Occupational exposure to ultrafine particles and lung cancer in a population exposed to asbestos.

Background: Ultrafine particles are present in ever greater quantities in the workplace and only one epidemiological study to date has found an association with the occurrence of lung cancer.

Objective: To investigate the effect of occupational exposure to ultrafine particles on the risk of lung cancer.

Methods: The ARDCO is a surveillance program involving retiree workers who had been exposed to asbestos during their working life.

Asbestos exposure, pleural plaques and digestive cancers.

Background: The aim of this study was to analyse the incidence and mortality from various digestive cancer sites and their potential link with pleural plaques, in a French cohort of workers previously occupationally exposed to asbestos.

Methods: We conducted a 10-year follow-up study in 13,481 male subjects, included in the cohort between October 2003 and December 2005, for whom asbestos exposure was assessed by calculation of a cumulative exposure index (CEI) in equivalent fibres.years/mL for each subject.

Assessment of search strategies in Medline to identify studies on the impact of long COVID on workability.

Objectives: Studies on the impact of long COVID on work capacity are increasing but are difficult to locate in bibliographic databases, due to the heterogeneity of the terms used to describe this new condition and its consequences. This study aims to report on the effectiveness of different search strategies to find studies on the impact of long COVID on work participation in PubMed and to create validated search strings.

Methods: We searched PubMed for articles published on Long COVID and including information about work.

Precision and Recall of Search Strategies for Identifying Studies on Work-Related Psychosocial Risk Factors in PubMed.

Purpose: This study aims to report on the effectiveness of various search strategies and keywords to find studies on work-related psychosocial risk factors (PRF) in the PubMed bibliographic database.

Methods: We first selected by hand-searching 191articles published on PRF and indexed in PubMed. We extracted 30 relevant MeSH terms and 38 additional textwords.

Cost-Effectiveness of an Organized Lung Cancer Screening Program for Asbestos-Exposed Subjects.

: The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) and NELSON study opened the debate on the relevance of lung cancer (LC) screening in subjects exposed to occupational respiratory carcinogens. This analysis reported the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) of an organized LC screening program for an asbestos-exposed population. Using Markov modelization, individuals with asbestos exposure were either monitored without intervention or annual low-dose thoracic computed-tomography (LDTCT) scan LC screening.

Pleural plaques and risk of lung cancer in workers formerly occupationally exposed to asbestos: extension of follow-up.

Background: Occupational asbestos exposure is associated with pleural plaques (PP), a benign disease often seen as a marker of past exposure to asbestos and lung cancer. The association between these two diseases has not been formally proved, the aim of this study was to evaluate this association in the asbestos-related disease cohort (ARDCO) cohort.

Methods: ARDCO is a French multicentric cohort including workers formerly occupationally exposed to asbestos from 2003 to 2005.

Head and neck cancer and asbestos exposure.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyse, within a French cohort of workers previously occupationally exposed to asbestos, incidence and mortality from various sites of head and neck cancers (larynx excluded) and to examine the potential link of these cancers with pleural plaques.

Methods: A 10-year follow-up study was conducted in the 13 481 male subjects included in the cohort between October 2003 and December 2005. Asbestos exposure was assessed by industrial hygienist analysis of a standardised questionnaire.

Deep Learning for the Automatic Quantification of Pleural Plaques in Asbestos-Exposed Subjects.

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate an automated artificial intelligence (AI)-driven quantification of pleural plaques in a population of retired workers previously occupationally exposed to asbestos.

Methods: CT scans of former workers previously occupationally exposed to asbestos who participated in the multicenter APEXS (Asbestos PostExposure Survey) study were collected retrospectively between 2010 and 2017 during the second and the third rounds of the survey. A hundred and forty-one participants with pleural plaques identified by expert radiologists at the 2nd and the 3rd CT screenings were included.

Interstitial Lung Abnormalities Detected by CT in Asbestos-Exposed Subjects Are More Likely Associated to Age.

Objective: the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between interstitial lung abnormalities, asbestos exposure and age in a population of retired workers previously occupationally exposed to asbestos.

Methods: previously occupationally exposed former workers to asbestos eligible for a survey conducted between 2003 and 2005 in four regions of France, underwent chest CT examinations and pulmonary function testing. Industrial hygienists evaluated asbestos exposure and calculated for each subject a cumulative exposure index (CEI) to asbestos.

Workaholism Prevention in Occupational Medicine: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Given the extent of workaholism identified in the literature, it seems essential to consider effective preventive measures. The purpose of this article is to summarize literature data on possible collective and individual preventive measures against workaholism, especially in occupational medicine.

Method: We conducted a systematic literature review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Pulmonary Function Testing in Work-Related Asthma: An Overview from Spirometry to Specific Inhalation Challenge.

Work-related asthma (WRA) is a very frequent condition in the occupational setting, and refers either to asthma induced (occupational asthma, OA) or worsened (work-exacerbated asthma, WEA) by exposure to allergens (or other sensitizing agents) or to irritant agents at work. Diagnosis of WRA is frequently missed and should take into account clinical features and objective evaluation of lung function. The aim of this overview on pulmonary function testing in the field of WRA is to summarize the different available tests that should be considered in order to accurately diagnose WRA.

Fungal contamination of wind instruments: Immunological and clinical consequences for musicians.

Introduction: Playing a wind instrument is an increasingly reported cause of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. However, current knowledge about contamination of wind instruments by fungi and specific fungal sensitization is scarce. Therefore, we aimed: (i) to assess the current prevalence and type of fungal contamination of wind instruments, (ii) to identify potential risk factors associated with instrument contamination, and (iii) to evaluate the prevalence of sensitization to these fungi among musicians.

Shift work, night work and sleep disorders among pastry cookers and shopkeepers in France: a cross-sectional survey.

Objective: Most research on night and shift work focuses on employee health in large companies, primarily in the healthcare and transportation sectors. However, many night workers work on their own or in small businesses related to services or food. This survey focuses on sleep habits and disorders concerning night work in pastry production and sales.

Occupational Asbestos Exposure and Incidence of Colon and Rectal Cancers in French Men: The Asbestos-Related Diseases Cohort (ARDCo-Nut).

Background: The relationships between asbestos exposure and colorectal cancer remain controversial.

Objectives: We examined the association between asbestos exposure and colorectal cancer incidence.

Methods: Volunteer retired workers previously exposed to asbestos were invited to participate in the French ARDCo screening program between 2003 and 2005.

Anxious and depressive symptoms in the French Asbestos-Related Diseases Cohort: risk factors and self-perception of risk.

Background: Asbestos is known to be an independent risk factor for lung and pleural cancers. However, to date, little attention has been paid to the psychological effects of asbestos exposure among exposed subjects. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of anxious and depressive symptoms among >2000 French participants of the Asbestos-Related Diseases Cohort (ARDCO), 6 years after their inclusion, to identify the risk factors associated with those anxious and depressive symptoms and to evaluate the impact of the asbestos-risk perception.

Working with argan cake: a new etiology for hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Background: Argan is now used worldwide in numerous cosmetic products. Nine workers from a cosmetic factory were examined in our occupational medicine department, following the diagnosis of a case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) related to handling of argan cakes.

Methods: Operators were exposed to three forms of argan (crude granulates, powder or liquid) depending on the step of the process.

Predictive risk factors for chronic regional and multisite musculoskeletal pain: a 5-year prospective study in a working population.

The role of psychosocial and physical factors in the development of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) has now been clearly demonstrated. However, it is unclear whether these factors contribute to specific regional MSP or to multisite pain. The main goal of this study was to assess the impact of work-related factors according to gender on the development of regional and multisite MSP.

Predictors of chronic shoulder pain after 5 years in a working population.

The role of psychosocial and physical factors in the development of shoulder pain has now been clearly demonstrated. However, only a few studies have analyzed these associations over time. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of work-related psychological and mechanical factors on chronic shoulder pain.

Increased lung function decline in blue-collar workers exposed to welding fumes.

Background: There is no consensus at the present time about the effect of welding on lung function decline. This study compared lung function decline between blue-collar workers exposed and not exposed to welding fumes in a French longitudinal cohort of 21,238 subjects aged 37 to 52 years at inclusion.

Methods: Medical data, occupation, sector of activity, and spirometry were recorded twice by occupational physicians in 1990 and 1995.

Predictors of early cessation of dairy farming in the French Doubs province: 12-year follow-up.

Background: A healthy worker effect due to respiratory disability has been noted in the farming population, but other factors may also interfere. Little has been published about factors influencing the early cessation of work in self-employed dairy farmers.

Methods: Two hundred and nineteen dairy farmers were included from a cohort constituted in eastern France in 1993-1994 with a 12-year follow-up.