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Shen CT, Hsieh HM, Chuang YS, Pan CH, Wu MT. Breast Cancer Incidence among Female Workers by Different Occupations and Industries: A Longitudinal Population-Based Matched Case-Control Study in Taiwan. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:10352. [PMID: 36011986 PMCID: PMC9408650 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191610352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer incidence worldwide and in Taiwan. The relationship between breast cancer and occupational types remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate lifetime breast cancer incidence by different occupational industries among female workers in Taiwan. METHODS A population-based retrospective case-control study was conducted using three nationwide population-based databases. Matched case and control groups were identified with 1-to-4 exact matching among 103,047 female workers with breast cancer diagnosed in 2008-2017 and those without breast cancer. Their lifetime labor enrollment records were tracked using the National Labor Insurance Database, 1950-2017. Conditional logistic regression was used to analyze the association between types of occupational industries and risk of incident breast cancer. RESULTS Our study found slightly significant breast cancer risk among the following major occupational classifications: manufacturing (OR: 1.027, 95% CI: 1.011-1.043); wholesale and retail trade (OR: 1.068, 95% CI: 1.052-1.084); information and communication (OR: 1.074, 95% CI: 1.043-1.105); financial and insurance activities (OR: 1.109, 95% CI: 1.086-1.133); real estate activities (OR: 1.050, 95% CI: 1.016-1.085); professional, scientific, and technical activities (OR: 1.118, 95% CI: 1.091-1.145); public administration, defense, and social security (OR: 1.054, 95% CI: 1.023-1.087), education (OR: 1.199, 95% CI: 1.168-1.230); and human health and social work activities (OR: 1.125, 95% CI: 1.096-1.156). CONCLUSIONS Greater percentages of industrial occupations (i.e., manufacturing, wholesale and retail, or health professionals) were associated with slightly increased breast cancer risk. Further studies should investigate the possible risk factors among female workers in those industries with slightly higher incidence of breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Ting Shen
- Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
| | - Hui-Min Hsieh
- Department of Public Health, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
- Department of Community Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
- Center for Big Data Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
- Research Center for Precision Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
| | - Yun-Shiuan Chuang
- Center for Big Data Research, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
- Research Center for Precision Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
- Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Hong Pan
- Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Labor, Taipei 40767, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Tsang Wu
- Research Center for Precision Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
- Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
- Department of Public Health and PhD Program in Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
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Pedersen JE, Hansen J. Employment and risk of female breast cancer in Denmark. Am J Ind Med 2022; 65:343-356. [PMID: 35267219 DOI: 10.1002/ajim.23342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Occupational exposures may play a role in breast cancer etiology, and research focusing on identifying high-risk workplaces is important to advance the understanding and prevention of breast cancer. METHODS We undertook a population-based nested case-control study among women who were less than 70 years of age and born in Denmark, based on registry data including 38,375 breast cancer cases and 191,875 controls matched on year of birth, with information on lifetime work history. Odds ratios for women ever employed in a job branch were adjusted for socioeconomic status and reproductive variables. RESULTS Adjusted odds ratios of less than 0.75 were observed for several occupations in agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing, while increased risk patterns (odds ratios greater than 1.50) were noted for a number of production occupations, including employment in graphics and printing, and metal and machinery production. In services, several military professions were also associated with a high increased breast cancer risk. CONCLUSIONS The study shows a variation in the risk of female breast cancer by employment in different industrial and occupational sectors, and suggests that certain occupational exposures, for example, outdoor work, organic solvents, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and night-shift work may play a role in the risk of breast cancer. Further hypothesis-testing studies focusing on these employments with a detailed assessment of specific occupational exposures are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie E. Pedersen
- Danish Cancer Society Research Center Danish Cancer Society Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Johnni Hansen
- Danish Cancer Society Research Center Danish Cancer Society Copenhagen Denmark
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Estimation of Occupational Exposure to Asbestos in Italy by the Linkage of Mesothelioma Registry (ReNaM) and National Insurance Archives. Methodology and Results. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17031020. [PMID: 32041124 PMCID: PMC7037801 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17031020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 01/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The identification and monitoring of occupational cancer is an important aspect of occupational health protection. The Italian law on the protection of workers (D. Leg. 81/2008) includes different cancer monitoring systems for high and low etiologic fraction tumors. Record linkage between cancer registries and administrative data is a convenient procedure for occupational cancer monitoring. We aim to: (i) Create a list of industries with asbestos exposure and (ii) identify cancer cases who worked in these industries. The Italian National Mesothelioma Registry (ReNaM) includes information on occupational asbestos exposure of malignant mesothelioma (MM) cases. We developed using data from seven Italian regions a methodology for listing the industries with potential exposure to asbestos linking ReNaM to Italian National Social Security Institute (INPS) data. The methodology is iterative and adjusts for imprecision and inaccuracy in reporting firm names at interview. The list of asbestos exposing firms was applied to the list of cancer cases (all types associated or possibly associated with asbestos according to International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) monograph 100C) in two Italian regions for the indication of possible asbestos exposure. Eighteen percent of the cancer cases showed at least one work period in firms potentially exposing to asbestos, 48% of which in regions different from where the cases lived at diagnosis. The methodology offers support for the preliminary screening of asbestos exposing firms in the occupational history of cancer cases.
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Elser H, Falconi AM, Bass M, Cullen MR. Blue-collar work and women's health: A systematic review of the evidence from 1990 to 2015. SSM Popul Health 2018; 6:195-244. [PMID: 30417066 PMCID: PMC6215057 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the implications of gender and sex differences for health risks associated with blue-collar work, adverse health outcomes among blue-collar workers has been most frequently studied among men. The present study provides a "state-of-the-field" systematic review of the empiric evidence published on blue-collar women's health. We systematically reviewed literature related to the health of blue-collar women published between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2015. We limited our review to peer-reviewed studies published in the English language on the health or health behaviors of women who were presently working or had previously worked in a blue-collar job. Studies were eligible for inclusion regardless of the number, age, or geographic region of blue-collar women in the study sample. We retained 177 studies that considered a wide range of health outcomes in study populations from 40 different countries. Overall, these studies suggested inferior health among female blue-collar workers as compared with either blue-collar males or other women. However, we noted several methodological limitations in addition to heterogeneity in study context and design, which inhibited comparison of results across publications. Methodological limitations of the extant literature, alongside the rapidly changing nature of women in the workplace, motivate further study on the health of blue-collar women. Efforts to identify specific mechanisms by which blue-collar work predisposes women to adverse health may be particularly valuable in informing future workplace-based and policy-level interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Elser
- School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology, University of California, Berkeley, 50 University Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - April M. Falconi
- Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences, Stanford University, 1070 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, United States
| | - Michelle Bass
- Population Research Librarian, Lane Medical Library & Knowledge Management Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Dr L109, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Mark R. Cullen
- Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences, Stanford University, 1070 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, United States
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Rodgers KM, Udesky JO, Rudel RA, Brody JG. Environmental chemicals and breast cancer: An updated review of epidemiological literature informed by biological mechanisms. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2018; 160:152-182. [PMID: 28987728 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.08.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 230] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Revised: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 08/29/2017] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many common environmental chemicals are mammary gland carcinogens in animal studies, activate relevant hormonal pathways, or enhance mammary gland susceptibility to carcinogenesis. Breast cancer's long latency and multifactorial etiology make evaluation of these chemicals in humans challenging. OBJECTIVE For chemicals previously identified as mammary gland toxicants, we evaluated epidemiologic studies published since our 2007 review. We assessed whether study designs captured relevant exposures and disease features suggested by toxicological and biological evidence of genotoxicity, endocrine disruption, tumor promotion, or disruption of mammary gland development. METHODS We systematically searched the PubMed database for articles with breast cancer outcomes published in 2006-2016 using terms for 134 environmental chemicals, sources, or biomarkers of exposure. We critically reviewed the articles. RESULTS We identified 158 articles. Consistent with experimental evidence, a few key studies suggested higher risk for exposures during breast development to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dioxins, perfluorooctane-sulfonamide (PFOSA), and air pollution (risk estimates ranged from 2.14 to 5.0), and for occupational exposure to solvents and other mammary carcinogens, such as gasoline components (risk estimates ranged from 1.42 to 3.31). Notably, one 50-year cohort study captured exposure to DDT during several critical windows for breast development (in utero, adolescence, pregnancy) and when this chemical was still in use. Most other studies did not assess exposure during a biologically relevant window or specify the timing of exposure. Few studies considered genetic variation, but the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project reported higher breast cancer risk for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in women with certain genetic variations, especially in DNA repair genes. CONCLUSIONS New studies that targeted toxicologically relevant chemicals and captured biological hypotheses about genetic variants or windows of breast susceptibility added to evidence of links between environmental chemicals and breast cancer. However, many biologically relevant chemicals, including current-use consumer product chemicals, have not been adequately studied in humans. Studies are challenged to reconstruct exposures that occurred decades before diagnosis or access biological samples stored that long. Other problems include measuring rapidly metabolized chemicals and evaluating exposure to mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M Rodgers
- Silent Spring Institute, 320 Nevada Street, Newton, MA 02460, United States.
| | - Julia O Udesky
- Silent Spring Institute, 320 Nevada Street, Newton, MA 02460, United States.
| | - Ruthann A Rudel
- Silent Spring Institute, 320 Nevada Street, Newton, MA 02460, United States.
| | - Julia Green Brody
- Silent Spring Institute, 320 Nevada Street, Newton, MA 02460, United States.
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Bena A, Farina E, Demaria M, Cadum E. Mortality study of employees at a chemical manufacturing plant using administrative databases. Am J Ind Med 2016; 59:866-76. [PMID: 27265429 DOI: 10.1002/ajim.22617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study investigated mortality in a cohort of 1,988 male workers at a chemical manufacturing plant (1981-2011) and evaluated the quality of the results obtained using administrative databases. METHODS Information about the workers was obtained from the archives of the Italian National Institute for Social Insurance. Vital status and causes of death were ascertained through record linkage with electronic archives and follow-up mailing. Regional reference rates were used to calculate standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 90% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS The analysis showed increased SMR for selected cancers of a priori interest: respiratory system (SMR: 126.8; 90%CI: 105-152), pleura (330.5; 90%CI 164-596), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (196.1; 90%CI 102-342). CONCLUSIONS The results indicate an effect of hazardous exposures among workers in this chemical manufacturing plant. Using administrative databases to construct historical cohorts is an efficient method in time and resources, for estimating the risk of mortality and generating hypotheses. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:866-876, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Bena
- Department of Epidemiology; ASL TO3; Grugliasco Torino Italy
| | - Elena Farina
- Department of Epidemiology; ASL TO3; Grugliasco Torino Italy
| | - Moreno Demaria
- Environmental Epidemiologic Unit; Regional Agency for Environmental Protection; Piedmont Region Italy
| | - Ennio Cadum
- Environmental Epidemiologic Unit; Regional Agency for Environmental Protection; Piedmont Region Italy
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Oddone E, Edefonti V, Scaburri A, Vai T, Bai E, Modonesi C, Crosignani P, Imbriani M. Female Breast Cancer and Electrical Manufacturing: Results of a Nested Case‐control Study. J Occup Health 2014; 56:369-78. [DOI: 10.1539/joh.14-0034-oa] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Oddone
- Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, Occupational Medicine UnitUniversity of PaviaItaly
| | - Valeria Edefonti
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community HealthUniversità degli Studi di MilanoItaly
| | - Alessandra Scaburri
- Foundation IRCCS Istituto dei Tumori, Cancer Registry and Environmental Epidemiology UnitItaly
| | | | - Edoardo Bai
- Foundation IRCCS Istituto dei Tumori, Cancer Registry and Environmental Epidemiology UnitItaly
| | - Carlo Modonesi
- Foundation IRCCS Istituto dei Tumori, Cancer Registry and Environmental Epidemiology UnitItaly
| | - Paolo Crosignani
- Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, Occupational Medicine UnitUniversity of PaviaItaly
| | - Marcello Imbriani
- Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, Occupational Medicine UnitUniversity of PaviaItaly
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Oddone E, Modonesi C, Gatta G. Occupational exposures and colorectal cancers: A quantitative overview of epidemiological evidence. World J Gastroenterol 2014; 20:12431-12444. [PMID: 25253943 PMCID: PMC4168076 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i35.12431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2014] [Revised: 03/21/2014] [Accepted: 05/29/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
A traditional belief widespread across the biomedical community was that dietary habits and genetic predisposition were the basic factors causing colorectal cancer. In more recent times, however, a growing evidence has shown that other determinants can be very important in increasing (or reducing) incidence of this malignancy. The hypothesis that environmental and occupational risk factors are associated with colorectal cancer is gaining ground, and high risks of colorectal cancer have been reported among workers in some industrial branches. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiologic relationship between colorectal cancer and occupational exposures to several industrial activities, by means of a scientific literature review and meta-analysis. This work pointed out increased risks of colorectal cancer for labourers occupied in industries with a wide use of chemical compounds, such as leather (RR = 1.70, 95%CI: 1.24-2.34), basic metals (RR = 1.32, 95%CI: 1.07-1.65), plastic and rubber manufacturing (RR = 1.30, 95%CI: 0.98-1.71 and RR = 1.27, 95%CI: 0.92-1.76, respectively), besides workers in the sector of repair and installation of machinery exposed to asbestos (RR = 1.40, 95%CI: 1.07-1.84). Based on our results, the estimated crude excess risk fraction attributable to occupational exposure ranged from about 11% to about 15%. However, homogeneous pattern of association between colorectal cancer and industrial branches did not emerge from this review.
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