Cross sectional observation of the effects of carbon disulphide on arteriosclerosis in rayon manufacturing workers.

Abstract

Objective-A prospective cohort study was designed to clarify the relations between occupational exposure to carbon disulphide (CS 2 ) and its eVects on arteriosclerosis in workers in 11 Japanese rayon manufacturing factories. This report is a cross sectional baseline observation in the first study year. Methods-Study subjects were 432 male rayon workers (mean (range) age 35.5 (19.1-47.8); duration of exposure 13.4 (0.3-29.0)) and 402 male referent workers (age 35.8 (18.9-49.8)). Exposure to CS 2 was assessed by determining the concentration of 2-thiothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (TTCA) in urine. Mean (SD) TTCA was 3.42 (2.73) mg/g creatinine (Cr) (n=422). About a quarter of the urine samples were >5 mg/g Cr, a biological exposure index recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Health eVects on arteriosclerosis were evaluated by measuring blood pressure, serum lipids, pulse wave velocity of the aorta, stiVness and blood flow of the carotid artery, and blood coagulation and fibrinolysis indices, and by use of brain magnetic resonance imaging, electrocardiogram (at rest and after exercise), ophthalmograph, and Rose's questionnaire. Information on potential confounding factors was collected by self administered questionnaire. Results-Prevalence of microaneurysm of the retinal artery was significantly higher in workers exposed to CS 2 (8.1%) than in referent workers (3.4%), and increased with age. Other examinations did not show any diVerences between the two groups even after allowance for confounding factors. Conclusions-Significant eVects of CS 2 on arteriosclerosis were not found in current rayon manufacturing workers, with the exception of induction of microaneurysm of the retinal artery.

Critical review of the epidemiological literature on the potential cardiovascular effects of occupational carbon disulfide exposure

“…Eleven of these had at least one major weakness (see Table 2). Three included data on potential covariates, but reported only crude results [7,39,47]. Four used matching in the construction of the study populations, but reported unmatched analyses with no explanation [4,9,10,51].…”

“…Omae et al collected baseline information on a newly formed cohort of Japanese workers from 11 rayon factories [39] (Table 2). All study subjects were shift workers no more than 46 years old.…”

Lack of Relationship between Occupational Exposure to Carbon Disulfide and Endocrine Dysfunction: A Six‐year Cohort Study of the Japanese Rayon Workers

“…Details of the recruitment were given in a previous paper 6) . Briefly, workers exposed to CS 2 consisted of all workers from seven rayon staple fiber factories and about half of the workers randomly selected from four rayon filament fiber factories.…”

“…It remains to be clarified whether or not the current CS 2 exposure level is low enough to prevent the occurrence of CS 2 -related health impairment and/or to ameliorate health effects due to previous high exposure. We therefore started a prospective cohort study with all Japanese rayon factories using sensitive indicators of subclinical health changes and detailed exposure assessment in 1992, and evaluated the study subjects' health comprehensively, including cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, opthalmological, neurological, neurobehavioral, and endocrinological aspects 6,7) . CS 2 effects on the endocrine system have also been observed, including effects on adrenal 8) , thyroid [9][10][11] , hypophysis 9,11) and gonad 12) function, whereas it has also been reported that there is no relationship between thyroid, hypophysis, and gonad function and exposure to CS 2 8, 13) .…”

A Cross-sectional Observation of Effect of Exposure to N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP) on Workers' Health

“…The questionnaires also included psychological tests evaluating the moods of subjects. The scales used were (v) the selfrated depression scale (SDS) and (vi) the manifest anxiety scale (MAS) 30) .…”