BackgroundTo determine the relationships of potential occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs with cancer incidence and adverse pregnancy outcomes in a historical prospective cohort study of female registered nurses (RNs) from British Columbia, Canada (BC).MethodsFemale RNs registered with a professional regulatory body for at least one year between 1974 and 2000 formed the cohort (n = 56,213). The identifier file was linked to Canadian cancer registries. An RN offspring cohort from 1986 was created by linkages with the BC Birth and Health Status Registries. Exposure was assessed by work history in oncology or cancer agencies (method 1) and by estimating weighted duration of exposure developed from a survey of pharmacists and nursing unit administrators of all provincial hospitals and treatment centers and the work history of the nurses (method 2). Relative risks (RR) were calculated using Poisson regression for cancer incidence and odds ratios (OR) were calculated for congenital anomaly, stillbirth, low birth weight, and prematurity incidence, with 95% confidence intervals.ResultsIn comparison with other female RNs, method 1 revealed that RNs who ever worked in a cancer center or in an oncology nursing unit had an increased risk of breast cancer (RR = 1.83; 95% CI = 1.03 - 3.23, 12 cases) and their offspring were at risk for congenital anomalies of the eye (OR = 3.46, 95% CI = 1.08 - 11.14, 3 cases). Method 2 revealed that RNs classified as having the highest weighted durations of exposure to antineoplastic drugs had an excess risk of cancer of the rectum (RR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.07 - 3.29, 14 cases). No statistically significant increased risks of leukemia, other cancers, stillbirth, low birth weight, prematurity, or other congenital anomalies in the RNs' offspring were noted.ConclusionsFemale RNs having had potential exposure to antineoplastic drugs were not found to have an excess risk of leukemia, stillbirth, or congenital anomalies in their offspring, with the exception of congenital anomalies of the eye, based on only three cases; however, elevated risks of breast and rectal cancer were observed.
In this study, where both exposures and outcomes were assessed objectively, certain congenital anomalies were associated with estimated anesthetic gas exposure.
Within the limitations of this analysis, gender differences in respiratory health, as suggested by population-based studies, were confirmed in our analysis of occupational health studies, with the general type of exposure, organic or inorganic, generally determining the extent of differences. The higher risks for women compared to men for shortness of breath were robust regardless of work exposure category, with the highest odds ratios found for asthma.
The study explores in vitro by circular dichroism and mass spectrometry the effects of pH, Cu+2 ions and sheet-breakers on the secondary structures and self-aggregation of beta-amyloid peptides [Abeta43, Abeta42 and Abeta40] of Alzheimer's disease. Within pH 5.4-7.3, more sheet structures and aggregates containing up to 11 peptide units were observed. Cu+2 ions led to oxidative degradation or aggregation depending on its concentration and time of incubation. beta-sheet breakers can reverse the self-aggregation process, suggesting their potential therapeutic use.
variety of chemicals inherent to occupational environments have the potential to influence prenatal development, resulting in such adverse birth outcomes as congenital anomalies, stillbirths, low birth weight, and prematurity. 1-4 A congenital anomaly is any structural (most common), functional, or biochemical abnormality that is present at birth. 5 Approximately 15-25% of congenital anomalies are due to known genetic conditions (e.g., chromosomal anomalies) and the remaining cases are suspected to have some degree of environmental influence. 5 Health care workers are exposed to a variety of workplace hazards that can result in adverse reproductive outcomes. 6 There are more than 2.5 million registered nurses employed in the US 7 and 250,000 in Canada, 8 who are potentially exposed to suspected reproductive hazards including anaesthetic gases, antineoplastic drugs, ionizing radiation, sterilizing agents, disinfectants, and infectious agents. 9,10 There are numerous case reports describing individual occupational health hazards in the nursing professions, but epidemiological evidence of reproductive risks related to occupational hazards for nurses is relatively scarce. A registry-based cohort study of nurses in Norway during 1970-1973 showed that first-born children of mothers who were nurses had an elevated relative risk of malformations compared to non-working mothers. 11 A data linkage study completed in Atlanta, Georgia comparing cases of birth defects with geographic and race matched healthy controls showed that offspring of mothers employed within the nursing field had a modest increased risk of birth defects. 12 Conversely, two studies noted a lower proportion of birth defects in offspring of nurses compared to reference populations. 13,14 The aims of our study were to determine: a) if a cohort of female RNs in the province of British Columbia (BC), in comparison to the general BC population, had an elevated prevalence of congenital anomalies, stillbirths, low birth weight and prematurity in their offspring and b) whether certain maternal and infant characteristics were associated with these outcomes. METHODS The design of the study involved linking administrative data to a retrospective cohort of RNs in BC. In 2003, we obtained data on 56,176 RNs who were registered for at least one year with their
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