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Biomedical subjects

O Axelson

Publications and source records attributed to O Axelson.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Mortality pattern of silicotic subjects in the Latium region, Italy.

A mortality study was carried out on 595 workers who were compensated for silicosis in the Latium region, Italy, during the period 1946-84 who died between 1 January 1969 and 31 December 1984. Respiratory disorders, tuberculosis, lung cancer, bone cancer, and cirrhosis of the liver showed significantly increased risk ratios (4.1, 3.7, 1.5, 4.1, and 1.9 respectively); excesses of brain cancer and leukaemia did not reach statistical significance. Lung cancer mortality was further analysed by age, period of compensation, final degree of disability, and occupational activity. The possible confounding role of smoking was assessed by comparing the lifetime smoking habits of a sample of silicotic subjects with those of the general male population as estimated by a national health survey; the prevalence of ever smokers among silicotic subjects (70.7%) was similar to that estimated for the general population (68.5%). The present study indicates that silicosis is associated with lung cancer even though it does not clarify the respective roles of exposure to silica and silicosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Malignant lymphomas and occupational exposures.

The effects of potential risk factors for Hodgkin's disease (HD) and for non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) were evaluated in a case-referent study encompassing 54 cases of HD, 106 cases of NHL, and 275 referents, all alive. Exposure information was obtained by questionnaires posted to the subjects. Crude rate ratios were increased for various occupational exposures including solvents, welding, wood preservatives, phenoxy acids, and fresh wood (sawmill workers, lumberjacks, paper pulp workers). After further analyses based on logistic regression occupational exposures to welding and creosote remained as significant risk factors for HD. For NHL, occupational exposures to solvents, phenoxy acids, and creosote but also work as carpenter or cabinet maker and contacts with pets (other than dogs, cats, and birds) were associated with significantly increased risks.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Multiple sclerosis, solvents, and pets. A case-referent study.

The effect of potential risk factors for multiple sclerosis was evaluated in a case-referent study that encompassed 83 cases and 467 randomized referents. Information on exposure was obtained by questionnaires that were mailed to the subjects. Mantel-Haenszel rate ratios were increased for males for occupational exposure to solvents and welding and for females for leisure time contact with dogs and caged birds. For both sexes, x-ray film examination occurred more frequently among cases than referents, possibly as an effect of early symptoms from the disease itself.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Indirect methods of assessing the effects of tobacco use in occupational studies.

For various reasons, data on smoking are frequently missing, or only partially available, in retrospective epidemiologic studies of occupational risk factors. In such situations, indirect methods may be used to evaluate the magnitude and direction of the potentially confounding effects of smoking. Such an evaluation can be made quantitatively or qualitatively. Here we describe both approaches. A specific problem relates to case-referent studies, where sampling variation in referent selection may limit the possibility of controlling for confounding by smoking, even when smoking data are available. We present data showing that estimates of risk from occupational exposures which are not controlled for smoking may be as accurate as estimates derived after controlling for smoking, when the number of referents is relatively small. The problem of interaction is also discussed. In the absence of smoking data, the investigator has no indication of how smoking and occupation jointly affect disease risk (eg, additively or multiplicatively). The multiplicative model is usually assumed. However, if exposure and smoking act independently (additively), rate ratios are diminished. In such situations, in the presence of negative confounding by smoking, rate ratios may actually even be less than one--also when exposure and disease are strongly related.

Epidemiologic Methods↗
PubMed1988

Symptoms of bronchial hyperreactivity and asthma in relation to environmental factors.

A questionnaire study regarding airway morbidity in children and environmental factors was performed in April 1985. The parents of 5301 children, aged 6 months to 16 years, from different rural areas in mid Sweden were sent a validated questionnaire and 4990 (94%) responded. The cumulative prevalence of bronchial hyperreactivity was 9.7% and of allergic asthma 5.2%. Children living near a paper pulp plant more often had symptoms suggesting bronchial hyperreactivity (124 (13.0%), relative risk 1.3) and allergic asthma (68 (7.1%), relative risk 1.3). In children living in a damp house problem bronchial hyperreactivity was found in 76 (19.0%) (relative risk 1.9) and allergic asthma in 35 (8.7%) of the children (relative risk 1.9). Children living in a damp house with parents who smoked had the highest figures: bronchial hyperreactivity was found in 44 (23.5%) (relative risk 2.8) and allergic asthma in 22 (11.6%) (relative risk 2.5). The results indicate that various moderate environmental pollutants may act synergistically to increase bronchial hyperreactivity and allergy especially in children with a family history of allergy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Chronic lymphatic leukaemia and engine exhausts, fresh wood, and DDT: a case-referent study.

The effect of potential risk factors for chronic lymphatic leukaemia was evaluated in a case-referent study encompassing 111 cases and 431 randomised referents, all alive. Information on exposure was obtained by questionnaires posted to the subjects. Crude rate ratios were increased for occupational exposure to solvents. DDT, engine exhausts, fresh wood (lumberjacks, paper pulp workers, and sawmill workers, for example) and also in farming. Further analysis of the material by means of the Miettinen confounder score technique reduced the number of rate ratios significantly exceeding unity to encompass only occupational exposure to engine exhaust, fresh wood, DDT, and contact with horses.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Formation of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine by asbestos and man made mineral fibres.

Samples of rockwool and glass fibre were compared with chrysotile fibres for their capacity to hydroxylate 2-deoxyguanosine to 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, a reaction that is mediated by formation of hydroxyl radicals. All three fibres produced 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in the absence of H2O2. The chrysotile fibres were most potent and produced about ten times more of the modified nucleoside than rockwool and glass fibre. This investigation shows that not only asbestos but also man made mineral fibres are able to modify nucleosides.

8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine↗
PubMed1988

Indoor radon exposure and active and passive smoking in relation to the occurrence of lung cancer.

Exposure to indoor radon and radon daughters is currently attracting great interest as a possible cause of lung cancer. This concern is supported by several studies, most of them relatively small in numbers or weak in the assessment of exposure. This study encompasses 177 persons with lung cancer and 677 noncancer referents, all deceased and with 30 years or more of residency in the same house in an area with radon-leaking alum shale deposits in the central part of southern Sweden. Exposure categories based on building material, type of house, and ground conditions were created, but measurements of the indoor radon daughter concentration were also made for 142 cases and 264 referents. Active and passive smoking was ascertained through questionnaires sent to the next-of-kin. Overall, the lung cancer risk was approximately twofold with regard to the categories of assumed radon daughter exposure for the rural sector of the population but not for the same categories of the urban sector, possibly because of less precise exposure assessment and influence from other factors. Occasional and passive smokers, as well as passive smokers alone, had a particularly increased risk of lung cancer in association with the increased exposure categories.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Mortality among pyrite miners with low-level exposure to radon daughters.

Mortality among pyrite miners with low-level exposure to radon daughters. Scand J Work Environ Health 14 (1988) 280-285. A cohort mortality study was conducted with regard to a pyrite mine located in central Italy. Exposure to radon ranged from 0.12 to 0.36 working levels (WL) in the work areas; most measurements were around 0.2 WL. The concentration of free silica in the dust was less than 2%. The cohort was determined from company files and included 1,899 subjects. Mortality was studied for the years 1965-1983. The loss to follow-up was less than 2%. The standardized mortality ratio for all causes and all neoplasms was 97 and 107, respectively. That for lung cancer and for nonmalignant respiratory diseases was 131 (95% confidence interval 97-175) and 173 (95% confidence interval 135-231), respectively. It was estimated that the extra cases of lung cancer attributable to radon daughters numbered 13 per 10(6) person-years and working level month in the whole cohort and 21.3 per 10(6) person-years in the subcohort with 10-25 years of exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Mortality among personnel exposed to diesel exhaust.

Some epidemiological studies have suggested a carcinogenic effect from diesel exhausts and also an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This cohort study of bus garage employees was undertaken to elucidate further the health effects of diesel exhaust exposure with regard to mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease. The cohort encompassed 694 men and was followed from 1951 through December 1983. The results showed no significant differences between observed and expected number of deaths in cancer or cardiovascular disease in total or with regard to different degrees of exposure or various requirements of exposure and induction-latency time. The so-called healthy worker effect was relatively weak for cardiovascular disease, but this phenomenon showed no pattern in relation to exposures. The relatively small size of the cohort does not allow for the exclusion of a slightly increased incidence of cancer of certain sites, however.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1987

Pesticides and cancer risks in agriculture.

The work environment in agriculture is complex, with many potentially hazardous exposures, but the overall mortality from cancer and other causes is rather low among farmers. However, several studies have consistently indicated an excess of certain cancer forms. Lymphomas, leukemias, multiple myeloma and also malignancies of connective tissue attract special interest, as being possibly associated with the use of pesticides. Phenoxy acid herbicides may play an etiological role, especially for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, whereas the findings are more ambiguous for Hodgkin's disease and soft-tissue sarcoma, perhaps indicating an interaction with co-factors. The issue has been controversial for many years, however, and one of its aspects involves the use of phenoxy acids in the Vietnam war. Furthermore, DDT has been associated with lung cancer in mixed exposure situations, and with chronic lymphatic leukemia. Arsenical pesticides may have caused skin cancer in vine-growers. Further studies, especially of specific user groups and producers, may avoid the complex exposure situation in agriculture.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗
PubMed1987

Mortality and cancer incidence among workers in an abrasive manufacturing industry.

Earlier epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to aluminium oxide and silicon carbide might carry with it an increased risk of lymphomas, stomach cancer, and non-malignant respiratory disease. To elucidate further this possible hazard, the cancer morbidity and the total mortality pattern was studied among 521 men manufacturing abrasive materials who had been exposed to aluminium oxide, silicon carbide, and formaldehyde. Total dust levels were in the range of 0.1-1.0 mg/m3. The cohort was followed up from 1958 until December 1983. No significant increase was found in total mortality, cancer mortality, or incidence of non-malignant respiratory diseases.

Aluminum Oxide↗
PubMed1987

Mortality in the Swedish glassworks industry.

An earlier, relatively small case-referent study has shown an increased risk for glassworks employees to die from stomach cancer, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disorders. This observation suggested an extended study virtually covering the entire glass-producing industry of Sweden. This new study confirmed the earlier results and, furthermore, an excess risk for colon cancer was also identified. No deviation was found in the cancer mortality pattern for all men in the glass-producing area compared to the whole of Sweden. The grouping of glassworks employees according to type of metal consumption at the glassworks showed the excess risks of stomach cancer, colon cancer, and cardiovascular deaths to relate to glassworks with a high consumption of lead, arsenic, antimony, and manganese. However, the strong correlation of these various metal exposures did not permit any successful separation of the effects of the different metals. For cardiovascular mortality, as for cancer, the glassblowers especially suffered from increased risk. Their exposure might, to a great extent, be oral, involving the glassblower's pipe as a "vector" for the exposure to various metals.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Silica, silicosis and lung cancer among ceramic workers: a case-referent study.

A case-referent study has been carried out regarding a possible connection between silica exposure and lung cancer (ICD 162) in Central Italy, where the pottery industry has a long tradition. Silicosis among 72 cases of lung cancer and among 314 referents, all deceased, was ascertained through checking the individual files of compensated cases of silicosis. Questionnaires on past employments and smoking habits were blindly administered to the next-of-kin of the deceased subjects. Controlling for age, period of death, and smoking, workers in the ceramic industry were found to have a higher lung cancer risk than workers in other occupations free from silica exposure (Mantel-Haenszel rate ratio = 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1-3.5). This increased risk was mainly due to a rate ratio of 3.9 (95% CI = 1.8-8.3) for silicotic individuals, while for nonsilicotic ceramic workers it was only 1.4 (95% CI = 0.7-2.8). The result of this study seems to suggest that lung cancer might be merely indirectly associated with exposure to silica through the silicotic process, although the dose may differ for silicotic and nonsilicotic individuals.

Ceramics↗