Prevalence Of Occupational Exposure Research Articles

Occupational Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation and Risk of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer in a Multinational European Study

BackgroundStudies suggest that ambient sunlight plays an important role in the pathogenesis of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). However, there is ongoing controversy regarding the relevance of occupational exposure to natural and artificial ultraviolet radiation (UV) radiation.ObjectivesWe investigated potential associations between natural and artificial UV radiation exposure at work with NMSC in a case-control study conducted in Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.MethodsOccupational exposures were classified by expert assessment for 527 controls and 618 NMSC cases (515 basal cell carcinoma, BCC). Covariate information was collected via interview and multiple logistic regression models were used to assess associations between UV exposure and NMSC.ResultsLifetime prevalence of occupational exposure in the participants was 13% for natural UV radiation and 7% for artificial UV radiation. Significant negative associations between occupational exposure to natural UV radiation and NMSC were detected for all who had ever been exposed (odds ratio (OR) 0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.27–0.80); similar results were detected using a semi-quantitative metric of cumulative exposure. The effects were modified by skin complexion, with significantly decreased risks of BCC among participants with light skin complexion. No associations were observed in relation to occupational artificial UV radiation exposure.ConclusionsThe protective effect of occupational exposure to natural UV radiation was unexpected, but limited to light-skinned people, suggesting adequate sun-protection behaviors. Further investigations focusing on variations in the individual genetic susceptibility and potential interactions with environmental and other relevant factors are planned.

Comparison of expert and job-exposure matrix-based retrospective exposure assessment of occupational carcinogens in the Netherlands Cohort Study

ObjectivesReliable retrospective exposure assessment continues to be a challenge in most population-based studies. Several methodologies exist for estimating exposures retrospectively, of which case-by-case expert assessment and job-exposure matrices (JEMs) are...

Congenital heart defects and parental occupational exposure to chemicals

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common major malformations in newborns. In this study we examined the associations between the occurrence of CHDs in children and periconceptional occupational parental exposures to chemicals. In an age-matched case-control study with standardized data collection at c. 15 months after birth, 424 mothers and 421 fathers of a child with CHD and 480 mothers and 477 fathers of a non-malformed child, filled out questionnaires on periconceptional general and job characteristics. A job exposure matrix, which links the information on job title and a description of work tasks to an expert judgement on exposure to chemicals in the workplace, was used. The overall prevalence of occupational exposure to chemicals was 5.0 in cases and 6.2% in controls for mothers [odds ratio (OR) adjusted = 0.92; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.26-3.25], while 22.3 and 15.9% for fathers, respectively (OR adjusted = 1.23; 95% CI: 0.39-3.91). No association of maternal occupational exposure to chemicals with risk of CHDs was found. Paternal exposure to phthalates was associated with a higher incidence of CHDs in general (OR adjusted = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.27-3.40). Paternal exposure to phthalates was associated with perimembranous ventricular septal defect (OR adjusted = 2.84; 95% CI: 1.37-5.92), to polychlorinated compounds with atrioventricular septal defect (OR adjusted = 4.22; 95% CI: 1.23-14.42) and to alkylphenolic compounds with coarctation of the aorta (OR adjusted = 3.85; 95% CI: 1.17-12.67). Periconceptional paternal (but not maternal) occupational exposure to certain chemicals is associated with an increased risk of CHDs in children. The results, however, must be interpreted cautiously as exposure probabilities are a crude measure of exposure.

Negative impact of occupational exposure on surgical outcome in patients with rhinosinusitis

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a frequent condition that is treated by functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) when medical treatment fails. Endogenous as well as exogenous factors may be responsible for persisting symptoms after FESS. The role of occupational exposures on success of FESS has never been investigated. In this case-control study, we tested the hypothesis that the outcome of FESS procedures is related to exposures at work. Questionnaires were sent to 890 patients who had undergone one or more FESS procedures and to 182 controls. Three independent experts assessed blindly the reported work exposures to inhaled agents. The relationship between exposure and the number of FESS procedures was analyzed. Relevant occupational exposure was reported by 25% of all responding patients undergoing FESS (n=467) and 12% of controls (n=69). The prevalence of occupational exposures increased linearly with the number of FESS procedures from 21% in those who had one FESS to 44% in those who had four or more FESS (χ(2) =12.74, P<0.001). Logistic regression analysis with adjustments for potential confounders, including smoking, atopy, and asthma, confirmed that the odds ratio (OR) for reporting occupational exposures was significantly higher in those needing more than one FESS (OR=1.64) or more than two FESS (OR=1.97). These results were mainly driven by exposure to low molecular weight agents. Exposure at work appears to be a risk factor for the occurrence of CRS and for its recurrence or persistence, as evidenced by the need for revision surgery.

Prevalence of occupational exposure to HIV among health workers in Northern Uganda

The prevalence of HIV in Gulu district is 10.3%. This poses a high risk of occupational exposure and transmission to health workers in hospitals attending to these patients. The risk of HIV transmission from a patient to a health worker has been shown to be between 0.3% and 0.09% following percutaneous and mucocutaneous exposure respectively. This research aimed at determining the prevalence of occupational exposure to HIV. A cross sectional study of health workers in Gulu Regional Referral Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital Lacor, in northern Uganda was conducted to establish the frequency of occupational exposures to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected body fluids. 108 (46%) respondents were found to have been exposed to potentially infectious body fluids. Needle stick injuries was the commonest route of exposure, with a prevalence of 27.7%, followed by mucosal exposure 19.1%, contact with broken skin (5.5%) and lastly by a cut with sharp objects (5.1%). There is therefore need for more sensitization of health workers on infection control and post exposure prophylaxis for health workers.

Matgéné: A Program to Develop Job-Exposure Matrices in the General Population in France

Matgéné is a program to develop job-exposure matrices (JEMs) adapted to the general population in France for the period since 1950. The aim is to create retrospective exposure assessment tools for estimating the prevalence of occupational exposure to various agents that can then be correlated to health-related parameters. JEMs were drawn up by a team of six industrial hygienists who based their assessments on available occupational measurement, economic and statistical data, and several thousand job descriptions from epidemiological studies performed in France since 1984. Each JEM is specific to one agent, assessing exposure for a set of homogeneous combinations (occupation × activity × period) according to two occupational classifications (ISCO 1968 and PCS 1994) and one economic activities classification (NAF 2000). The cells of the JEM carry an estimate of the probability and level of exposure. Level is estimated by the duration and intensity of exposure-linked tasks or by description of the tasks when exposure measurement data are lacking for the agent in question. The JEMs were applied to a representative sample of the French population in 2007, and prevalence for each exposure was estimated in various population groups. All documents and data are available on a dedicated website. By the end of 2010, 18 JEMs have been developed and eight are under development, concerning a variety of chemical agents: organic and mineral dust, mineral fibers, and solvents. By implementation in the French population, exposure prevalences were calculated at different dates and for complete careers, and attributable risk fractions were estimated for certain pathologies. Some of these results were validated by comparison with those of other programs. Initial Matgéné JEMs results are in agreement with the French and international literature, thus validating the methodology. Exposure estimates precision, however, vary between agents and according to the amount of exposure measurement data available. These JEMs are important epidemiological tools, and improving their quality will require investment in occupational health data harvesting, especially in the case of low-level exposures.

MATGENE: A program to develop job-exposure matrices in the general population in France

ObjectivesMatgéné is a program to develop job-exposure matrices (JEM) adapted to the general population in France for the period since 1950. The aim is to create retrospective exposure assessment tools...

Occupational exposures and COPD: an ecological analysis of international data

The occupational contribution to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has yet to be put in a global perspective. In the present study, an ecological approach to this question was used, analysing group-level data from 90 sex-specific strata from 45 sites of the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study, the Latin American Project for the Investigation of Obstructive Lung Disease and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey follow-up. These data were used to study the association between occupational exposures and COPD Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage II or above. Regression analysis of the sex-specific group-level prevalence rates of COPD at each site against the prevalence of occupational exposure and ever-smoking was performed, taking into account mean smoking pack-yrs and mean age by site, sex, study cohort and sample size. For the entire data set, the prevalence of exposures predicted COPD prevalence (0.8% increase in COPD prevalence per 10% increase in exposure prevalence). By comparison, for every 10% increase in the proportion of the ever-smoking population, the prevalence of COPD GOLD stage II or above increased by 1.3%. Given the observed median population COPD prevalence of 3.4%, the model predicted that a 20% relative reduction in the disease burden (i.e. to a COPD prevalence of 2.7%) could be achieved by a 5.4% reduction in overall smoking rates or an 8.8% reduction in the prevalence of occupational exposures. When the data set was analysed by sex-specific site data, among males, the occupational effect was a 0.8% COPD prevalence increase per 10% change in exposure prevalence; among females, a 1.0% increase in COPD per 10% change in exposure prevalence was observed. Within the limitations of an ecological analysis, these findings support a worldwide association between dusty trades and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for both females and males, placing this within the context of the dominant role of cigarette smoking in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease causation.

Exposure to Occupational Carcinogens in Great Britain

This paper describes the available exposure information for carcinogens in Great Britain and discusses some of the issues involved in using such data to inform an assessment of the attributable occupational cancer burden. Carcinogenic agents or occupations/industries such as hairdressers were identified from the list of International Agency for Research on Cancer groups 1 and 2a evaluations and estimates of exposure prevalence for 1990-1993 were obtained for a subset of these agents/circumstances from the CARcinogen EXposure (CAREX) database, compiled as part of the Europe Against Cancer programme. Estimated prevalence of exposure was added for some carcinogenic exposure circumstances not covered by CAREX. Information about the level of exposure to chemical agents was obtained from the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) National Exposure Database. Other information was obtained from relevant databases such as the Central Index of Dose Information for ionizing radiation or published sources. In total, there were 64 carcinogenic agents/circumstances identified with almost seven million people exposed in Great Britain. The top 30 entries covered 99.5% of the estimated exposed population. The CAREX data were generally higher than the comparable data on the numbers of people exposed to those agents available from the HSE, although in some individual cases there was considerable over- or underestimation of the exposure prevalence when using the CAREX database. The level of exposure varied greatly between substances and between workplaces. For some agents, e.g. radon and sunlight, there are important regional differences in exposure within the country. Exposure to carcinogenic agents in Great Britain was different from that in other countries: in some cases higher and in others lower. Exposure levels in the past in Britain were mostly greater than today. Generalizing risk estimates from epidemiological studies in different countries or the past to estimate the fraction of cancers attributable to work must be done with care, particularly in the case of population-based case-control studies where exposure estimates are generally crude. Better estimates of the distribution of levels and the prevalence of occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances in Great Britain are needed and systems should be put in place to track this information in the future. With commitment from all stakeholders, it is possible that by 2025 exposure to known occupational chemical carcinogens could be essentially eliminated in Great Britain.

Scores of asthma and asthma severity reveal new regions of linkage in EGEA study families

There is ongoing debate as to how asthma should be defined in order to forward understanding of the underlying mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to build quantitative scores of asthma and asthma severity and to assess whether refinement of disease phenotypes can facilitate the identification of chromosomal regions harbouring susceptibility genes. A genome-wide linkage scan was conducted in 110 families with at least two asthmatic siblings (n = 508) from the French Epidemiological study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and atopy (EGEA). The phenotypes studied were an asthma severity score (assessed among asthmatics by combining clinical data and treatment), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) and an asthma score (including both asthmatics and nonasthmatics and representing the whole disease spectrum). This analysis showed genome-wide suggestive evidence of linkage of the asthma score to 18p11, a novel region undetected in a previous screen of dichotomous asthma. There was potential linkage of 2p23 to asthma severity score and of three regions (1p36, 2q36 and 6q14) to FEV(1). Moreover, FEV(1) appeared to have no genetic determinant in common with asthma severity and asthma scores. Asthma and asthma severity quantitative scores revealed new regions of linkage and thus provide support for considering these phenotypes in future genetic studies.

Prevalence of occupational exposures and protective practices in Australian female veterinarians

To identify the prevalence of exposure to potentially harmful occupational hazards in Australian female veterinarians and to report factors associated with prevalence of occupational hazards in this profession. National cross-sectional survey of a cohort population. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 5748 veterinarians (males and females) graduating from Australian veterinary schools from 1960 to 2000. This paper reports the prevalence of occupational exposures in 1197 female veterinarians in their current job including radiation, anaesthetic gases, pesticides and long working hours. Comparisons were undertaken between respondents by practice type and decades of graduation. Multivariate logistic regression was undertaken to predict the risk for exposure to occupational hazards in female veterinarians by age, type of practice, graduation year and number of hours worked. The response rate for females was 59%. We found that age under 30 years, small and mixed animal practice, graduation year after 1990, and working more than 45 hours per week were all associated with greater exposure to putative risk factors. Mixed animal practitioners worked more than 45 hours per week (53%) and reported the highest exposure to anaesthetic gases (94%) and pesticides (54%). Twenty two percent of those who were exposed to anaesthetic gases did not have waste anaesthetic gas scavenging systems. Small animal practitioners reported they took more X-rays (90%). While taking X-rays, 56% of respondents reported physically restraining animals, and only one in five of respondents used film holders and lead screens. The high prevalence of potentially harmful exposures among female veterinarians and lack of use of protective equipment at work needs to be considered in developing and planning the safety of veterinary work.

Serum lead levels in civil servicemen and public transport drivers in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia

The risk of exposure to lead varies significantly with source and exposure rates. Short-term exposure to high levels of lead can cause clinical symptoms starting from vomiting and ending with coma, even death. To describe the prevalence of occupational exposure with lead (Pb) health hazard in Makkah Al-Mukarramah city. Comparative study with geographical locations. The city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Eighty nine servicemen and sixty nine public transport drivers in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia were analysed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Twelve per cent of those sampled showed serum levels higher than 40 ug/dl while the mean values were 23.14 and 15.2 ug/dl in public transport drivers and civil servicemen respectively. Accumulation and dispersion rates rather than exposure time appear to be the determinant factors for serum Pb levels. Clinical history did not correlate with serum-Pb levels, except in two cases of public transport drivers.

Prevalência de exposições ocupacionais de cirurgiões-dentistas e auxiliares de consultório dentário a material biológico

Dentists and dental assistants work in conditions that favor the occurrence of occupational exposures to potentially infectious materials. The aims of this study are: to determine the prevalence of occupational exposures throughout professional life and in the previous year, to identify the circumstances of exposures, and to verify if there exists a relationship between their occurrence and the use of personal protective equipment. 289 dentists and 104 dental assistants from the city of Florianópolis, Brazil, participated in this study. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires. The prevalence of occupational exposures throughout professional life was higher among dentists (94.5%) than dental assistants (80.8%), while in the previous year it was similar between dentists (39.1%) and assistants (39.4%). However, considering the exposures in the previous year, percutaneous injuries were more frequent among assistants (95.2%) than dentists (60.7%). Consistent use of protective eyewear was statistically associated with less splashes in the eyes in dentists (p = 0,004). Education is recommended to reduce the frequency of occupational exposures in the study population.

Occupational Exposures to Carcinogens in Italy: An Update of CAREX Database

To update estimates of the prevalence of occupational exposures to carcinogens in Italy, the 85 CAREX agents were re-assessed. The original exposure estimates in the CAREX database were updated, taking into account changes in exposure patterns and in numbers of employees by industrial class. The 21.8 million employees in Italy, 19.4 in industry and services, 2.4 in agriculture, had 4.2 million exposures. Prevalences of exposures were highest for environmental (passive) tobacco smoke (800,000 exposures), solar radiation (700,000), diesel engine exhaust (500,000), wood dust (280,000), silica (250,000), lead and inorganic lead compounds (230,000), benzene (180 000), hexavalent chromium compounds (160,000), glass wool (140,000), and PAHs (120,000). Exposures to carcinogens at work are still an issue in Italy and do not appear to be controlled as strictly as they should be.

Occupational exposure to noise and the attributable burden of hearing difficulties in Great Britain

Aims: To determine the prevalence of self reported hearing difficulties and tinnitus in working aged people from the general population, and to estimate the risks from occupational exposure to noise...

Exposure to potential occupational asthmogens: prevalence data from the National Occupational Exposure Survey.

Few data are available about the prevalence of occupational exposures to agents which can cause occupational asthma or aggravate preexisting asthma (asthmogens). Using potential occupational exposure data from the National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES) of 1980-1983, we investigated the number of asthmogen exposures, asthmogen-exposure(s) per production worker, and unprotected occupational asthmogen exposures in different industries and occupations. Data for the entire United States were used to generate estimates of occupational exposure at two selected state and local levels. It was estimated that 7,864,000 workers in the surveyed industries were potentially exposed to one or more occupational asthmogen(s) in the United States. The average number of observed potential exposures per asthmogen-exposed worker was 4.4, and varied from 11.9, in the Water Transportation industry, to 1.2 in Local and Suburban transportation. The largest number of observed potential exposures was recorded in the Apparel and Other Finished Products (garment) industry. This work and further analyses using this approach are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology of occupational asthma, and to serve as a guide to target future occupational asthma surveillance efforts.

Occupational exposures and diseases among medical inpatients. Prevalence, association, and recognition.

The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of occupational exposures, their potential contribution to the development of chronic diseases among medical inpatients, and their recognition by house officers. Occupational histories were obtained from 101 medical inpatients and their charts were reviewed. Sixty-six percent of patients had diseases for which an occupational etiology merited consideration. A relevant occupational exposure was discovered in 68% of patients with a disease potentially attributable to occupation. Specific disease/exposure pairs were associated with each other (P = .001). Senior house staff recognized fewer relevant exposures (17%) than did interns (55%) (P < .001). Relevant occupational exposures are common among medical inpatients, but frequently go unrecognized because of an inadequate fund of knowledge in occupational medicine among physicians.