Plumbers,
spray painters at higher risk for asthma
Asthma is among
the most common adult diseases in the world. Despite the fact that the risks of
chemical exposure have long been known and that there are well-established
recommendations for handling chemicals and protective equipment, many cases of
asthma are still caused by exposure to toxic substances at work.
A study at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg has tracked asthma cases among 13,000 randomly selected adults in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Estonia from 1980 to 2000.
According to the study, 429 people had asthma during this period. Seven percent of cases among women were linked to workplace exposure—and among men, the number
The study found that total incidence was 1.3 asthma cases per 1,000 men, and 2.4 cases per 1,000 women.
"To be able to work proactively, it is essential to show which substances at work increase the risk of asthma and which occupations are high-risk," said Linnea Lillienberg, researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.
Spray painters, who are exposed to diisocyanates in paint, and plumbers, who handle adhesives and foam insulation are among the high-risk occupations, according to the study
Others include cleaners, who handle detergents; health care and social services personnel, who are exposed to detergents and latex in latex gloves, especially if the gloves contain powder; food and tobacco industry workers, who are exposed to proteins from the vegetable kingdom and hair stylists, who handle chemicals in bleach and nail beauticians, who use fast-acting glue.
"Some people are more susceptible than others. For example, people with hay fever have asthma more often if they're exposed to proteins from plants and animals," said Linnea Lillienberg.
"But if we look at individuals with no increased susceptibility, the risk was greater among those who were exposed to epoxy and diisocyanates, which are found in glue, varnish and foam plastic. Among women without hay fever, the risk was particularly elevated among those who handled detergents," Lillienberg added.
08.03.2013
Too much salt may trigger
autoimmune diseases
High salt intake may not
only increase the risk of heart disease, but also cause asthma, eczema and
multiple sclerosis, a new study has found.
A team of scientists from
Yale University in the US and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, in Germany,
say salty diets could be partly to blame for autoimmune diseases, in which the
immune system attacks healthy tissue instead of fighting pathogens.
This study is the first to
indicate that excess salt intake may be one of the environmental factors
driving the increased incidence of autoimmune diseases.
Markus Kleinewietfeld and
David Hafler from Yale University US observed changes in CD4 positive T helper
cells (Th) in humans, immune cells which were associated with specific dietary
habits. Helper T cells are alerted of imminent danger by the cytokines of other
cells of the immune system.
They activate and
"help" other effector cells to fight dangerous pathogens and to clear
infections. A specific subset of T helper cells produces the cytokine
interleukin 17 and is therefore called Th17 for short.
Evidence is mounting that
Th17 cells, apart from fighting infections, play a pivotal role in the
pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Salt dramatically boosts the induction of
aggressive Th17 immune cells.
In cell culture experiments,
the researchers showed that increased sodium chloride can lead to a dramatic
induction of Th17 cells in a specific cytokine milieu.
"In the presence of
elevated salt concentrations this increase can be ten times higher than under
usual conditions," Kleinewietfeld and Professor Dominik N Muller said in a
statement. Under the new high salt
conditions, the cells undergo further changes in their cytokine profile,
resulting in particularly aggressive Th17 cells.
In mice, increased dietary salt intake resulted in a more severe
form of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a model for multiple
sclerosis.
08.03.2013
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