 research outputs found
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE AND COPD:A DANISH POPULATION-BASED STUDY
Full text linkChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a common disease. The main risk factor is smoking although 15% of the COPD cases are expected to be preventable if the occupational exposures from vapour, gas, dust, and fume were eliminated; the population attributable fraction (PAF).The thesis addresses the association between occupational exposure and COPD in a population-based cohort of Danes aged 45-84-years.4717 participants were included at baseline and 2624 at the four year follow-up. COPD was defined by spirometry and the occupational exposure was based on specialist defined jobs and questionnaires. The main occupational exposure was organic dust and 49% reported no lifetime occupational exposure.The results suggest occupational exposures to be associated to COPD also in never smokers and women. We found an exposure-response relation in the cross sectional analyses. The results are in accordance with other international studies. The estimated PAFs were high among never smokers, while no comparable PAF previously have been established among women. The analyses indicate an association between occupational exposure and incident COPD.Recognising that exposures from work over time might have an impact on the development of COPD ought to be transformed to preventive efforts to eliminate occupational COPD and improve public health
Occupational copd:Prevalence and genetic risk factors in a population-based study of 45- to 84-year-old danes
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Association between sense of coherence in adolescence and social benefits later in life:a 12-year follow-up study
No full textOBJECTIVES: Local government concerns over expenditure on social and healthcare are growing. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between a weak 'sense of coherence' (SOC) in teens and their subsequent risk of receiving social and healthcare benefits during young adulthood, and to monitor how SOC developed during this period.DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.SETTING: North Denmark Region.PARTICIPANTS: 773 Pupils from seventh and eighth forms who answered a questionnaire in 1998.OUTCOME MEASURES: Different social benefits (from the Danish DREAM database embracing disbursed public social benefits). Change in SOC score from 1998 to 2010.RESULTS: 722 had answered seven items of the original SOC-13 questionnaire (denoted by SOC-7). Girls with a weak SOC-7 (the lowest 1st quartile) in 1998 had a significantly increased risk of receiving unemployment benefits (RR 1.3 (1.1 to 1.6)), social assistance (RR 1.8 (1.3 to 2.5)) and sickness benefits (RR 1.5 (1.2 to 2.0)) compared with girls with a strong SOC-7. For boys, only minor protective and non-significant differences were found. The SOC answers from 1998 and 2010 were compared (n=394). SOC increased significantly and mostly in girls.CONCLUSIONS: SOC-7 may serve as a predictor for social life event outcomes and hence facilitate an early identification and a selective approach to support teenage girls with a weak SOC. From adolescence to young adulthood, SOC-7 was of a relatively unstable nature.</p
Association between sense of coherence in adolescence and social benefits. A 12-year follow-up study
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A Cohort Study on Cancer Incidence among Women Exposed to Environmental Asbestos in Childhood with a Focus on Female Cancers, including Breast Cancer
Full text linkObjectives: To examine the risk of cancer in former school children exposed to environmental asbestos in childhood with a focus on female cancers, including breast cancer. Methods: We retrieved a cohort of females (n = 6024) attending four schools located in the neighborhood of a large asbestos cement plant in Denmark. A reference cohort was frequency-matched 1:9 (n = 54,200) in sex and five-year age intervals. Using Danish registries, we linked information on historical employments, relatives’ employments, cancer, and vital status. We calculated standardized incidence rates (SIRs) for all and specific cancers, comparing these rates with the reference cohort. Hazard ratios were calculated for selected cancers adjusted for occupational and familial asbestos exposure. Results: For cancer of the corpus uteri (SIR 1.29, 95% CI 1.01–1.66) and malignant mesothelioma (SIR 7.26, 95% CI 3.26–16.15), we observed significantly increased incidences. Occupationally, asbestos exposure had a significantly increased hazard ratio for cancer in the cervix, however, a significantly lower risk of ovarian cancer. The overall cancer incidence was similar to that of the reference cohort (SIR 1.02, 95% CI 0.96–1.07). The risk of cancer of the lung was increased for those exposed to occupational asbestos, those with family members occupationally exposed to asbestos and for tobacco smokers. Conclusions: In our study, environmental asbestos exposure in childhood is associated with an increased risk of cancer of the corpus uteri and malignant mesothelioma in women.</p
Cancer incidence and risk of multiple cancers after environmental asbestos exposure in childhood—a long-term register-based cohort study
Full text linkObjectives: To examine the asbestos-associated cancer incidence and the risk of multiple cancers in former school children exposed to environmental asbestos in childhood. Methods: A cohort of 12,111 former school children, born 1940–1970, was established using 7th grade school records from four schools located at a distance of 100–750 m in the prevailing wind direction from a large asbestos-cement plant that operated from 1928 to 1984 in Aalborg, Denmark. Using the unique Danish personal identification number, we linked information on employments, relatives’ employments, date of cancer diagnosis, and type of cancer and vital status to data on cohortees extracted from the Supplementary Pension Fund Register (employment history), the Danish Cancer Registry, and the Danish Civil Registration System. We calculated standardized incidence rates (SIRs) for asbestos-associated cancers, all cancers, and multiple cancers using rates for a gender and five-year frequency-matched reference cohort. Results: The overall incidence of cancer was modestly increased for the school cohort (SIR 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.12) compared with the reference cohort. This excess was driven primarily by a significantly increased SIR for malignant mesothelioma (SIR 8.77, 95% CI 6.38–12.05). Former school children who had combined childhood environmental and subsequent occupational exposure to asbestos had a significantly increased risk of lung cancer. Within this group, those with additional household exposure by a relative had a significantly increased SIR for cancer of the pharynx (SIR 4.24, 95% CI 1.59–11.29). We found no significant difference in the number of subjects diagnosed with multiple cancers between the two cohorts. Conclusions: Our study confirms the strong association between environmental asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma and suggests that environmental asbestos exposure in childhood may increase the overall cancer risk later in life.</p
Serum selenium levels and asthma among seafood processing workers in Greenland
Full text linkSelenium levels in the Inuit population of Greenland have been declining during the last decades. The association between Selenium and asthma has been investigated previously, but with conflicting results. The objective was to measure human serum Se (s-Se) in Greenlandic seafood processing workers, to compare with levels recorded in previous decades and to establish if s-Se is associated with asthma or lung function. Data, including questionnaire answers, spirometry, skin-prick test and s-Se from 324 seafood processing workers in Greenland were collected during 2016-2017. Mean s-Se values were compared by t-test and one-way ANOVA. Associations between s-Se and asthma, symptoms from the lower airways at work and lung function were assessed using linear regression. The mean s-Se was 96.2 µg/L. S-Se was higher among non-smokers and workers living in settlements. Workers with asthma did not have s-Se levels significantly different from those of non-asthmatics. We found a positive association between s-Se levels and FEV1 values. Selenium levels appear to continue declining in Greenland, presumably because of a more Westernised lifestyle. The health effects of declining Selenium levels remain unclear. We did not establish an association between s-Se and asthma, but we did record a positive association between s-Se and FEV1.</p
Heme oxygenase 1 polymorphism, occupational vapor, gas, dust, and fume exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a Danish population-based study
Full text linkObjectives The number of dinucleotide repeats (GT) nmodulate expression of heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1), a stress response gene. Multiple repeats might affect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) susceptibility. We aimed to investigate the association of this polymorphism with COPD and its interaction with occupational exposures (vapor, gas, dust, or fumes). Methods This population-based cross-sectional study included 4703 Danes, aged 45-84 years. HMOX1 (GT) nwas genotyped and grouped as short: ≤26, medium: 27-32 and long: ≥33 alleles. COPD was defined by the lower limit of normal (2.5 thFEV 1/FVC and FEV 1centiles). Occupational exposure was defined as ever exposed to vapor, gas, dust, or fume in expert-selected jobs. Associations were analyzed by adjusted mixed logistic regression. Results The population included 6% with COPD, 48% who had smoked ≥10 pack-years, and 46% with occupational exposure. HMOX1 was genotyped in 4423 participants. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the association between HMOX1 long allele and COPD was 1.75 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18-2.60]. An interaction was evident between HMOX1 long allele and occupational exposure, OR 2.38 (95% CI 1.04-5.46), versus HMOX1 short/medium without exposure. Analyses were replicated in another cohort, aged 20-44 years, N=1168, including 3% with COPD, 25% who had smoked ≥10 pack-years and 20% with occupational exposure. No associations were seen between COPD and HMOX1 long allele here. Conclusions Long alleles in HMOX1 alone and in interaction with occupational exposure seem to be associated with COPD. Failure to replicate data may be due to premature age for COPD development and low occupational exposure prevalence. We propose this long allele may be a genetic contributor to the COPD pathogenesis.</p
