Occupation and occurrence of respiratory infections among adults with newly diagnosed asthma.

Background: Work environments are potential areas for spreading respiratory infections. We hypothesized that certain occupations increase susceptibility to respiratory infections among adults with asthma. Our objective was to compare the occurrence of respiratory infections among different occupations in adults with newly diagnosed asthma.

Effects of occupational exposures on respiratory health in steel factory workers.

Background: The steel factory work environment contains various chemical exposures that can affect indoor air quality and have impact on respiratory health of the workers.

Aims: The objective of this study was to assess potential effects of occupational exposures in steel factory workers in Iran on the respiratory symptoms, occurrence and the lung function levels.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study of 133 men working in a steel factory forming the exposed group and 133 male office workers forming the reference group from a steel company in Iran.

Subtypes of Adult-Onset Asthma at the Time of Diagnosis: A Latent Class Analysis.

Introduction: Only a few previous studies have investigated the subtypes of adult-onset asthma. No previous study has assessed whether these subtypes are different between men and women, or whether these subtypes have different risk factors.

Methods: We applied latent class analyses to the Finnish Environment and Asthma Study population, including 520 new cases of adult-onset asthma.

Do hospital workers experience a higher risk of respiratory symptoms and loss of lung function?

Background: Hospital work environment contains various biological and chemical exposures that can affect indoor air quality and have impact on respiratory health of the staff. The objective of this study was to investigate potential effects of occupational exposures on the risk of respiratory symptoms and lung function in hospital work, and to evaluate potential interaction between smoking and occupational exposures.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 228 staff members in a hospital and 228 employees of an office building as the reference group in Shiraz, Iran.

Different effects of smoking on atopic and non-atopic adult-onset asthma.

Background: Both tobacco smoking and atopy increase the risk of adult-onset asthma. We studied if there are differences in the effects of smoking on the risks of atopic and non-atopic adult-onset asthma, and if gender modifies these effects.

Methods: The Finnish Environment and Asthma Study (FEAS) includes 521 incident cases of adult-onset asthma and 932 population-based controls, aged 21 to 63 years, recruited from a geographically defined area of Pirkanmaa, South Finland.

Occupation and subcategories of asthma: a population-based incident case-control study.

Background: We hypothesised that occupational exposures differently affect subtypes of adult-onset asthma.

Objective: We investigated potential relations between occupation and three subtypes of adult asthma, namely atopic asthma, non-atopic asthma and asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS).

Methods: This is a population-based case-control study of incident asthma among working-age adults living in Pirkanmaa Hospital District in Southern Finland.

Occupational exposures and respiratory symptoms and lung function among hairdressers in Iran: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Exposures at hairdressers' work have been reported to lead to an increased risk of several health outcomes. The present study aimed to investigate the relations between occupational exposures and respiratory symptoms and lung function among hairdressers in Iran.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare potential respiratory effects among 140 women working as hairdressers to such effects among 140 women working as office workers (administrative personnel).

Occurrence of respiratory symptoms and lung function deficits among fruit and vegetable market workers.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the potential effects of occupational exposures among fruit and vegetable market workers on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms and on the level of lung function parameters.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 140 men working as fruit and vegetable market workers (response rate 100%) and a reference group of 77 male office workers as the reference group (response rate 55%) from Shiraz, Iran. The outcomes of interest included occurrence of respiratory symptoms assessed by a standard respiratory questionnaire and lung function assessed by spirometry.

Indoor mold odor in the workplace increases the risk of Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome: a population-based incident case-control study.

Background: Previous studies have suggested an increased risk of asthma related to indoor dampness problems, but their role in the etiology of Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome has not been studied. We utilized a population-based incident case-control study to assess potential effect of indoor dampness and molds at home and at work on development of ACOS.

Methods: We recruited systematically all new cases of asthma diagnosed during a 2.

Smoking and lung function among adults with newly onset asthma.

Introduction: Smoking increases the risk of asthma and reduces lung function among subjects with and without asthma. We assessed the effects of smoking on lung function reflecting both central and small airways among adults with newly onset asthma.

Methods: In a population-based study, 521 (response rate 86%) working-aged adults with clinically defined newly diagnosed asthma answered a questionnaire on personal smoking and other factors potentially influencing lung function, and performed spirometry.

The synergistic effect of heredity and exposure to second-hand smoke on adult-onset asthma.

Rationale: Identification of the subpopulation especially susceptible to the adverse effects of second-hand smoke exposure (SHS) would be useful for preventive actions and interventions.

Objectives: To investigate whether asthmatic heredity indicates susceptibility to the effects of SHS on the risk of adult-onset asthma.

Methods: A population-based incident case-control study of clinically defined adult-onset asthma and randomly drawn control subjects (adults 21-63 yr old) from a geographically defined area in South Finland.

Novel loci for adiponectin levels and their influence on type 2 diabetes and metabolic traits: a multi-ethnic meta-analysis of 45,891 individuals.

Circulating levels of adiponectin, a hormone produced predominantly by adipocytes, are highly heritable and are inversely associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and other metabolic traits. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in 39,883 individuals of European ancestry to identify genes associated with metabolic disease. We identified 8 novel loci associated with adiponectin levels and confirmed 2 previously reported loci (P = 4.

A genome-wide association search for type 2 diabetes genes in African Americans.

African Americans are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes (T2DM) yet few studies have examined T2DM using genome-wide association approaches in this ethnicity. The aim of this study was to identify genes associated with T2DM in the African American population. We performed a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) using the Affymetrix 6.

Full-length visfatin levels are associated with inflammation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common gynaecological endocrinopathy characterized by oligomenorrhea, amenorrhoea, clinical and/or biochemical hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries. Abdominal deposition of excess body fat and metabolic diseases like insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia are commonly observed in PCOS subjects. It has been suggested that visfatin is an adipokine secreted from the abdominal fat influencing glucose metabolism and might therefore contribute to the metabolic disturbances in PCOS.

Association of IL-6 and IL-6R gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to respiratory tract infections in young Finnish men.

Interleukin-1 (IL-6) is an important mediator of inflammatory response in the respiratory tract during an infection, and the action of IL-6 is mediated by an IL-6 receptor. Several polymorphisms in the IL-6 and IL-6R genes have been associated with different inflammatory disease states. We studied the association between 2 IL-6 (IL6A and IL6B) and 5 IL-6R gene polymorphisms (IL6R1 to IL6R5) and respiratory infections in 511 Finnish military recruits whose respiratory infectious episodes were followed during 6 months of service.

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR.

Quantification of Chlamydia pneumoniae in cultured human macrophages and HL cells: comparison of real-time PCR, immunofluorescence and ELISA methods.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is an intracellular gram-negative bacterium, which replicates only in eukaryotic cells. Quantification of C. pneumoniae in cell culture is needed when studying e.

Smoking status interacts with the association between mannose-binding lectin serum levels and gene polymorphism and the carriage of oropharyngeal bacteria.

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) role in the carriage of oropharyngeal bacteria is not known. We investigated the association of smoking, MBL2 polymorphisms, and MBL concentrations with oropharyngeal carriage of respiratory bacteria in young men. Oropharyngeal specimens, MBL concentrations, and MBL2 gene polymorphisms were measured in 124 asthmatic and 394 nonasthmatic Finnish military recruits.

Low mannose-binding lectin levels and MBL2 gene polymorphisms associate with Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies.

Objective: Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) has been shown to inhibit infection of host cells by Chlamydia pneumoniae in vitro. We studied if MBL levels and MBL2 polymorphisms associate with the presence of C. pneumoniae antibodies in vivo.

Chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (cLPS) is present in atherosclerotic and aneurysmal arterial wall--cLPS levels depend on disease manifestation.

Background: The role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in peripheral atherosclerosis disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains unclear. Chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (cLPS) detection is a method used conventionally in routine chlamydial diagnosis of gynecological or ophthalmic samples.

Methods: We compared cLPS concentrations, as well as other markers of bacterial load, in plaques and sera of patients operated on for carotid artery stenosis (n=110), aorto-occlusive disease (n=22), or AAAs (n=50) at the Helsinki University Central Hospital.

Chlamydial LPS and high-sensitivity CRP levels in serum are associated with an elevated body mass index in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Objective: Seropositivity for Chlamydia pneumoniae has been associated with an elevated body mass index (BMI). Our aim was to study if serum chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (cLPS), C. pneumoniae antibodies and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are associated with BMI.

Mannose-binding lectin concentrations, MBL2 polymorphisms, and susceptibility to respiratory tract infections in young men.

Background: Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is an important component of innate immunity, and its deficiency is associated with susceptibility to recurrent infections.

Methods: This exploratory study investigated the association of serum MBL concentrations and MBL2 gene polymorphisms with respiratory tract infections in young men. We genotyped 6 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region (alleles H/L, X/Y, and P/Q) and exon 1 (variant alleles B, C, and D and wild-type allele A) of the MBL2 gene by real-time polymerase chain reaction and measured serum MBL concentrations in 111 Finnish military recruits with asthma and 362 without.