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S Cordier

Publications and source records attributed to S Cordier.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the risk of bladder cancer: a French case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The risk of bladder cancer has been shown to be increased in occupations which are likely to involve exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), but up to now, most studies have considered this exposure in terms of job title. METHODS: A hospital-based case-control study of 658 male cases of bladder cancer and 658 male controls was carried out in five areas of France from 1984 to 1987. For each subject, occupational exposure to PAH was assessed from questionnaires by an expert according to a semi-quantitative index of exposure. RESULTS: The overall odds ratio for PAH exposure, adjusted for smoking, coffee drinking and occupational exposure to aromatic amines was estimated at 1.3 (95% CI: 1.0-1.7, P < 0.05). A slight but clear dose-response relationship was observed, and the trend remained significant after adjustment for cumulative smoking, with odds ratios of 1.2 (95% CI: 0.9-1.7), 1.4 (95% CI: 0.9-2.2) and 1.8 (95% CI: 0.8-3.9) for low, medium and high average exposures respectively compared to subjects unexposed to PAH (P for trend < 0.05). Moreover, the association between bladder cancer and PAH exposure was also investigated in a category of smokers homogeneous with respect to their tobacco consumption. In this heavy-smoker group, a stronger association with PAH was detected. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the hypothesis of a causal relationship between occupational exposure to PAH and bladder cancer risk.

Adult↗

[Occupational exposure to chemical substances and congenital anomalies: state of the art].

Several thousands of compounds with a potential reproductive toxicity have been identified in animals, some of them are teratogens. In humans, only a small number of chemicals, administered as drugs, present in the diet, or in the occupational environment are recognized human teratogens. In parallel, about 60% of congenital anomalies have no identified cause and most probably some compounds present in the environment may contribute to certain anomalies. This paper presents a review of published epidemiological studies on the association between occupational exposures and congenital anomalies, focusing more particularly on some groups of compounds or some occupations such as: anaesthetic gases, laboratory work, solvents, pesticides and lead.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

Viral infections and chemical exposures as risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in Vietnam.

A case-control study investigating risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was conducted in Hanoi, in the north of Vietnam, between 1989 and 1992. Male cases of HCC (152) diagnosed in 2 hospitals were included. Hospital controls (241) admitted mainly to abdominal surgery departments were frequency-matched to cases for sex, age, hospital and place of residence (Hanoi, province). Odds ratios adjusted for matching variables and other potential confounders were estimated using unconditional logistic regression, or exact non-parametric statistical inference when numbers were small. Positivity for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was the main risk factor for HCC in this sample. Five subjects (3 cases, 2 controls) had been infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV), and none of them were carriers of HBsAg, giving an OR of 38 associated with HCV infection among HBsAG-negative subjects. Alcohol drinking was associated with HCC and interacted with HBsAg positivity. Agricultural use of organophosphorous pesticides (30 liters/year or more) and military service in the south of Vietnam for 10 years or more were also associated with an increased risk of HCC. This study confirms the major role played by HBV infection and its association with HCC in south-east Asia. It also suggests how other factors such as alcohol consumption or exposure to chemicals may interact with HBV infection.

2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid↗

Occupational risks of bladder cancer in France: a multicentre case-control study.

The relationships between occupational risk factors in France and bladder cancer were assessed from a hospital-based case-control study conducted between 1984 and 1987 in five regions representing various industries, including mining, textile manufacture, metallurgy and the production of rubber and chemicals. The study concerned 765 cases (658 men and 107 women) and the same number of controls. Odds ratios (OR) adjusted for matching variables (age, place of residence and hospital), and tobacco smoking were estimated by unconditional logistic regression. A significantly increased risk of bladder cancer was observed among men employed in coal mining (OR = 2.42; 95% confidence interval (Cl) : 1.25-4.67) and the chemicals industry (OR = 2.36; 95% Cl : 1.23-4.53). Aircraft and ship's officers (OR = 11.8; 95% Cl : 1.46-95.7), managers (OR = 1.64; 95% Cl : 1.11-2.43) and street vendors (OR = 3.60; 95% Cl : 1.15-11.3) also had an increased risk. Among women, employment in the clothing industry was associated with a high OR (= 3.21; 95% Cl : 1.34-7.71). Assessment of individual exposures by a panel of industrial hygiene experts showed that significantly more cases than controls had been exposed to the following substances: chlorinated solvents (OR = 1.86; 95% Cl : 1.19-2.90), industrial oils and greases (OR = 1.44; 95% Cl : 1.10-1.89), welding fumes (OR = 1.40; 95% Cl : 0.98-2.01), coal dust (OR = 1.71; 95% Cl : 1.02-2.89) and metallic oxide dust (OR = 2.99; 95% Cl : 1.12-8.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗

Standardization in the retrospective evaluation by experts of occupational exposure to organic solvents in a population-based case-control study.

Epidemiologists carrying out retrospective evaluation of occupational exposure to solvents often use experts to assist in drawing up and interpreting structured questionnaires. However the epidemiologist cannot pass complete responsibility to the expert for deciding on the relative importance of the different exposure variables. Expert assessment of exposure to organic solvents was carried out in a population-based case-control study. The process of expert evaluation was examined and the different steps in the process identified. This paper describes work in progress on the formalization of the rules that experts use to identify and quantify exposure.

Case-Control Studies↗

[Validation of a personality questionnaire designed for defining sub-groups at risk for ischemic cardiopathy or cancer in the Gazel cohort].

Within the context of a prospective survey project among 20,000 volunteers working for "Electricité de France--Gaz de France" Company (GAZEL cohort), we performed a feasibility study using four self-assessment questionnaires: the Jenkins Activity Survey (measuring type A behaviour pattern), the Buss and Durkee Hostility Inventory, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies--Depression Scale and a personality questionnaire developed by Grossarth-Maticek and Eysenck (GME). Questionnaires were sent twice by mail, at an interval of three months, to a random sample of 408 males: 71% returned the filled forms the first time, 66% the second time, and 80% at least once. The test-retest correlation coefficients ranged from 0.62 to 0.87. The validity of the six personality type scores, calculated from GME, was tested by correlations with the scores of the three other instruments. These correlations appeared consistent with the proposed typology, especially for the "Healthy" type, the "Cancer prone" type and the "Coronary Heart Disease prone" type. The labelling of these types was justified by their association with different disease events, suggested from previous studies.

Adult↗

Maternal occupational exposure and congenital malformations.

A case-referent study was conducted to assess the risk of congenital malformations in relation to maternal occupational exposure before and during pregnancy. Three hundred and twenty-five cases of major malformations and 325 normal (at birth) referents identified in 15 maternity hospitals were included in the study. The occupational history obtained from an interview of the mother was blindly reviewed by an industrial hygienist who assessed the presence of chemical exposure and the probability of exposure. The results suggested that mothers of the case children with oral clefts were more often exposed to solvents during pregnancy [odds ratio (OR) 7.9, 90% confidence interval (90% CI) 1.8-44.9] and worked more often as cleaners (four cases, no referents). Digestive anomalies (OR 11.9, 90% CI 2.0-149) and multiple anomalies (OR 4.5, 90% CI 1.4-16.9) were also associated with occupational exposure to solvents at work. These results were not modified when differences in maternal age, area of residence, and socioeconomic status were taken into account.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

Coffee consumption and bladder cancer risk.

The relationship between coffee drinking and the risk of bladder cancer was analyzed within the framework of a French hospital-based case-control study conducted between 1984 and 1987, which included 690 cases of histologically confirmed bladder cancer (599 males and 91 females), and 690 age-, sex- and hospital-matched controls. To dissociate the effects of smoking and coffee drinking among males, the analysis of the male group was restricted to 2 contrasted subgroups: non-smokers on the one hand, and current smokers and inhalers of black tobacco cigarettes on the other. Coffee drinking was found to be significantly associated with the risk of bladder cancer among men in both groups and the increase in the risk was dose-dependent (OR = 1, 2.9, 5.1 respectively, for drinking 1, 2, greater than or equal to 3 cups of coffee per day among non-smokers, and 1, 2.5 and 3.0 respectively, for drinking 1-4, 5-7, greater than cups among smokers). This result was not observed for women.

Case-Control Studies↗

Paternal exposure to mercury and spontaneous abortions.

The potential reproductive toxicity of mercury vapour was investigated by comparing the rate of spontaneous abortions among the wives of 152 workers occupationally exposed to mercury vapour with the rate among the wives of 374 controls in the same plant. The results indicate an increase in the rate of spontaneous abortions with an increasing concentration of mercury in the fathers' urine before pregnancy. At concentrations above 50 micrograms/l the risk of spontaneous abortion doubles (odds ratio (OR) = 2.26; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.99-5.23). Special care was taken to avoid bias in reporting abortions and known risk factors of spontaneous abortions do not seem to explain the results. Several biological mechanisms might account for them including, in particular, direct action of mercury on the paternal reproductive system and indirect toxicity to the mother or embryo through transport of mercury from the father. These indications could be of practical importance and should therefore be further documented.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

Toxicity of ethylene oxide on the lens and on leukocytes: an epidemiological study in hospital sterilisation installations.

An epidemiological study was conducted in 55 subjects (mean age: 41) in hospitals to determine the prevalence of lens opacities and cataracts in workers exposed to ethylene oxide in six sterilisation units. The 21 exposed subjects over 45 were then compared with 16 non-exposed subjects, matched for age and sex. The relation between occupational exposure to ethylene oxide and white blood cell concentrations was also investigated. Lens opacities (independently of visual acuity) were observed in 19 of the 55 exposed. Among both exposed and non-exposed aged over 45, there were no significant differences with regard to the characteristics of lens opacities--prevalence (19 in the 21 exposed; 10 in the 16 non-exposed), distribution of the location, and importance and type (opalescence or discontinuous opacities). No link was found between the characteristics of the lens opacities and the characteristics of exposure: habitual exposure, measured between 0.06 and 39 ppm (cumulated in ppm-number of weekly hours-years) and accidental over-exposures (regular and irregular). For cataracts, defined by the association of lens opacities and a visual acuity less than 20/25 (this loss not being attributable to another cause), their prevalence differed significantly (p less than 0.05) between the exposed (six of 21) and the non-exposed (0 of 16); there was no relation between their existence and overexposures (the analysis for habitual exposure was not possible because of the small size of the sample). The risk of lens opacifications by ethylene oxide in cases of massive exposures as previously described could also exist during chronic exposure to low concentrations. It could be explained by saturation of protective mechanisms against alkylating action of this product. Linear relations were found between the logarithms of blood concentrations of polymorphoneutrophils (R=-0.54; p<0.005) and of lymphocytes (R=-0.45;p<0.05).

Adult↗

Occupational risk factors for upper respiratory tract and upper digestive tract cancers.

A case-control study was conducted to investigate occupational risk factors for upper respiratory and digestive tract cancers (nose, lips, buccal cavity, pharynx, and larynx) in the north of France. Two hundred and eighty three cases of histologically confirmed cancer in men treated during the first semester of 1983 at the Regional Cancer Institute were included in the study. Two controls per case were chosen from patients in the medical wards of the local general hospitals in the same geographical area as the case, who did not have cancer. Controls were individually matched for sex, age (+/- 18 months), ethnic group, area of residence, and smoking and alcohol drinking history. All subjects were questioned about occupations in which they had worked for at least 15 years. Odds ratios for major occupational categories were estimated using conditional logistic regression for matched samples. Significant associations were found between wood work and nasal cancer (four cases, no control) and farming and lip cancer (odds ratio 5.3, 95% confidence interval 1.1-26.8). Pharyngeal cancer was associated with the textile industry (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.0-5.7) and the building industry (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.9). Coal miners showed a threefold excess risk for cancer of the lip (4 cases, no control), buccal cavity (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.1-11.8), and larynx (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.1-9.7).

Alcohol Drinking↗

[Toxicity of ethylene oxide on the crystalline lense in an occupational milieu. Difficulty of epidemiologic surveys of cataract].

Ethylene oxide is a sterilizing gas for heat-sensitive materials. Eight cases of subcapsular cataract were attributed to this compound from 1982 to 1985. This epidemiological study was conducted in 55 persons to determine the prevalence of lens opacities and cataracts in workers exposed to this gas. The 21 persons of more than 45 years of age were then compared to 16 non-exposed persons matched for age and gender. Lens opacities (independently of visual acuity) were observed in 19 of the 55 exposed. Among exposed and non-exposed persons of more than 45 years of age, there were no significantly differences with regard to the following characteristics of lens opacities: prevalence (13 in the 21 exposed; 10 in the 16 non-exposed), distribution of the localisations, morphology and importance of the cortical opacities. No link was found between the characteristics of the lens opacities and the characteristics of the exposure: habitual exposure and accidental overexposures. For cataracts, defined by the association of lens opacities and a visual acuity less than 20/25 (this loss not being attributable to another cause), their prevalence differed significantly (p less than 0.05) between the exposed (6 of 21) and the non-exposed (0 of 16). There was no relation between their existence and accidental overexposures. The risk of lens opacification by ethylene oxide, established in cases of massive exposures as previously described, could also exist during chronic exposure to low concentrations, but is to be confirmed by other studies. It could be explained by saturation of the protective mechanisms against alkylating action of this product. This study prompted us to discuss the epidemiological difficulties in studies of cataracts.

Animals↗

Tobacco and bladder cancer in males: increased risk for inhalers and smokers of black tobacco.

Relationships between risk of bladder cancer and tobacco smoking were assessed from a hospital-based case-control study conducted in France from 1984 to 1987. Smoking history was analyzed for 954 male patients (477 cases and 477 controls). The odds ratio (OR) of bladder cancer was estimated at 3.95 for all smokers vs. non-smokers. The risk increased with duration of smoking and with average daily cigarette consumption, but there was a significant interaction between these 2 parameters, since the risk only increased with average daily consumption when the duration exceeded 20 years. Black tobacco consumption and inhaling were both found to double the risk when analyzed separately, but their respective effects appeared to interact, and an elevated risk for smokers of black tobacco was only observed among inhalers. Smokers of black and blond tobacco also differed in the way in which the risk evolved with time after cessation of smoking. The OR decreased faster after cessation of smoking among smokers of black tobacco than among smokers of blond tobacco, but the residual risk was higher 15 years after cessation among the former than among the latter.

Adult↗

Gliomas and exposure to wood preservatives.

A case-referent study was undertaken to look for occupational risk factors among patients with glioma treated in a neurological hospital in Paris between 1975 and 1984. In the study group were 125 men with gliomas (aged less than or equal to 65) and 238 patients (also less than or equal to 65) admitted for non-neoplastic, non-malformative vascular diseases in the same department during the same period constituting the reference group. All diagnoses were confirmed by tomodensitometry. Information on occupational history was obtained from a postal questionnaire and from medical records. Comparison of cases and referents showed a significant excess risk among teachers (OR = 4.1) and a raised risk among wood workers (OR = 1.6). Four of nine cases of glioma who had been employed as wood workers reported that a colleague had suffered from glioma (those reports were confirmed by hospital records). None were reported among 11 referent wood workers. Using a complementary questionnaire on wood work, exposure assessment to wood preservatives and solvents showed that frequent exposure to organochlorine wood preservatives and to organic solvents occurred more often among cases than referent wood workers (p less than 0.10).

Adult↗

A method for the measurement and characterization of protease activities responsible for extracellular or intracellular degradation of collagen precursors.

The first method for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of extracellular and intracellular protease activities responsible for degradation of newly synthesized collagen is described. In a double incubation method, underhydroxylated collagen chains (protocollagen) serve as substrate for protease extract and then for the indicator enzyme, 4 prolyl hydroxylase. It was possible to characterize at least four types of protocollagen sites sensible to these proteases. The microsomal fraction of chick embryo liver contained a protease active on protocollagen and whose activity was similar to that of purified human synovial collagenase.

Animals↗

Bladder cancer in the aluminium industry.

The incidence of bladder cancer is unusually high in aluminium smelter workers. An epidemiological study showed that workers in Soderberg potrooms are at highest risk for bladder cancer, the adjusted overall relative risk being 2.39 (1.34-4.28). Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, of which benz(a)pyrene (BaP) served as an indicator, seems to be the causative factor. The relative risk was evaluated at 12.38 for workers with 20 or more equivalent years of BaP exposure. Cigarette smoking contributed significantly to the appearance of bladder cancer in the population studied. There is a synergistic effect when cigarette smoking and BaP exposure are combined; the numbers in our population are too small to determine whether this interaction effect is multiplicative or additive. It is concluded that bladder cancer is associated with aluminium smelting (primarily with the Soderberg process).

Adult↗

Radiographic changes in a group of chrysotile miners and millers exposed to low asbestos dust concentrations.

Radiographic changes in 342 Quebec asbestos miners exposed to low levels of asbestos dust for an average period of 20 years were studied. Their estimated cumulative exposure ranged from 7 fibres per cubic centimeter X years (f-y/cc) to 300 f-y/cc. Of these workers, 2.1% showed a small opacity score of 1/0 or more and 2.7% showed pleural changes. No linear relationship could be established between small opacity score and any index of exposure to asbestos. Pleural changes were related to age. A referent group of office workers within the same mining industry showed a prevalence of 2.1% (1/48) for small irregular opacities 1/0 or more, and for pleural changes.

Adult↗