Objectives: Dose-response associations between respirable dust exposure and respiratory symptoms and between symptoms and spirometry outcomes among currently employed and formerly employed South-African coal miners were investigated.
Methods: Work histories, interviews, and spirometry and cumulative exposure were assessed among 684 current and 212 ex-miners.
Results: Lower prevalences of symptoms were found among employed compared with ex-miners. Associations with increasing exposure for symptoms of phlegm and past history of tuberculosis were observed, whereas other symptom prevalences were higher in the higher exposure categories. Symptomatic ex-miners exhibited lower lung function compared to the nonsymptomatic.
Conclusions: Compared with published data, symptoms rates were low in current miners but high in ex-miners. Although explanations could include the low prevalence of smoking and/or reporting/selection bias, a "survivor" and/or a "hire" effect is more likely, resulting in an underestimation of the dust-related effect.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.jom.0000200875.99411.03 | DOI Listing |
Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 μm (PM) is a well-established health hazard. There is increasing evidence that geogenic (Earth-derived) particles can induce adverse biological effects upon inhalation, though there is high variability in particle bioreactivity that is associated with particle source and physicochemical properties. In this study, we investigated physicochemical properties and biological reactivity of volcanic ash from the April 2021 eruption of La Soufrière volcano, St.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Chem Toxicol
January 2025
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, PR China. Electronic address:
Flame retardant polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) accumulate in human bodies through food and dust ingestion, and cause neurobehavioral deficits with obscure mechanism. We aimed to investigate NMDAR-CaMKⅡγ-mediated synapse-to-nuclear communication involved in BDE-209-induced cognitive impairment, and alleviation from exogenous melatonin. Decreased NMDAR subunits GluN2A and 2B, autophosphorylation of CaMKⅡα, and postsynaptic GluA1 trafficking were observed in the hippocampus of juvenile rats after maternal BDE-209 exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biomech
January 2025
School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University & IEDT, Daegu, South Korea. Electronic address:
Cement dust is a primary contributor to air pollution and is responsible for causing numerous respiratory diseases. The impact of cement dust exposure on the respiratory health of residents is increasing owing to the demand for construction associated with urbanization. Long-term inhalation of cement dust leads to a reduction in lung function, alterations in airway structure, increased inhalation and exhalation resistance, and heightened work of breath.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The goal of this study was to determine the incidence of dementia before age 65 years in a prospective study of WTC responders, and compare incidence among responders with severe exposures to debris versus responders not exposed to building debris or those who wore personalized protective equipment (PPE).
Methods: Data were collected in a congressionally mandated academic occupation-based medical monitoring program available to all verified WTC-exposed responders residing on Long Island, NY, most of whom are currently <65 years of age. WTC responders aged ≤60 years without dementia at the time of their first cognitive assessment were followed every 18 months on average, for up to five years.
Background: World Trade Center (WTC) responders endured exposures to neurotoxic dust particulate matter. This neuroimaging study examined the presence of amyloidosis in Alzheimer's disease (AD) regions of interest (ROIs) and associations with exposure duration.
Method: Simultaneous positron-emission tomography with [F]-florbetaben and magnetic resonance neuroimaging was acquired on 34 middle aged WTC responders.
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