Morbidity in retired coke oven plant workers

Mayer, Lucienne; Chau, Nearkasèn; Bertrand, J. P.; Guenzi, M; Patris, A.; Pham, Q T; Mur, J. M.; Moulin, J. J.

doi:10.1002/ajim.4700220308

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Smoking did not differ significantly between each exposed group and the non-exposed group. 17 37 231…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lung function in retired coke oven plant workers.

Chau¹,

Bertrand²,

Guenzi³

et al. 1992

Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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Lung function was studied in 354 coke oven plant workers in the Lorraine collieries (Houilleres du Bassin de Lorraine, France) who retired between 1963 and 1982 The aim of this work was to study the long term effect of occupational exposure on lung function in retired coke oven workers from the HBL. This work is part of a study on mortality and morbidity in survivors.'7 It continues a previous study carried out in 1983 on mortality which showed an excess of mortality from lung cancer (standardised mortality ratio (SMR) = 2 51) with reference to the French male population.'8 Material and methodsThe study sample consisted of all the male workers from the two coke oven plants who had retired between 1 January 1963 and 31 December 1982 (536 subjects) and who were still alive on 1 January 1988 (354 subjects). They were born between 1902 and 1935. Executives were excluded from the study.The subjects were asked to attend a medical examination at the firm's occupational health centre. The protocol included a standard questionnaire, conducted by the occupational physician, concerning diseases treated or followed up for more than five years (cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, infectious, and psychiatric diseases, traumas, cancers, etc), the questionnaire for the study of chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema of the European Steel and Coal Commission (ECSC) of the EC,'9 and the notion of "regular overconsumption" of alcoholic drink. Because of low numbers we did not distinguish between smokers and ex-smokers. The respiratory symptoms taken into account were chronic bronchitis defined by a daily cough and phlegm for three consecutive months each year over a period of two years, wheezing or chest noises heard daily, day and night, and dyspnoea classified into five stages.To be aware of the respiratory symptoms in the period nearing retirement we sought information 316 on 12 May 2018 by guest. Protected by copyright.

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“…Smoking did not differ significantly between each exposed group and the non-exposed group. 17 37 231…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All types combined 1-4 (1-8) 23-8 (8-2) 23-4 (7 9) 23-1 (9-9) 23 1 (9 1) 17 Comparison of means, comparison of frequencies, and homogeneity test between each exposed group and the non-exposed group (except for the duration of exposure where the difference is obvious). *p < 0 05.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lung function in retired coke oven plant workers.

Chau¹,

Bertrand²,

Guenzi³

et al. 1992

Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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“…However, they found an increased frequency of respiratory symptoms associated with the increased degree of bronchial hyperreactivity in coke oven workers. Mayer et al 13 reported the prevalence of cough, phlegm, wheeze, bronchitis, and exertional dyspnea in 354 retired coke oven workers in 1992. The effects of occupational exposure on these symptoms were not established in their study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Respiratory Symptoms and Lung Function of Coke Oven Workers: A Lung Function Surveillance System From 1990???2000

Kreis

Griffiths

et al. 2004

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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This study investigated the association of exposure to coke oven emissions with respiratory symptoms and with lung function. Data for respiratory symptoms and lung function were repeatedly collected from 764 male coke oven workers between 1990 and 2000. The data were analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Working in "Operation" increased the risk for cough (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37), phlegm (OR = 2.55), and shortness of breath (OR = 1.52). Cross-sectionally, each year of working in Operation was associated with a reduction in FEV1 of approximately 10 mL (P = 0.006) and in FVC of around 21 mL (P = 0.0001). From longitudinal analysis, each year of working in Operation was associated with an extra annual decline in FEV1 of 1.5 mL (P = 0.0012) and in FVC of around 1.8 mL (P = 0.0017). Exposure to coke oven emissions increased the risk for respiratory symptoms and adversely affected lung function.

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A Technique to Re-Assess Epidemiologic Evidence in Light of the Healthy Worker Effect: The Case of Firefighting and Heart Disease

Choi

2000

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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The healthy worker effect (HWE) is a bias that is believed to have strongly affected the validity of previous cohort mortality studies on the relationship between firefighting and heart disease. There is a strong healthy hired effect (a component of the HWE) among firefighters, owing particularly to the recruitment of nondiabetic candidates. This is shown in previous studies in which the reported standardized mortality ratios for diabetes are much less than unity, generally around 0.3 to 0.5. Because diabetes is known to increase the risk of heart disease, a deficit of diabetes among firefighters is expected to lead to a deficit of heart injury and disease. This would make the cohort mortality studies incapable of detecting any increase in risk of heart injury and disease among firefighters. There is also a strong healthy worker survivor effect (another component of the HWE) among firefighters. In addition, heart disease is a classic example of the HWE because heart disease is chronic and its risk factors can be identified in the selection process. It is believed that (1) a major problem of previous studies on firefighting and heart disease is their failure to recognize the importance of the HWE when interpreting their results, and (2) a technique to re-assess results in light of the HWE is urgently needed. This article addresses the generally accepted principles relating to the HWE, including its definition and sources, and proposes a technique for re-assessing the literature in light of the HWE. The technique was applied to carefully re-assess 23 studies that provided direct evidence for the relationship between firefighting and heart disease. Before the re-assessment, 7 of the 23 studies showed positive evidence and 16 showed no evidence. After the re-assessment, 11 studies showed positive evidence and 12 showed no evidence. Based on the results of the re-assessment of the 23 studies, we concluded that (1) there is strong evidence of an increased risk of death overall from heart disease among firefighters; (2) there is insufficient evidence, even after considering the HWE, that there is an increased risk of death from aortic aneurysm among firefighters; and (3) there is insufficient evidence, even after considering the HWE, for a relationship between firefighting and any heart disease subtype, such as acute myocardial infarction.

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Morbidity in retired coke oven plant workers

Cited by 4 publications

References 16 publications

Lung function in retired coke oven plant workers.

Lung function in retired coke oven plant workers.

Respiratory Symptoms and Lung Function of Coke Oven Workers: A Lung Function Surveillance System From 1990???2000

A Technique to Re-Assess Epidemiologic Evidence in Light of the Healthy Worker Effect: The Case of Firefighting and Heart Disease

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