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To identify socioeconomic, disease‐related, and personal factors associated with participation in remote follow‐up in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Following the implementation of a patient‐reported outcome‐based remote follow‐up intervention in RA patients in Denmark, a cross‐sectional study was conducted among 775 prevalent patients. In 2019, an electronic questionnaire was sent to eligible RA patients, covering health literacy and patient experience regarding involvement and confidence with remote care. Questionnaire data were linked to nationwide registries regarding socioeconomic status, labor market affiliation, and comorbidity level. Associations between registry‐ and questionnaire‐based factors and remote follow‐up were analyzed using multiple logistic regression analysis. All 775 patients were included in the registry‐based analyses, but only 394 of 646 (61%) completed the questionnaire. No attachment to the labor market or low household income was associated with lower odds of remote follow‐up participation (odds ratio [OR] 0.53 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.34–0.83]) and (OR 0.69 [95% CI 0.48–1.00]). Further, a high level of comorbidity was associated with lower odds of remote follow‐up participation compared to a low/medium level of comorbidity (OR 0.53 [95% CI 0.34–0.81]). No association was found between health literacy and remote follow‐up, but remote follow‐up attendees reported more confidence in remote care (OR 1.33 [95% CI 1.21–1.47]). Participation in remote follow‐up was associated with attachement to the labor market, household income, degree of comorbidity, and confidence with remote care. Additional research is necessary to investigate whether a larger and more divergent group of RA patients should be considered for inclusion in remote follow‐up programs.

Wood dust is an established carcinogen also linked to several non malignant respiratory disorders. A major limitation in research on wood dust and its health effects is the lack of (historical) quantitative estimates of occupational exposure for use in general population-based case-control or cohort studies. The present study aimed to develop a multinational quantitative Job Exposure Matrix (JEM) for wood dust exposure using exposure data from several Northern and Central European countries. For this, an occupational exposure database containing 12653 personal wood dust measurements collected between 1978 and 2007 in Denmark, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom (UK) was established. Measurement data were adjusted for differences in inhalable dust sampling efficiency resulting from the use of different dust samplers and analysed using linear mixed effect regression with job codes (ISCO-88) and country treated as random effects. Fixed effects were the year of measurement, the expert assessment of exposure intensity (no, low, and high exposure) for every ISCO-88 job code from an existing wood dust JEM and sampling duration. The results of the models suggest that wood dust exposure has declined annually by approximately 8%. Substantial differences in exposure levels between countries were observed with the highest levels in the United Kingdom and the lowest in Denmark and Norway, albeit with similar job rankings across countries. The jobs with the highest predicted exposure are floor layers and tile setters, wood-products machine operators, and building construction labourers with geometric mean levels for the year 1997 between 1.7 and 1.9 mg/m3. The predicted exposure estimates by the model are compared with the results of wood dust measurement data reported in the literature. The model predicted estimates for full-shift exposures were used to develop a time-dependent quantitative JEM for exposure to wood dust that can be used to estimate exposure for participants of general population studies in Northern European countries on the health effects from occupational exposure to wood dust.

BackgroundLong-term environmental noise exposure has repeatedly been related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease at exposure levels as low as 35 dB(A). Occupational exposure levels are orders of magnitude higher than the environmental levels. We examined if blood pressure was increased during and subsequent to occupational noise exposure.MethodsWe studied 483 industrial, finance, and service workers selected as a random sample from 10 industrial trades and financial services between 2009 and 2010. For 24 hours, we recorded noise exposure levels every 5 s by personal dosimeters and measured ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate every 20–30 min. In mixed linear regression models, we assessed the acute and lagged effects of ambient noise exposure (LAEq)) on blood pressure and heart rate for work, leisure and night hours. For 319 workers, we estimated these effects for noise exposure at the ear accounting for hearing protection use. ResultsFull-shift occupational noise exposure levels ranged between 59–97 dB(A). Results of the regression models adjusted for sex, age, income, BMI, alcohol, tobacco, salt intake, and family history of hypertension suggest no relation between acute or lagged occupational noise exposure level and blood pressure levels for the industrial workers.ConclusionOccupational noise exposure showed no acute or lagged effects on blood pressure in industrial workers.