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Biomedical subjects

K Husman

Publications and source records attributed to K Husman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Long- and short-term variability of airborne bovine epithelial antigen concentrations in cowsheds.

We have previously demonstrated an association between the level of specific airborne animal-derived dusts in animal houses and farmers' humoral responses. These findings suggested that allergenic dusts may be able to cause a response in a concentration-dependent manner. In order to determine the reliability of a single measurement for the evaluation of general levels of dust, we studied the long- and short-term variability of airborne bovine epithelial antigen (BEA) concentrations in cowsheds. It was found that individual cowsheds seem to have characteristic levels of BEA in the air; some cowsheds tend to have consistently high concentrations of BEA, whereas in other cowsheds BEA concentrations tend to be low. Thus, single determinations do appear to reflect the general level of BEA in cowsheds. These findings corroborate the previously observed association between the levels of airborne-specific dusts based on single determinations and farmers' humoral responses.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1990

Farmers' occupational health program in Finland, 1979-1988: from research to practice.

The Kuopio Regional Institute of Occupational Health, in collaboration with the Social Insurance Institution and the National Board of Health, conducted and evaluated a national model for the farmers' occupational health services. In January 1985 the National Board of Health instructed the Finnish municipal health centers to start the provision of farmers' occupational health services based on the recommendation given by the research group. The service was evaluated by experiments carried out during 1982, 1985, and 1986. The main problem in function of the services was that the health hazards (exposures) were difficult to observe and evaluate. The system of how the occupational health nurse evaluates the working conditions should be further developed. The efficiency of the services was studied by postal inquiries in 1982 and 1986. Farmers' knowledge about the appropriate means of reducing hazardous exposures had increased significantly due to the occupational health services. At the local level, the main problem in providing services for occupational farmers is that health centers do not have the resources to offer services for all farmers at the same time. Altogether by the end of 1986, about 30% of all active farmers in Finland (45,000 farmers) were willing to have occupational health services, which is voluntary for self-employed farmers.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1990

Farmers' occupational health programme in Finland, 1979-1987.

At the beginning of 1985, the National Board of Health in Finland issued directives for the initiation of farmers' occupational health services in municipal health care centres. The directives were based on the evaluation study on farmers' occupational health services in Finland. The main aim of this study is to analyse the current problems of the farmers' occupational health care system and to analyse how effective the system is. The efficiency of the occupational health services has been surveyed with postal inquiries twice, first in 1982 and later in 1986. The farmers' knowledge of appropriate means for reducing hazardous exposures had improved significantly since the initiation of the occupational health services. The effect of the occupational health services was evident particularly in the more effective use of personal safety devices. The limited resources at the municipal health care centres form the main obstacle in the provision of occupational health services for all farmers who would like to have them. 25-35% of the farmers in Finland (total 45,000 farmers) are willing to participate in the occupational health care system. Participation is voluntary for self-employed farmers.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Histamine control affects the weal produced by the adjacent diluent control in skin prick tests.

The effect of histamine chloride control (10 mg/ml) on the weal reaction produced by the adjacent test solution (buffered glycerol-saline diluent control) in skin prick tests was studied among 270 peat workers and 214 lumberjacks. The diluent control was placed on the skin at two test sites: 3-4 cm and 18-19 cm from the site of the histamine control. Prick-test lancets (Dome/Hollister-Stier) were used to prick the skin. Weal areas of 6 mm2 or larger were considered to be positive reactions. In both populations the diluent control caused positive reactions nearly three times more often when the test site was 3-4 cm from the site of the histamine control than when it was 18-19 cm away from the control (P less than 0.001). Similar relationships might be found between histamine control and allergen solutions. This finding should be taken into account in histamine-based standardisation of the results of skin prick tests as well as in biological standardization of allergen solutions.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Level of airborne bovine epithelial antigen in Finnish cowsheds.

Samples of airborne particulate material were collected from 18 Finnish cowsheds both at stationary sites and in breathing zones. The concentrations of bovine epithelial antigen (BEA) in samples were analyzed by the immunochemical enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) inhibition test. For total dust and BEA measurements the range of results among cowsheds was wide. In the breathing zone the mean concentration of total dust was 2.4 +/- 1.5 mg/m3 and of BEA 460 +/- 300 ng/m3. The concentrations of total dust and BEA were significantly lower at stationary sites than in breathing zones. Correlation analyses of total dust and BEA concentrations revealed that only moderate correlations existed, and they were not statistically significant (P greater than 0.05). Correlations between BEA concentrations in feeding passage or manure passage and breathing zone were at most only moderate (rs 0.29, P = 0.12 and rs 0.42, P = 0.02, respectively). The correlation of BEA concentrations between the two stationary sites was relatively strong and significant (rs 0.71, P = 0.004), suggesting that the variation in BEA concentrations between cowsheds is real. The effects of brushing and number of animals on total dust and BEA concentrations were studied statistically in samples from the breathing zone. No high or significant correlations were observed.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1988

Sensitization of dairy farmers to bovine antigens and effects of exposure on specific IgG and IgE titers.

Sensitization of dairy farmers to bovine-derived allergens and factors influencing this process were studied during the indoor cattle-feeding season. Eighteen typical family farms in eastern Finland were included in the study. Samples of airborne particulate material from stationary sites and the breathing zones of farmers were analyzed for bovine epithelial antigen (BEA) by the immunochemical enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) inhibition test. The levels of specific IgG and IgE antibodies against BEA and bovine urinary antigen (BUA) were measured from serum samples collected from farmers three times during the study. An association was found between anti-BUA IgG titers and BEA concentrations in the breathing zone. No major changes were observed between the antibody levels of sera collected at different times. In the samples from subjects with allergic rhinitis, however, a slight tendency toward descending anti-BUA IgE titers was found.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Atopy, smoking, and chronic bronchitis.

The aim was to test the hypothesis that atopy increases the occurrence of chronic bronchitis. Relations between atopy, smoking, and chronic bronchitis were studied in farmers. The data were from two successive postal surveys and a skin prick tested subsample. The cross-sectional study consisted of 9017 farmers. Those 6899 farmers who did not have chronic bronchitis at the beginning and who continued farming were followed for three years. A sample of 150 farmers was skin-tested with 36 allergens. The prevalence of chronic bronchitis (rate per 1000), standardised for age and sex, was 41 in non-atopic non-smokers, 101 in atopic non-smokers, 106 in non-atopic smokers, and 257 in atopic smokers (effect of atopy: p less than 0.001; effect of smoking: p less than 0.001). The standardised incidence rates of chronic bronchitis (per 1000 farming years) were 14, 34, 36, and 50, respectively (atopy: p less than 0.001; smoking p less than 0.001). The relative risk of chronic bronchitis, calculated from the incidence data adjusting for the effects of age, sex, smoking or atopy by logistic regression analysis was 2.2 for atopy (95% confidence interval 1.8-2.7) and 2.3 for smoking (1.8-2.9). Only 20 farmers had chronic bronchitis in the skin-tested subjects; the results were consistent with the findings in the surveys but did not reach statistical significance for atopy. In conclusion, atopy and smoking have independent and additive effects on the occurrence of chronic bronchitis at least in dusty farming work.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Precipitins against microbes in mouldy hay in the sera of farmers with farmer's lung or chronic bronchitis and of healthy farmers.

The aim of this study was to determine which precipitins against four antigens in 2,440 farmers are associated with the occurrence of farmer's lung (FL). The antigen panel consisted of mycelial antigens of Micropolyspora faeni, Thermoactinomyces vulgaris, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus umbrosus. As reference groups we used healthy farmers and those with chronic bronchitis. For the occurrence of precipitins against the four antigens there was a statistically significant difference between farmers with FL and healthy farmers but not between farmers with chronic bronchitis and healthy farmers. In a stepwise logistic linear regression analysis, farmers with FL and chronic bronchitis were compared to healthy farmers with respect to precipitins to the four antigens. Precipitins against Thermoactinomyces vulgaris differentiated farmers with FL (p less than 0.05) but not farmers with chronic bronchitis from healthy farmers. In Finland the occurrence of FL seems to be associated mainly with precipitins against Thermoactinomyces vulgaris, not with precipitins against Micropolyspora faeni as in Great Britain, and not with precipitins of Aspergillus umbrosus, which occurred most frequently in the sera of Finnish farmers. This association is in accordance with the exposure to spores of airborne moulds in farmers' work environment, where spore concentrations of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris have been measured to be about six times higher than those of Micropolyspora faeni.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1987

Prevalence of serum precipitins against microbes in mouldy hay, and of chronic bronchitis and farmer's lung with respect to farmers' occupational health hazards.

During the farmers' occupational health study 1979-82, the work conditions of 3,358 randomly selected farmers were investigated with respect to occurrence of work-related health hazards. The farmers also underwent a health examination in their local health centre, and precipitating antibodies against four microbes present in mouldy hay were analyzed. Results of the precipitin tests and the symptoms of chronic bronchitis and farmer's lung were analyzed with respect to the occurrence of work-related exposures to biological agents and dust in farming. The prevalence of antibodies against Aspergillus umbrosus was largest (6.9%) among farmers with biological health hazards. The occurrence of antibodies against any of the four microbes was associated more with work-related biological agents than with dust exposures. Chronic bronchitis and farmer's lung were also more common among farmers with exposures to biological agents and dust than among those without such exposures. The work conditions were investigated independently of the results of the health examinations. Occurrence of chronic bronchitis and farmer's lung are associated with the work-related health hazards in farming. For proper delivery of occupational health services methods of investigating work-related health hazards need to be improved.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1987

Atopic sensitization of dairy farmers to work-related and common allergens.

Atopic sensitization was studied using skin tests on 93 randomly selected, non-smoking dairy farmers. The farmers lived in the municipality of Pielavesi, in eastern Finland. The reference group consisted of 84 non-smoking teachers randomly selected from all the teachers employed by the city of Kuopio, which is in the same administrative district as Pielavesi. Thirty-four allergens were included in the test panel. For testing these allergens, we used the prick technique with disposable precision lancets. The prevalence of a positive skin-test reaction (weal size at least 3 mm X 3 mm) was 19.4% among the farmers and 15.5% among the teachers. The number of positive reactions to cow epithelium was significantly greater among farmers than among teachers. Only to mugwort pollen did teachers have significantly more positive reactions than farmers. Teachers had stronger reactions than farmers to cat, dog, and horse epithelium. Farmers had significantly stronger reactions than teachers to cow epithelium and oat pollen. Our results emphasize the importance of cow epithelium and oat pollen as occupational sources of allergens among dairy farmers.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Sensitization to storage mites and other work-related and common allergens among Finnish dairy farmers.

Skin-tests with the prick technique were made on 121 dairy farmers with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma (symptomatic subjects), 64 dairy farmers without respiratory symptoms (asymptomatic subjects), and 26 non-farming controls. The antigen panel consisted of the storage mites Acarus siro, Lepidoglyphus destructor, and Tyrophagus putrescentiae, as well as other work-related allergens (cereal grains, animal epithelia, fungi and yeasts), and common allergens (house dust mite, pollens). Mean areas of weals formed by individual allergens were adjusted by analysis of covariance for age, sex, and atopic background (past or present atopic dermatitis including infantile eczema). Adjusted mean weal areas for almost all allergens, except pollens and few other allergens, were significantly larger in farmers than in non-farming controls. In contrast, only skin reactions to cow dander, to a non-dialyzed crude preparation of fodder yeast Candida utilis, and to Candida albicans distinguished symptomatic subjects from asymptomatic ones. Stepwise discriminant analysis, in which reactions to all allergens as well as age, sex, and atopy were taken into account simultaneously, revealed that reactions to a dialysed preparation of fodder yeast best distinguished symptomatic farmers from asymptomatic ones. C. utilis and C. albicans may be cross-reactive. The results imply that skin tests alone are of limited value in the search for work-related causes of rhinitis or asthma among dairy farmers. Our study confirms the importance of cow dander as an occupational allergen in dairy farming. Fodder yeast seems to be another important occupational sensitizer.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗
PubMed1987

Lung function of farmers with respect to atopy and smoking.

This study was based on a sample of 1,831 farmers with no symptoms of the lower respiratory tract, which was taken from a larger survey population of 12,056 farmers. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were determined cross-sectionally in connection with health examinations at local health centres. Background data, which included age, sex, height, presence of atopic symptoms, and smoking habits, were gathered in a postal survey conducted by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Mean FEV1 and mean FVC were adjusted for age, sex, and height; FEV1 was also adjusted for FVC. Although atopy (defined on the basis of past or present atopic dermatitis, including infantile eczema, and/or hay fever or other allergic rhinitis) had no effect on mean FEV1, mean FVC was lower in atopic than in non-atopic subjects. Both mean FEV1 and mean FVC were lower in smokers than in non-smokers. Smoking thus influenced both FEV1 and FVC, but affected FEV1 slightly more. The effects of atopy and smoking on FVC seemed to be additive. These results, which imply that atopy may predispose obstruction of small airways, match our previous finding that atopy and smoking increase the occurrence of chronic bronchitis additively.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effect of indoor feeding season for cattle on lung function of dairy farmers.

The effect of the indoor feeding season for cattle on pulmonary function was studied in 91 randomly selected healthy, non-smoking dairy farmers who did not use personal dust respirators. All the farmers lived in the rural municipality of Pielavesi in eastern Finland. The reference group consisted of 90 healthy, non-smoking urban dwellers who were teachers randomly selected from all the teachers employed by the city of Kuopio (situated in the same administrative district as Pielavesi). Studies of pulmonary function included flow-volume spirometry and measurement of pulmonary diffusing capacity. Among farmers, even a follow-up period of only 6 months was long enough to reveal restrictive impairment in lung function; among teachers restrictive impairment was not found. No evidence of impairment of pulmonary diffusing capacity was found in either of the study groups during the follow-up. Among teachers, changes in lung function did not differ from those previously reported as physiologically normal.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Characteristics of farmers who have obtained personal dust respirators.

A postal survey was used to investigate the characteristics of farmers who have acquired dust respirators. In 1979 about a quarter of the farmers were using dust respirators, men more often than women. The more vocational training the farmer had and the larger the area of land under cultivation the more likely he was to own a dust respirator. Grain producers had purchased the protective devices more frequently than other farmers had. Farmers who participated in the occupational health intervention during 1980-82 had acquired dust respirators considerably more often than those in the control group. In the intervention group men under 30 years had most frequently purchased the dust respirators. Participation in the intervention influenced the acquisition of dust respirators more than did occurrence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis or farmer's lung.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Protective value of powered dust respirator helmet for farmers with farmer's lung.

Seventeen victims of farmer's lung were monitored during two indoor feeding seasons for cattle. The victims, who had all recovered from the acute phase of the disease before entering the experiment, used powered helmets for respiratory protection (Air-Stream) equipped with Type P2 filters. Filters were changed once a week. The lung function of each subject was investigated at the beginning and towards the end of the indoor feeding season. Each subject kept a diary about the use of dust respirators, changing of filters, inconvenience related to the use of respirators, and symptoms experienced during the follow-up. None of the subjects reported symptoms they related to farmer's lung, and mean values for the lung function parameters (PEF, FEV1, FVC, DLCO, and KCO) did not decrease during the two follow-up periods. In contrast, mean DLCO and KCO increased slightly. At the very end of the both indoor feeding seasons, after the actual follow-up periods, one subject developed mild recurrences of the disease without deterioration detectable by radiology. The patient asserted that he had used the protective helmet properly. The results indicate that powered respirator helmets have protective value in farmer's lung and are appropriate for long-term use. A possibility remains, however, that the disease may recur in highly sensitized individuals, despite the use of efficient protective devices. Other measures for preventing or decreasing mould exposure are equally important.

Adult↗