Harmonizing work history data in epidemiologic studies with overlapping employment records

Stenehjem, Jo Steinson; Babigumira, Ronnie; Friesen, Melissa C.; Grimsrud, Tom Kristian

doi:10.1002/ajim.22965

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…For each combination of exposure, job category and time period, the expert group chose between the following ratings: unlikely exposed = 0; possibly exposed = 1; probably exposed = 2, i.e., at least 50% of the workers within the job category were exposed; and probably exposed = 3, for those thought to have the highest exposure intensity. Overlapping employment periods for an individual were harmonised by collapsing jobs of the same category and splitting jobs of different categories into equal periods as described in Stenehjem et al [ 23 ]. Ever exposure was defined as a binary variable, where the unexposed workers were defined as those rated with unlikely exposure.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to benzene and other hydrocarbons and risk of bladder cancer among male offshore petroleum workers

et al. 2023

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Background Occupational exposures constitute the second leading cause of urinary bladder cancer after tobacco smoking. Increased risks have been found in the petroleum industry, but high-quality exposure data are needed to explain these observations. Methods Using a prospective case-cohort design, we analysed 189 bladder cancer cases (1999–2017) and 2065 randomly drawn non-cases from the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers cohort. Cases were identified in the Cancer Registry of Norway, while work histories (1965–1998) and lifestyle factors were recorded by questionnaire at baseline (1998). Occupational petroleum-related hydrocarbon exposures were assessed by expert-developed job-exposure matrices. Hazard ratios were estimated by weighted Cox-regressions, adjusted for age, tobacco smoking, education, and year of first employment, and with lagged exposures. Results Increased risks were found in benzene-exposed workers, either long-term exposure (≥18.8 years, HR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.14–3.13; p-trend = 0.044) or high-level cumulative benzene exposure (HR = 1.60, 95% CI: 0.97–2.63; p-trend = 0.065), compared with the unexposed. Associations persisted with 20-year exposure lag. No associations were found with skin or inhalation exposure to crude oil, mineral oil (lubrication, hydraulics, turbines, drilling), or diesel exhaust. Conclusions The results suggest that exposures in the benzene fraction of the petroleum stream may be associated with increased bladder cancer risk.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to benzene and other hydrocarbons and risk of bladder cancer among male offshore petroleum workers

et al. 2023

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“… 25 Overlapping employment records were harmonized by collapsing jobs of the same category and by splitting jobs of different categories into equal periods, according to a previous method. 26 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Night shift work and risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort

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Liu

Grimsrud

et al. 2022

International Journal of Epidemiology

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Background Night shift work may acutely disrupt the circadian rhythm, with possible carcinogenic effects. Prostate cancer has few established risk factors though night shift work, a probable human carcinogen, may increase the risk. We aimed to study the association between night shift work and chlorinated degreasing agents (CDAs) as possible endocrine disrupters in relation to aggressive prostate cancer as verified malignancies. Methods We conducted a case-cohort study on 299 aggressive prostate cancer cases and 2056 randomly drawn non-cases in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers cohort (1965–98) with linkage to the Cancer Registry of Norway (1953–2019). Work history was recorded as years with day, night, and rollover (rotating) shift work, and CDA exposure was assessed with expert-made job-exposure matrices. Weighted Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for aggressive prostate cancer, adjusted for education and year of first employment, stratified by 10-year birth cohorts, and with 10, 15, and 20 years of exposure lag periods. Results Compared with day work only, an increased hazard of aggressive prostate cancer (HR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.18–2.91; P-trend = 0.046) was found in workers exposed to ≥19.5 years of rollover shift work. This persisted with longer lag periods (HR = 1.90, 95% CI 0.92–3.95; P-trend = 0.007). The exposure-hazard curve for a non-linear model increased linearly (HRs ≥1.00) for 18–26 years of rollover shift work. No association was found with CDA exposure. Conclusions Long-term exposure to rollover shift work may increase the hazard of aggressive prostate cancer in offshore petroleum workers.

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“…The process of harmonising overlapping employment records was handled by collapsing jobs within the same category and by splitting jobs of different categories into proportionally equal parts, according to a method described previously. 34 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We handled work history data of 514 female subcohort members and 86 cases who reported up to eight employments each. The process of harmonising overlapping employment records was handled by collapsing jobs within the same category and by splitting jobs of different categories into proportionally equal parts, according to a method described previously 34…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Night shift work, chemical coexposures and risk of female breast cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort: a prospectively recruited case-cohort study

et al. 2022

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ObjectivesThis study examined the association between night shift work and risk of breast cancer, overall and by hormone receptor subtype, among females in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort. We also examined the association of coexposure (chlorinated degreasers and benzene) and breast cancer risk, and possible interaction with work schedule.DesignProspectively recruited case-cohort study within the NOPW cohort.SettingFemale offshore petroleum workers active on the Norwegian continental shelf.Participants600 female workers (86 cases and 514 non-cases) were included in the study. We excluded workers that died or emigrated before start of follow-up, had missing work history, were diagnosed with breast cancer or other prior malignancy (except non-melanoma skin cancer) before start of follow-up.ResultsNo overall association was found between breast cancer risk and work schedule (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.46 for work schedule involving night shift vs day shift only). There was no significant association between work schedule and risk of any breast cancer subtype. No significant interactions were found between work schedule and chemical coexposures (breast cancer overall Pinteraction chlorinated degreasers=0.725 and Pinteraction benzene=0.175).ConclusionsOur results did not provide supporting evidence that work schedule involving night shift affects breast cancer risk in female offshore petroleum workers, but should be considered cautiously due to few cases. Further studies with larger sample sizes are warranted.

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Harmonizing work history data in epidemiologic studies with overlapping employment records

Abstract: Background: Work history data often require major data management including handling of overlapping jobs to avoid overestimating exposure before linkage to jobexposure matrices (JEMs) is possible.

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

Exposure to benzene and other hydrocarbons and risk of bladder cancer among male offshore petroleum workers

Exposure to benzene and other hydrocarbons and risk of bladder cancer among male offshore petroleum workers

Night shift work and risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort

Night shift work, chemical coexposures and risk of female breast cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort: a prospectively recruited case-cohort study

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