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T Kauppinen

Publications and source records attributed to T Kauppinen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The effectiveness of human impact assessment in the Finnish Healthy Cities Network.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a framework for analysing the effectiveness of prospective assessment and to apply the framework to human impact assessments (HuIA) carried out in the Finnish Healthy Cities Network. METHODS: The framework was formed by synthesizing and developing the themes that emerged from the published literature on effectiveness. The research material consists of interviews with people who participated in the assessment process in the municipalities (19 interviews). The research material also included assessment documents, proceedings of working meetings, municipal policy documents, background material and project reports produced in the municipalities studied. The research datasets were examined by content analysis. RESULTS: HuIA increased the decision-makers' awareness of effects and functioned as a tool for empowerment. The latter was apparent, for instance, in the social welfare and healthcare sector, finding a role for itself in decisively co-ordinating interdisciplinary work and actively seeking to alleviate identified negative effects. The assessment process also opened up the planning process, committed various actors to the decision, helped select the right alternative and promoted social learning. CONCLUSIONS: From the viewpoint of preparation and decision-making, the effectiveness of a HuIA increases when assessment becomes a recurring process and an integral part of an organization's activities. Integration of an assessment into permanent structures or activities, such as drawing up programmes or preparing strategies, helps the results of the assessment to be seen more clearly. From the viewpoint of decision-making, it is also important to strengthen the decision-makers' expertise in prospective assessment. When the effectiveness of HuIA is looked at in a new way (i.e. from the viewpoint of goal achievement, decision-making or learning), a more comprehensive interpretation can be given.

City Planning↗
PubMed2006

Occupational exposure to eight organic dusts and respiratory cancer among Finns.

BACKGROUND: There is inconclusive evidence concerning cancer risks of organic dusts. AIM: The carcinogenic exposures are mainly inhalatory and the authors therefore studied associations between occupational exposure to eight different organic dusts and respiratory cancers in Finland. METHODS: The authors followed up a cohort of all economically active Finns born between 1906 and 1945 for 30 million person-years during 1971-95. Incident cases of nasal, laryngeal, and lung cancer and mesotheliomas were identified through a record linkage with the Finnish Cancer Registry. Occupations from the population census in 1970 were converted to exposures to eight organic dusts with a job-exposure matrix (FINJEM). Cumulative exposure (CE) was calculated as a product of prevalence, level, and estimated duration of exposure. Standardised incidence ratios (SIR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for age, period, and social class were calculated for each organic dust using the economically active population as the reference. RESULTS: A total of 20 426 incident cases of respiratory cancer were observed. Slightly increased risk was observed among men exposed to wood dust for nasal cancer (SIR 1.42, 95% CI 0.79 to 2.44). For laryngeal cancer, men exposed to plant dust (mainly grain millers) had a raised SIR in the high exposure class (SIR 3.55, 95% CI 1.30 to 7.72). Men exposed to wood dust had a raised SIR for lung cancer, but only in the low exposure class (SIR 1.11, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.18). Women exposed to wood dust showed an increased SIR for mesotheliomas in the low exposure class (SIR 4.57, 95% CI 1.25 to 11.7) and some excess in the medium exposure category. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to organic dusts is unlikely to be a major risk factor of respiratory cancer. Even exposure to wood dust which is a major exposure in Finland seems to have minor effect for nasal cancer. The authors found suggestive evidence that exposure to grain dust may increase the risk of laryngeal cancer, and some support to the hypothesis that exposure to textile dust, and to plant and animal dust (agricultural dusts) may decrease the risk of lung cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The triad of shift work, occupational noise, and physical workload and risk of coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Shift work, noise, and physical workload are very common occupational exposures and they tend to cluster in the same groups of workers. OBJECTIVES: To study the short and long term effects of these exposures on risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and to estimate the joint effects of these factors. METHODS: The study population in this prospective 13 year follow up study of 1804 middle aged industrially employed men was collected at the first screening for the Helsinki Heart Study. The CHD end points (ICD-9 codes 410-414 and ICD-10 codes I20-I25) were obtained from official Finnish registers. The Finnish job-exposure matrix FINJEM provided information on occupational exposures. Relative risks (RR) of CHD for the exposures were estimated using Cox's proportional hazard models adjusting for classical risk factors of CHD. RESULTS: The RR in the five year follow up for continuous noise combined with impulse noise was 1.28; for shift work it was 1.59, and for physical workload 1.18, while in the 13 year follow up the RRs were 1.58, 1.34, and 1.31, respectively. When adjusted for white-collar/blue-collar status the RRs decreased markedly. The RR in the 13 year follow up for those exposed to two risk factors was close to 1.7 and for those exposed to all three, 1.87. CONCLUSION: Shift work and continuous noise entailed an excess risk for CHD in the shortest follow up with only a few retired workers but a decreasing risk during the longer follow up. For physical workload and impulse noise the trend was opposite: the CHD risk was increasing with increasing follow up time despite increasing numbers of retired workers.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Comparison of manual and automated quantification methods of 123I-ADAM.

UNLABELLED: 123I-ADAM is a novel radioligand for imaging of the brain serotonin transporters (SERTs). Traditionally, the analysis of brain receptor studies has been based on observer-dependent manual region of interest definitions and visual interpretation. Our aim was to create a template for automated image registrations and volume of interest (VOI) quantifications and to show that an automated quantification method of 123I-ADAM is more repeatable than the manual method. PATIENTS, METHODS: A template and a predefined VOI map was created from 123I-ADAM scans done for healthy volunteers (n = 15). Scans of another group of healthy persons (HS, n = 12) and patients with bulimia nervosa (BN, n = 10) were automatically fitted to the template and specific binding ratios (SBRs) were calculated by using the VOI map. Manual VOI definitions were done for the HS and BN groups by both one and two observers. The repeatability of the automated method was evaluated by using the BN group. RESULTS: For the manual method, the interobserver coefficient of repeatability was 0.61 for the HS group and 1.00 for the BN group. The introobserver coefficient of repeatability for the BN group was 0.70. For the automated method, the coefficient of repeatability was 0.13 for SBRs in midbrain. CONCLUSION: An automated quantification gives valuable information in addition to visual interpretation decreasing also the total image handling time and giving clear advantages for research work. An automated method for analysing 123I-ADAM binding to the brain SERT gives repeatable results for fitting the studies to the template and for calculating SBRs, and could therefore replace manual methods.

Automation↗
PubMed2004

Occupational exposure to chemical agents in the paper industry.

As part of an International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) international epidemiological study of workers in the pulp and paper industry, previously unpublished exposure measurements were assembled in a database. This article summarizes the results of 3,873 measurements carried out in the production departments of paper and paperboard mills and recycling plants in 12 countries. In the paper and paperboard mills, most of the agents were measured in the pulping and refining departments and in on-machine coating and winding of paper/paperboard. Exposures to asbestos, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, fungal spores, bacteria, nitrogen dioxide, minerals dusts, paper dust, sulphuric acid and different solvents sometimes exceeded exposure limit values. In the re-pulping and de-inking departments of recycling plants high exposures to formaldehyde, fungal spores, bacteria and paper dust were observed. High exposures to asbestos, bioaerosols, carbon monoxide and paper dust were found in many departments; ammonia, formaldehyde, mineral and paper dust and solvents were found in coating machines; and diphenyl and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) were found in some special circumstances. Measurements in the newsprint and uncoated paper machine departments revealed only a few elevated exposures. In nearly all departments, measurements of epichlorohydrin, PCBs, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and mercaptans tended to be low, often even below their detection limits. In spite of some uncertainties in the measurement data, the study provides new insights into the level and variation of occupational exposures of production workers in the paper and paperboard industry.

Europe↗
PubMed2004

Psychosocial work factors and dementia.

AIMS: To evaluate the association between psychosocial workplace factors and dementia in a case-control study. METHODS: Patients with dementia (aged 55-99 years) were recruited from 23 general practices in the city of Frankfurt-on-Main and surrounding area in 1998-2000. Of these, 108 were suffering from possible Alzheimer's disease, 59 from possible vascular dementia, and 28 from secondary or unclassified dementia. A total of 229 control subjects (aged 60-94 years) was recruited from the same study region: 122 population controls and 107 dementia-free ambulatory patients. A detailed job history was elicited in a structured personal interview (next-of-kin interviews of cases). Psychosocial work exposure was assigned to cases and control subjects by linking lifetime job histories with a Finnish job-exposure matrix. Data were analysed using logistic regression, to control for age, region, sex, dementia in parents, education, smoking, and the psychosocial network at age 30. RESULTS: There were decreased odds ratios for high challenge at work, high control possibilities at work, and high social demands at work. High risks for error at work revealed a significant positive association with the diagnosis of dementia. Restriction of the analysis to cases with possible Alzheimer's disease or to cases with possible vascular dementia led to similar results. CONCLUSIONS: These results support a role for psychosocial work factors in the aetiology of dementia. As an alternative explanation, people might have chosen jobs with poor work factors due to preclinical dementia, which becomes clinically manifest decades later.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Risk of fatal industrial accidents and death from other external causes among asphalt workers.

The hypothesis that asphalt workers are at increased risk of mortality from industrial accidents and other external causes was tested. Mortality rates for external and violent causes of death in a cohort of asphalt industry employees from seven European countries and Israel were compared to that of the general population. There was no evidence that mortality from external causes was increased among long term employees in asphalt application and mixing. There was an increased risk for mortality due to external causes among short term workers. However, none of the fatal accidents among short term workers appear to have occurred during employment in the studied asphalt companies. Overall, no evidence was found supporting the hypothesis that asphalt workers are at increased risk of fatal industrial or road accidents. Mortality from other external causes did not increase in this population as a whole, but increased risks among short term workers deserve further attention.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed2003

[Using CAREX data base system for occupational exposure to carcinogens in Estonia].

CAREX (CARcinogen EXposure) is international information system on occupational exposure to know and suspected carcinogens. The CAREX database provides selected exposure data and documented estimates of the number of exposed by workers by country, carcinogen, and industry. CAREX includes data on 139 agents evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, displayed across the 55 industrial classes of the United Nations system (ISIC Revision 2). In 1999-2000, CAREX approach was applied to Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Czech exposure situation in 1997. According to the preliminary estimates, there were about 180,000 workers (29% of the employed) exposed to the agents covered by CAREX in Estonia in 1997. The number of the exposures was approximately 240,000. The most common exposure were solar radiation (62,000 workers), wood dust (34,000 exposed), environmental tobacco smoke (31,000), diesel engine exhaust (21,000 exposed), crystalline silica (19,000), radon and its decay products (14,000), formaldehyde (9000) benzene (7000), ethylene dibromide (6400), lead and inorganic compounds (6200), and glasswool (4300).

Carcinogens↗
PubMed2002

Could automated template based quantification of benzodiazepine receptors in brain single photon emission tomography with 123I NNC 13-8241 be used to demonstrate neuronal damage in traumatic brain injury?

Automated methods are required for the analysis of brain single photon emission tomography images. We applied an automated method to assess the benzodiazepine receptor distribution in the brain. Images of 19 patients with mild traumatic brain injury who had received I NNC 13-8241 were compared with a mean brain template accumulated from 18 healthy volunteers. To obtain more information, we calculated the neuronal benzodiazepine receptor binding in the brain by using pre-defined anatomical regions and a voxel-by-voxel technique. The group of patients with mild traumatic brain injury differed significantly (P =0.015) from the group of healthy volunteers in the distribution of benzodiazepine receptors. This methodological work suggests that a reference based template and a three-dimensional brain model help in regional analysis and quantification and could be useful in demonstrating permanent neuronal damage after head injury.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Risk of pancreatic cancer in workers exposed to chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents and related compounds: a meta-analysis.

This is a meta-analysis of occupational exposures to chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) solvents and pancreatic cancer, based primarily on studies that addressed exposure directly (agent studies) and secondarily on studies that reported data without verification of individual CHC exposures (job title studies), all of which were listed in databases for the period January 1969 to May 1998. Standardized extraction of data and double-checking of consistency of data extraction by five extractors were done. Simple random models estimated meta-relative risks. Suggestive weak excesses were found for trichloroethylene (meta-relative risk (MRR) = 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.79, 1.97), polychlorinated biphenyls (MRR = 1.37, 95% CI: 0.56, 3.31), methylene chloride (MRR = 1.42, 95% CI: 0.80, 2.53), and vinyl chloride (MRR = 1.17, 95% CI: 0.71, 1.91) but not for carbon tetrachloride. One study addressed tetrachloroethylene (MRR = 3.08, 95% CI: 0.63, 8.99); another investigated chlorohydrin production (MRR = 4.92, 95% CI: 1.58, 11.4). Exposure-response meta-analyses for trichloroethylene and methylene chloride failed to reveal trends. Job title studies on metal degreasing and dry cleaning revealed significant MRRs (2.0 and 1.4, respectively). Publication bias was unlikely. Confounding may have remained insufficiently controlled. Unless the results are seriously biased by exposure or endpoint misclassification or by confounding, strong causal associations between CHC compounds and pancreatic cancer can be judged unlikely. Interactions between environmental and occupational agents, lifestyle factors, and genetic susceptibility remain a possibility, but the data for this meta-analysis did not address interactions.

Canada↗
PubMed2001

Occupational exposures and cancers of the endometrium and cervix uteri in Finland.

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer incidence rates are low in Asia and Africa and high in North America and Northern Europe. Cervical cancer is often the most common female cancer in developing countries, and infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is its main risk factor. However, other factors, such as occupational exposures may modify the HPV-related risk. We conducted an exploratory register-linkage study in Finland to assess the role of occupational exposures on incidence rates of cancers of the endometrium and cervix uteri. METHODS: Occupational risk factors for endometrial and cervical cancers were explored in a 25-year follow-up of female workers born 1906-1945 (N = 413,877) identified through the Population Census of Finland of 1970. Job titles in census records were converted to exposures of 31 occupational agents through a job-exposure matrix. Poisson regression models estimated relative risks (RR) for each agent, standardized for birth cohort, follow-up period, and socio-economic status. For each agent, the product of level and probability of exposure was calculated and subdivided in three categories: zero, low, and medium/high. Adjustment at the job title level was done for the turnover rate (endometrial and cervical cancers), mean parity, and age at first birth (endometrial cancer). RESULTS: Endometrial cancer (2,833 cases) was associated with exposure to animal dust (RR 1.2, low level, 174 cases) and sedentary work (RR 1.3, high level, 145 cases). Cervical cancer (1,101 cases) was associated with exposure to aliphatic and alicyclic (RR 1.3, low level, 91 cases), aromatic (RR 1.2, low level, 318 cases; RR 1.4, high level, 41 cases), and chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents (RR 1.3, low level, 50 cases), silica dust (RR 1.2, low level, 251 cases), and wood dust (RR 1.2, low level, 249 cases). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that occupational exposures may be associated with increased risk of endometrial and cervical cancers.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Comparison of occupational exposure using three different methods: hygiene panel, job exposure matrix (JEM), and self reports.

This study was undertaken to compare the agreement of occupational exposure assessment by a panel of occupational hygienists with a job exposure matrix and self-reported exposures in a community-based case-control study. We also investigated the intra-rater reliability and degree of attenuation of the hypothetical odds ratio of the panel in retrospective chemical exposure assessment. A panel of three occupational hygienists was recruited to assess exposure to chemicals for 5,620 jobs. The agreement between the panel, a job exposure matrix (FINJEM), and the self-reported exposures was then assessed. A further 172 jobs were resubmitted to the panel to assess intra-rater reliability. The kappa for intra-rater reliability ranged from 0.60-0.71. The agreement between the panel and FINJEM ranged from 0.07 to 0.46 (for similar exposures), and agreement between the panel and among the self-reports ranged from 0.00 to 0.48. Agreement between hygienists when rating exposure to the same chemical ranged from 0.48 to 0.57. Based on these findings, the degree of exposure misclassification by the panel where the true odds ratio was 2 would result in the observed odds ratio ranging between 1.70 and 1.88. The results indicated good intra-rater reliability for the hygiene panel. However, the agreement among the panel, FINJEM, and self-reported exposures was found to be only poor to fair. The attenuation of the odds ratios due to exposure misclassification by the panel was variable and dependent upon the exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Are occupational, hobby, or lifestyle exposures associated with Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukaemia?

OBJECTIVES: To investigate a broad range of occupational, hobby, and lifestyle exposures, suggested as risk factors for Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). METHODS: A case-control study, comprising 255 Ph+CML patients from southern Sweden and matched controls, was conducted. Individual data on work tasks, hobbies, and lifestyle exposures were obtained by telephone interviews. Occupational hygienists assessed occupational and hobby exposures for each subject individually. Also, occupational titles were obtained from national registries, and group level exposure-that is, the exposure proportion for each occupational title-was assessed with a job exposure matrix. The effects of 11 exposures using individual data and two exposures using group data (organic solvents and animal dust) were estimated. RESULTS: For the individual data on organic solvents, an effect was found for moderate or high intensity of exposure (odds ratio (OR) 3.4, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.1 to 11) and for long duration (15-20 years) of exposure (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.0). By contrast, the group data showed no association (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.27 to 1.8; moderate or high intensity versus no exposure). For extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs), only individual data were available. An association with long occupational exposure to EMFs was found (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.5). However, no effect of EMF intensity was indicated. No significant effects of benzene, gasoline or diesel, or tobacco smoking were found. OR estimates below unity were suggested for personal use of hair dye and for agricultural exposures. CONCLUSIONS: Associations between exposure to organic solvents and EMFs, and Ph+CML were indicated but were not entirely consistent.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Occupational exposure to carcinogens in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic in 1997.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to estimate the numbers of workers exposed to carcinogens in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. METHODS: CAREX is an international information system on occupational exposure to 139 known and suspected carcinogens. It provides exposure data and estimates of the numbers of exposed workers by country, carcinogen, and industry. The CAREX method, which has been previously applied in the member states of the European Union, was applied in the present study to the exposure situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic in 1997. The preliminary estimates generated by CAREX were reviewed and revised by national experts mainly for asbestos, benzene, and lead, which were of special interest for this project. RESULTS: The numbers of workers exposed to carcinogens covered by CAREX in 1997 were about 180,000 (29% of employed persons) in Estonia, 260,000 (28% of employed persons) in Latvia, 470,000 (28% of employed persons) in Lithuania, and 1,400,000 (28% of employed persons) in the Czech Republic. The most common exposures were solar radiation (7-13% exposed at least 75% of the worktime), environmental tobacco smoke (4-5% exposed at least 75% of the worktime), wood dust (3-5% exposed), crystalline silica (2-3% exposed), diesel exhaust (2-3% exposed), radon and its decay products (2% exposed), benzene (0.9-1.7% exposed), and lead and inorganic lead compounds (0.8-1.4% exposed). Exposure to asbestos was slightly less prevalent (0.3-1.1% exposed). CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results indicate that a substantial proportion of the workers in the studied countries were exposed to carcinogens.

Carcinogens, Environmental↗
PubMed2001

Quantitation of neuroreceptors: a need for better SPECT imaging.

AIM: Existing methods to determine the binding potential in brain receptor and transporter studies with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) show a marked dependence on the physical performance of the scanner and on the regions of interest (ROIs) drawn. We examined the influence of the physical performance on the binding potential. METHOD: The authors tested three gamma cameras (single-, dual- and triple-head) and two reconstruction techniques (conventional filtered back-projection and iterative reconstruction method) to determine the binding potential in brain receptor studies. Both human and organ-like phantom studies were performed. RESULTS: The binding potential was completely dependent on the imaging resolution, on the reconstruction technique used and on the ROIs drawn. The results of the phantom study revealed that the striatum-to-cerebellum ratio was only 37% of the actual one for the single-head, 63% for the dual-head and 72% for the triple-head gamma camera. CONCLUSION: The multiple head gamma camera with fan-beam collimators and iterative reconstruction with the attenuation based scatter correction is an imaging system of choice which introduces clinically more relevant images and is able to distinguish smaller differences in radioactivity at early stage of disease. However, for quantitative purposes the improvement without the use of the recovery coefficient is not great enough to restore the binding potentials to those of the true ones.

Brain↗
PubMed2000

Pulmonary deposition of lactose carriers used in inhalation powders.

Dry powder dosage forms are generally formulated by mixing the micronized drug particles with the larger carrier particles. Lactose is a commonly used carrier. Carriers enhance the flowability of powder mixtures and therefore enable low dosing of active substances. During inhalation, the drug particles are dispersed from the surface of carrier particles. The aim of this study was to compare how different qualities of 99mTc-labelled lactose carrier systems deposit in the lungs. The sizes of the labelled and unlabelled alpha-lactose monohydrate particles were compared by using a laser diffraction method. Distribution of radiolabel between different particle size fractions was determined using the Andersen cascade impactor. The in vivo depositions of lactose carrier systems were investigated in ten healthy men using the technique of gammascintigraphy. In addition, redispersion of budesonide from the carrier materials was evaluated by using the Andersen cascade impactor. According to the validation data the particle size of the lactose carriers remained unchanged during the labelling process. Low pulmonary deposition varying between 2.5 and 3.3% was detected. Only a small amount of lactose was deposited in the lungs, thus pulmonary deposition is not a limiting factor for lactose selection. According to in vitro redispersion data the fine particle fraction of the delivered dose in the impactor varied between 10.3 and 26.0%. Thus, the redispersion of the budesonide particles can be altered by the properties of the carrier system.

Administration, Inhalation↗