Occupational and environmental medicine
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Ambient air pollution has been consistently associated with exacerbation of respiratory diseases in schoolchildren, but the role of early exposure to traffic-related air pollution in the first occurrence of respiratory symptoms and asthma is not yet clear. ⋯ Exposure to traffic-related air pollution is only weakly associated with respiratory symptoms in young children in the first 7 years of life.
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Comparative Study
Risk factors for chronic mucus hypersecretion in individuals with and without COPD: influence of smoking and job exposure on CMH.
Chronic mucus hypersecretion (CMH) is highly prevalent in smokers and associated with an accelerated lung function decline and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Several risk factors contribute to CMH and to COPD. It is, however, unknown if risk factors for CMH are similar in persons with and without COPD. ⋯ A higher risk for CMH was associated with higher pack-years smoking regardless of COPD status. However, a higher risk for CMH was associated with high occupational exposure to gases & fumes in individuals without COPD only.
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Review Meta Analysis
Influence of poor health on exit from paid employment: a systematic review.
The objective was to provide a systematic literature review on associations between poor health and exit from paid employment through disability pension, unemployment and early retirement, and to estimate the magnitude of these associations using meta-analyses. Medline and Embase databases were searched for longitudinal studies on the relationship between health measures and exit from paid employment. Random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled effects. ⋯ Chronic disease was a risk factor for transition into disability pension (RR 2.11; 95% CI 1.90 to 2.33) or unemployment (RR 1.31; 95% CI 1.14 to 1.50), but not for early retirement. This meta-analysis showed that poor health, particularly self-perceived health, is a risk factor for exit from paid employment through disability pension, unemployment and, to a lesser extent, early retirement. To increase sustained employability it should be considered to implement workplace interventions that promote good health.
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We evaluated interactions between SERPINA1 PiMZ genotype, associated with intermediate α1-antitrysin deficiency, with outdoor particulate matter ≤10 µm (PM10), and occupational exposure to vapours, dusts, gases and fumes (VGDF), and their effects on annual change in lung function. ⋯ SERPINA1 PiMZ genotype, in combination with smoking, modified the association between occupational VGDF exposure and longitudinal change in lung function, suggesting that interactions between these factors are relevant for lung function decline. These novel findings warrant replication in larger studies.
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Comparative Study
A comparison of exposure assessment approaches: lung cancer and occupational asbestos exposure in a population-based case-control study.
In attempts to overcome the limitations of self-reported data in occupational health research, job-exposure matrices, which assign exposure by occupation, have emerged as an objective approach for assessing occupational exposures. On the basis of a lung cancer case-control study conducted in the Greater Toronto Area, 1997-2002, assessment of occupational exposure to asbestos was compared using self-reports and a general population job-exposure matrix (DOM-JEM). ⋯ It is generally assumed by epidemiologists that self-reported exposure assessments result in inflated risk estimates. In this study, self-reports found no association with a well-established risk factor, whereas a high-quality job-exposure matrix revealed relative risk estimates that are more consistent with previous findings.