Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health
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Scand J Work Environ Health · Apr 1997
ReviewAsbestos, asbestosis, pleural plaques and lung cancer.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers increases the risk of bronchial carcinoma. It has been claimed that asbestosis is a necessary prerequisite for the malignancy, but epidemiologic studies usually do not have enough statistical strength to prove that asbestos-exposed patients without asbestosis are without risk. ⋯ Thus there is an increasing body of evidence that, at low exposure levels, asbestos produces a slight increase in the relative risk of lung cancer even in the absence of asbestosis. Consequently, all exposure to asbestos must be minimized.
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Scand J Work Environ Health · Apr 1994
Hearing loss and handicap of professional soldiers exposed to gunfire noise.
The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and degree of hearing loss and other disabling consequences of noise among professional soldiers. ⋯ The prevalence of hearing loss in the Finnish Defence Forces seems to have decreased, but a fairly large number of younger men still suffer considerable hearing loss and disabling tinnitus, although the use of hearing protectors has substantially increased during the past 15 years. Most of the subjects experienced communication difficulties in noisy environments.
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Scand J Work Environ Health · Feb 1994
Is there an association between pleural plaques and lung cancer without asbestosis?
A recent review or meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies concluded that persons with asbestos-related pleural plaques do not have an increased risk of lung cancer in the absence of parenchymal asbestosis. The reviewer inferred that this conclusion provided indirect supportive evidence for the proposition that asbestosis is a necessary precursor of asbestos-related lung cancer. The objective of the present communication is to contest these claims. ⋯ Uninformative studies should not be interpreted as providing suppressive evidence that pleural plaques are a noncausal risk indicator of lung cancer. Even for the null hypothesis, the inference that asbestosis is a necessary causal link between asbestos and lung cancer is illogical.
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Vegetable, animal, and microbial aerosols (organic dusts) induce a variety of pulmonary disease and subjective symptoms. This review presents the pathology and clinical symptoms related to organic dust exposure. ⋯ Prevention is primarily a matter of dust control, information, and medical surveillance. In the future, specific agents like bacterial endotoxins should be controlled.