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    Asbestos as an air pollutant and synergism with smoking.
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    Epidemiologic studies of the respiratory health effects of air pollution are intrinsically difficult because exposure is common, expected effects at concentrations found in developed countries are weak, random misclassification of exposure is common, and the respiratory health indicators have multiple etiologies. Exposures to air pollutants also are multidimensional, generally consisting of a mixture of gases and particles. In this paper, epidemiologic study designs are described, and their potential for evaluating effects of complex pollutant mixtures are discussed. Power to detect the independent effects of individual pollutants in a complex pollutant mixture or to measure their interactions is in general very weak unless the study is specifically designed to test such hypotheses. However, with innovative and creative design, the independent and joint effects of multiple pollutants should be estimable in epidemiologic studies.
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    Traditionally, risk for those working with asbestos was associated with exposure to this mineral and, in addition, smoking. Over the years, as the health risks associated with use of the minerals were realized exposures have been drastically reduced. The current exposure levels for those in the asbestos industry, especially the asbestos abatement industry in the United States, are now very low and constitute little, if any, risk to health. Risk for this population has dramatically changed from exposure to asbestos to other activities, which appear to be more socio-economic. This brief report provides preliminary results on smoking, body mass index and risk taking activity of a group of asbestos abatement workers that attended a refresher training class. These findings suggest that this population is at risk from obesity, smoking and risk taking activities and not asbestos exposure.
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    The recent literature was reviewed to evaluate whether chronic airflow limitation is associated with occupational exposures to dusts. Only those studies that controlled for the effects of smoking were included. There is compelling evidence that exposure to inorganic dusts, such as from coal and hardrock mining or asbestos, are associated with the development of chronic airflow limitation, independently of pneumoconiosis. Nonsmoking gold miners are particularly at high risk of airflow obstruction and emphysema. Findings from studies of organic dusts, such as exposures to wood, cotton, grain or other agricultural dusts, or to mixed dust exposures, were less consistent but tended to show positive dose‐response associations. In the majority of studies, no statistical interaction was shown between dust exposures and smoking; however, the effects of the dust exposures were often more pronounced. An occupational history should be considered, in addition to a smoking history, as an integral part of an investigation of chronic airflow limitation in a patient.
    Pneumoconiosis
    Chronic Cough
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    Objective: In this study, we investigate the oxidative DNA damage by the exposure to indoor air pollutants among workers in indoor office environment and 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was used as a urinary biomarker. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in among workers in an academic institution offices, Selangor, Malaysia. Inform consent was given to the respondents prior to the data collection. Respondents were given a set of self-administered questionnaire and for urinary 8-OHdG determination, urine samples were collected at the end of their work hours. These samples were then analysed by using enzyme­linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Indoor air measurement include temperature, relative humidity (RH), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, ultrafine particle, total volatile organic compound and respirable dust while outdoor pollutants which are carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, ultrafine particle and total volatile organic were measured. Result: Bivariate analysis was conducted for correlation between mean log urinary 8-OHdG and socio-demographic variables where age (p=0.048), taking medication (p=0.003) and year of employment (p
    Archives of Community Medicine & Public Health is an international, open access, peer-reviewed Journal, dedicated to the clinical and investigative studies, treatments, new diagnostic techniques, and other topics relating to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting community & Public health.
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    Abstract The aim of this paper is thus to identify, evluate, and summarize in a systematic fashion all the epidemiological studies that have analyzed the association between exposure to specific indoor air pollutants and respiratory disease among children under the age of five. A search was carried out in the main biomedical bibliographica sources in December 2006 and updated in February 2008. The study period covered 12 years (1996–2007). All the selected papers were carefully read. We focused on studies that analyzed at least one indicator of respiratory health and which included one or more indoor air pollutants in relation to the respiratory health of children under the age of 5. Studies that analyzed passive smoking as the sole source of indoor air pollution were not included. Fourteen studies were considered to be relevant. The most analyzed pollutant was nitrogen dioxide, followed by volative organic compounds, airborne particulates and other pollutants; phthalates and CO 2 . The literature reviewed within our criteria seems to indicate that several indoor pollutants, even at the moderate levels found in the developed countries, could be harmful to the respiratory health of very young children. Future research should focus on conducting more studies, preferably making use of cohorts, with adequate techniques for measuring indooor pollution levels. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2009; 44:231–243. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
    Nitrogen dioxide
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