Cancer mortality and exposure to nickel and chromium compounds in a cohort of Italian electroplaters.

Background: Nickel and chromium-VI compounds are carcinogens for lung cancer, although it is still debated if there is an increased risk at low levels of exposure and for other cancers.

Methods: In a cohort of 2991 Italian electroplaters, a proportion of whom were exposed to low levels of nickel and/or chromium, cumulative exposure to their compounds was obtained by multiplying average concentrations of the metals in each electroplating tank by duration of employment in the company. The association of exposure to compounds with mortality was assessed by multivariable Cox models.

Is the Epworth Sleepiness Scale a useful tool for screening excessive daytime sleepiness in commercial drivers?

The significant social and economic impact of excessive daytime sleepiness makes sleep evaluation a primary medical need in commercial drivers. However, the best screening tool is still matter of debate. In our cohort of 221 commercial drivers, only ten (4.

[Mortality study in a cohort of workers employed in the hot working processing of plastics and rubber].

Objectives: to study mortality rates among workers in companies manufacturing thermoplastic and rubber articles (excluding tyres).

Design: cohort study.

Setting And Participants: the cohort includes 4,543 workers employed up to 2000 in 131 companies in the Province of Bologna (Emilia-Romagna Region, Northern Italy) exposed to emissions from hot processing of plastics (3,937) and rubber (606).

[Mortality study in metal electroplating workers in Bologna (Northern Italy)].

Aim: to investigate general and cause-specific mortality of workers exposed to metals and other chemicals in the electroplating industry in Bologna Province.

Materials And Methods: factory records of workers employed in 90 electroplating companies present in 1995 were used to build a cohort of subjects potentially exposed to carcinogenic and other substances in this industry, defined as "revised cohort", which was followed-up for mortality from 1960, or since first employment in an electroplating company if later, to 2008. Mortality risk was also examined separately in a subset of the cohort, composed of workers with at least one year of employment in electroplating, denominated "final cohort".