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Objectives: An increased lung cancer risk associated with total dust exposure in the silicon carbide (SiC) industry has previously been reported. The aim of the present study was to examine the relative importance of specific exposure factors by using a comprehensive, historic job exposure matrix based on about 8000 measurements.Methods: Cumulative exposure to total and respirable dust, respirable quartz, cristobalite, and SiC particles and SiC fibres was assessed for 1687 long-term workers employed during 1913-2003 in the Norwegian SiC industry. Standardised incidence ratios for lung cancer, with follow-up during 1953-2008, were calculated stratified by cumulative exposure categories. Poisson regression analyses were performed using both categorised and log-transformed cumulative exposure variables.Results: The lung cancer incidence was about twofold increased at the highest level of exposure to each of the exposure factors (standardised incidence ratios 1.9-2.3 for all agents). Internal analyses showed associations between exposure level and lung cancer incidence for all investigated factors, but a significant trend only for total dust and cristobalite. In multivariate analyses, cristobalite showed the most consistent associations, followed by SiC fibres.Conclusions: The results indicated that crystalline silica in the form of cristobalite was the most important occupational exposure factor responsible for lung cancer excess in the Norwegian SiC industry. SiC fibres seemed to have an additional effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Increased mortality from asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema has previously been reported among workers in the silicon carbide (SiC) industry. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of specific exposure factors on mortality from obstructive lung diseases (OLD), using a newly revised job-exposure matrix.Materials and Methods: 1687 long-term workers employed in 1913-2003 in the Norwegian SiC industry were characterised with respect to cumulative exposure to quartz, cristobalite, SiC particles and SiC fibres. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for underlying causes of death, 1951-2007, were calculated stratified by category of cumulative exposure, and Poisson regression analyses of OLD were performed using cumulative exposure variables.Results: An increased total mortality (SMR 1.1, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.2) and increased mortality from cancer, non-malignant respiratory diseases and external factors, were observed. The SMR of OLD was increased at the highest level of cumulative exposure to all investigated exposure factors. In the internal analyses, a twofold increased risk of OLD was observed with increasing levels of cumulative exposure to SiC particles. In a multivariate model, SiC particles showed the most stable increased risk estimate when controlled for other exposure factors, among workers with less than 15 years of employment. Among workers with more than 15 years of employment, crystalline silica, primarily cristobalite, seemed to be the most important exposure factor.Conclusion: Exposure to SiC and crystalline silica may contribute to OLD development among SiC industry workers in different time windows, and possibly through different mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The neuro-central synchondrosis (NCS) is a physis responsible for the growth of the dorsal third of the vertebral body and neural arches. When the NCS of pigs is tethered to model scoliosis, stenosis also ensues. It is necessary to describe the NCS for future evaluation of its potential role in equine spinal cord compression and ataxia (wobbler syndrome)., Objectives: To describe the NCS, including when it and other physes closed in computed tomographic (CT) scans of the cervical spine of foals, due to its potential role in vertebral stenosis., Study Design: Post-mortem cohort study., Methods: The cervical spine of 35 cases, comprising both sexes and miscellaneous breeds from 153 gestational days to 438 days old, was examined with CT and physes scored from 6: fully open to 0: fully closed. The dorsal physis, physis of the dens and mid-NCS were scored separately, whereas the cranial and caudal NCS portions were scored together with the respective cranial and caudal vertebral body physes., Results: The NCS was a pair of thin physes located in a predominantly dorsal plane between the vertebral body and neural arches. The mid-NCS was closed in C1 from 115 days of age, and in C2-C7 from 38 days of age. The dorsal physis closed later than the NCS in C1, and earlier than the NCS in C2-C7. The dens physis was closed from 227 days of age. The cranial and caudal physes were closing, but not closed from different ages in the different vertebrae of the oldest cases., Main Limitations: Hospital population., Conclusions: The NCS was a thin physis that contributed mainly to height-wise growth, but also width- and length-wise growth of the vertebral body and neural arches. The mid-NCS was closed in all cervical vertebrae from 115 days of age. The NCS warrants further investigation in the pathogenesis of vertebral stenosis., (© 2024 The Authors. Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.)

We aimed to review the determinants of burnout onset in teachers. The study was conducted according to the PROSPERO protocol CRD42018105901, with a focus on teachers. We performed a literature search from 1990 to 2021 in three databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase. We included longitudinal studies assessing burnout as a dependent variable, with a sample of at least 50 teachers. We summarized studies by the types of determinant and used the MEVORECH tool for a risk of bias assessment (RBA). The quantitative synthesis focused on emotional exhaustion. We standardized the reported regression coefficients and their standard errors and plotted them using R software to distinguish between detrimental and protective determinants. A qualitative analysis of the included studies ( n = 33) identified 61 burnout determinants. The RBA showed that most studies had external and internal validity issues. Most studies implemented two waves (W) of data collection with 6-12 months between W1 and W2. Four types of determinants were summarized quantitatively, namely support, conflict, organizational context, and individual characteristics, based on six studies. This systematic review identified detrimental determinants of teacher exhaustion, including job satisfaction, work climate or pressure, teacher self-efficacy, neuroticism, perceived collective exhaustion, and classroom disruption. We recommend that authors consider using harmonized methods and protocols such as those developed in OMEGA-NET and other research consortia.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies firefighting as possibly carcinogenic to humans, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as carcinogens with sufficient evidence for development of melanoma in humans. We present a case report of a firefighter with melanoma and history of 33 years of occupational exposure. Based on the available epidemiological and toxicological evidence of association between being a firefighter and developing melanoma, melanoma was recognized by the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service as an occupational disease in our patient. In 2017, melanoma was acknowledged as an occupational disease in only 8 out of 28 surveyed European countries. Melanoma should be considered as a possible occupational disease among firefighters with a history of relevant exposure. Further recognition of the occupational exposures leading to increased risk of melanoma is still needed for preventive purposes., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.)

We aimed to review occupational burnout predictors, considering their type, effect size and role (protective versus harmful), and the overall evidence of their importance. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase were searched from January 1990 to August 2018 for longitudinal studies examining any predictor of occupational burnout among workers. We arranged predictors in four families and 13 subfamilies of homogenous constructs. The plots of z-scores per predictor type enabled graphical discrimination of the effects. The vote-counting and binomial test enabled discrimination of the effect direction. The size of the effect was estimated using Cohen's formula. The risk of bias and the overall evidence were assessed using the MEVORECH and GRADE methods, respectively. Eighty-five studies examining 261 predictors were included. We found a moderate quality of evidence for the harmful effects of the job demands subfamily (six predictors), and negative job attitudes, with effect sizes from small to medium. We also found a moderate quality of evidence for the protective effect of adaptive coping (small effect sizes) and leisure (small to medium effect sizes). Preventive interventions for occupational burnout might benefit from intervening on the established predictors regarding reducing job demands and negative job attitudes and promoting adaptive coping and leisure.

Objective: Ambient exposure to fine particles is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Associations between occupational particulate matter (PM) exposure and cardiovascular disease have been studied less. The objective of this study was to examine associations between PM exposure and endothelial function among workers in Norwegian smelters., Methods: We examined endothelial function with Endo-PAT equipment after a working day (WD) and on a day off (DO) in 59 furnace workers recruited from three metal smelters in Norway. The difference in baseline pulse amplitude (BPA) and reactive hyperemia index (RHI) between the 2 days was analysed in relation to individual exposure to PM < 250 nm (PM 250 ) or the respirable aerosol fraction of particles, and adjusted for relevant covariates., Results: The exposure to PM 250 ranged from 0.004 to 5.7 mg/m 3 . The mean BPA was significantly higher on WD relative to DO (772 vs. 535, p = 0.001). This difference was associated with PM concentrations among participants ≥ 34 years, but not among the younger workers. Reactive hyperemia was significantly lower on workdays relative to days off (1.70 vs. 1.84, p = 0.05). This difference was observed only among participants above the age 34. No associations with PM exposure were observed., Conclusions: PM exposure was associated with higher BPA among participants older than 34 years. BPA reflects microvessel pulsatility. Our results may indicate an age-dependent cardiovascular susceptibility to PM exposure. Endothelial function measured by RHI was reduced on WD among participants 34 years and older, but we found no associations between PM exposure and RHI.

Health practitioners and decision makers in the medical and insurance systems need knowledge on the work-relatedness of burnout. To gather the most reliable information regarding burnout diagnosis and recognition in Europe, we used an 8-item standard questionnaire sent by e-mail to occupational health specialists identified via the Network on the Coordination and Harmonization of European Occupational Cohorts (OMEGA-NET) within the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action. Participation rate was 100%, and the questionnaire was completed for 37 countries. In 14 (38%) countries burnout syndrome can be acknowledged as an occupational disease. However, only one country included burnout on the list of occupational diseases. The results showed a high variability in burnout diagnosis, in assessment of its work-relatedness, and in conditions allowing compensation of patients. These results reflect a lack of graded evidence on burnout and its determinants. The ongoing research on burnout conducted in the frame of the OMEGA-NET COST Action should be helpful through facilitating standardization of both existing and new data on burnout, a priority outcome requiring harmonization.

Air samples were collected by personal sampling with five stage Sioutas cascade impactors and respirable cyclones in parallel among tappers and crane operators in two manganese (Mn) alloy smelters in Norway to investigate PM fractions. The mass concentrations of PM collected by using the impactors and the respirable cyclones were critically evaluated by comparing the results of the parallel measurements. The geometric mean (GM) mass concentrations of the respirable fraction and the <10 μm PM fraction were 0.18 and 0.39 mg m(-3), respectively. Particle size distributions were determined using the impactor data in the range from 0 to 10 μm and by stationary measurements by using a scanning mobility particle sizer in the range from 10 to 487 nm. On average 50% of the particulate mass in the Mn alloy smelters was in the range from 2.5 to 10 μm, while the rest was distributed between the lower stages of the impactors. On average 15% of the particulate mass was found in the <0.25 μm PM fraction. The comparisons of the different PM fraction mass concentrations related to different work tasks or different workplaces, showed in many cases statistically significant differences, however, the particle size distribution of PM in the fraction <10 μm d(ae) was independent of the plant, furnace or work task.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between dust exposure and annual change in lung function among employees in Norwegian silicon carbide (SiC) plants using a quantitative job exposure matrix (JEM) regarding total dust., Methods: All employees, 20-55 years of age by inclusion (n=456), were examined annually for up to 5 years (1499 examinations). Spirometry was performed at each examination, and a questionnaire encompassing questions of respiratory symptoms, smoking status, job and smoking history, and present job held was completed. A JEM was constructed based on 1970 personal total dust exposure measurements collected during the study period. The association between lung function and total dust exposure was investigated using linear mixed models., Results: The annual change in forced expiratory volume (FEV) in one second per squared height, FEV1/height(2), per mg/m(3) increase in dust exposure was -2.3 (95% CI -3.8 to -0.79) (mL/m(2))×year(-1). In an employee of average height (1.79 m) and exposure (1.4 mg/m(3)) the estimated contribution to the annual change in FEV1 associated with dust was 10.4 mL/year. The annual change in FEV1/height(2) in current, compared with non-smokers was -1.9 (-7.2 to 3.4) (mL/m(2))×year(-1). The estimated overall annual decline in FEV1 among current and non-smokers in the highest exposed group was -91.2 (-124.3 to -58.1) (mL/m(2))×year(-1) and -49.0 (-80.2 to -17.8) (mL/m(2))×year(-1), respectively., Conclusions: Dust exposure, expressed by a quantitative JEM, was found to be associated with an increased yearly decline in FEV1 in employees of Norwegian SiC plants.

Purpose: We have investigated the association between respiratory symptoms and dust exposure among employees in 18 Norwegian smelters using a longitudinal design., Methods: All employees (N = 3,084) were examined annually for 5 years (12,996 health examinations). At each examination, the subjects reported if they had respiratory symptoms, coded as 1 (yes) or 0 (no), on a respiratory questionnaire. Symptom score was constructed as the sum of symptoms (0-5). Full-time workers in the production line were classified as line operators; subjects never exposed in the production line were regarded as non-exposed. The remaining individuals were classified as non-line operators. A job-exposure matrix regarding dust exposure was also available. Analyses of repeated measurements were performed using generalised linear mixed model with log-link (Poisson regression). Adjustments were made for overdispersion., Results: The mean age at inclusion was 39.0 years, and 89% were men. The median dust exposure in tertiles 1-3 was 0.19, 1.76 and 3.47 mg/m(3). The longitudinal analyses showed that the association between symptoms-score ratio (SSR) and job category was significantly stronger in dropouts compared with non-dropouts (p = 0.01). Among the dropouts, SSR was 1.61 (95% confidence interval: 1.27-2.05) and 1.39 (1.09-1.77) in line operators and non-line operators compared with non-exposed employees, respectively. The corresponding SSR for subjects who completed the study was 1.13 (1.01-1.27) and 1.12 (1.00-1.26), respectively. Similarly, among the dropouts, the SSR between the second and the first tertile was 1.28 (1.05-1.55) and 1.37 (1.13-1.66) between the third tertile and the first tertile., Conclusions: Line operators had more respiratory symptoms than non-exposed employees. This effect was significantly stronger in dropouts than in those who continued their jobs, indicating that there is a selection of subjects without respiratory symptoms in this industry.

The objective was to construct a retrospective job-exposure matrix (JEM) for the Norwegian silicon carbide industry. More than 3300 historical total dust measurements were available (1967-2005); however, there were few measurements of other agents. Total dust measurements were therefore used as the basis for the JEM, and a novel method was developed to estimate exposure to other agents. Multiple linear regression models were developed to describe historical exposure to total dust. Exposure estimates were extrapolated backward to periods without exposure data by adjustments for process and work-hour related changes. An exposure assessment study was performed where total dust was sampled in parallel with fibers or respirable dust. The respirable dust was analyzed for the content of quartz, cristobalite, and silicon carbide. Mixed-effect models were developed to estimate the exposure to these agents from total dust exposure, plant, and job group. Exposure to asbestos and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was assigned qualitatively. Multiple linear regression models of total dust described historical exposure best in the furnace department (R(2) (adj) = 0.49-0.74). Models in the other departments explained less variance (R(2) (adj) = 0.12-0.32). Exposure determinants and total dust explained a substantial proportion of the between- (70-100%) and within-worker (8.0-54%) variance in the mixed-effect models. The relative bias between available historical measurements and the estimated exposure to dust components varied between -39% (fiber) and 40% (quartz). However, corrections were not considered necessary due to limitations in the historical data. The component-specific metrices were sufficiently different from each other (r(Pearson) < 0.7), with the exception of total and respirable dust (r(Pearson) = 0.84) and total dust and cristobalite (r(Pearson) = 0.72), and will enable component-specific epidemiologic analyses in the future. Improved and less correlated estimates of exposure levels for the different components in the dust were obtained with the updated exposure assessment. Due to limitations in the measurement data, assumptions had to be made, especially in the period before 1967. [Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene for the following free supplemental resource: a file containing tables outlining multiple linear regression models for prediction of total dust exposure in the processing departments of Norwegian SiC producing plants, evaluation of the predictive abilities of the reduced total dust models, and mixed models for pedicting exposure to fibers and respirable quartz, cristobalite, non-fibrous silicon carbide and respirable dust from total dust exposure.].

We have investigated the association between the incidence of airflow limitation and occupational exposure. The employees (n = 3,924) were investigated annually during five years (n = 16,570) using spirometry. Exposure was classified using job category and a job exposure matrix. Airflow limitation was expressed using two indices: (i) as forced expiratory volume in one second/force vital capacity (FEV(1) /FVC) <0.7 and (ii) lower limit of normal (LLN). The incidence of airflow limitation was 21.2/1000 years(-1) and 15.1/1000 years(-1) using the fixed limit (0.7) and the LLN criterion, respectively. We found a dose-response relationship between the incidence of airflow limitation and tobacco consumption and with job-category in non-smokers. The associations between airflow limitation and covariates were independent of how airflow limitation was defined. The incidence of airflow limitation defined as FEV(l) /FVC <0.7 yielded higher incidence rates of airflow limitation than LLN. We found a significant association between the incidence of airflow limitation and occupational exposure in non-smokers., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Aims: To investigate the association between airflow limitation and occupational exposure and to compare a fixed limit with an age adjusted limit for airflow limitation., Methods: 3924 employees in 24 Norwegian smelters and related workplaces were investigated annually over 5 years (n=16, 570) using spirometry and a respiratory questionnaire on smoking habits and job category. Employees working full time on the production line were classified as line operators; subjects who never worked on the production line were regarded as non-exposed. A job exposure matrix (JEM) was available in most smelters. Airflow limitation was expressed as (i) forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity (FEV(1)/FVC ratio) <0.7 and (ii) FEV(1)/FVC ratio less than the lower limit of normal (LLN). Longitudinal analyses on the prevalence of airflow limitation were performed using a generalised linear mixed model., Results: The prevalence of airflow limitation was stable during follow-up. The OR of airflow limitation during follow-up was 1.24 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.50) in line operators compared with unexposed subjects for FEV(1)/FVC ratio <0.7 and 1.44 (1.14 to 1.81) for FEV(1)/FVC ratio

Objectives: A previous study among workers in the Norwegian silicon carbide industry, followed until 1996, revealed an excess incidence of lung and total cancer. The present study adds nine years of follow-up and focuses on cancer risk among short- and long-term workers, based on the assumption that these two groups have different exposure and lifestyle characteristics., Methods: The total cohort for this study comprised 2612 men employed for >6 months between 1913 and 2003. The follow-up period for cancer was 1953-2005. Short-term workers were defined as having <3 years of total employment in the industry. We estimated standardized incidence ratios (SIR) using national rates as the expected values., Results: Among the short-term workers, we observed an overall excess incidence of cancer [SIR 1.4, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.2-1.6], with an excess of lung cancer (SIR 2.6, 95% CI 1.9-3.5) as the most important contributing factor. The long-term workers also had an excess incidence of total cancer (SIR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.3) and lung cancer (SIR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.2). We also observed an increased risk of cancers at other sites, specifically among short-term workers., Conclusions: We observed an increased risk of cancer (especially in the lung but also at other sites) among both short- and long-term workers. Dust exposure in the silicon carbide industry may have contributed to the increased risk among long-term workers, whereas the increased risk among short-term workers may be due to a combination of occupational and lifestyle factors.