Exposure to Metalworking Fluids and Cancer Incidence in the United Auto Workers-General Motors Cohort.

In previous studies, investigators have reported increased risks of specific cancers associated with exposure to metalworking fluids (MWFs). In this report we broadly examine the incidence of 14 types of cancer, with a focus on digestive, respiratory, and hormonal cancers, in the United Auto Workers-General Motors (UAW-GM) cohort, a cohort of workers exposed to MWFs (1973-2015). The cohort included 39,132 workers followed for cancer incidence. Cox models yielded estimates of adjusted hazard ratios, with categorical variables for lagged cumulative exposure to 3 types of MWF (straight, soluble, and synthetic). We fitted penalized splines to examine the shape of the exposure-response relationships. There were 7,809 incident cancer cases of interest. Oil-based straight and soluble MWFs were each modestly associated with all cancers combined. Exposure-response patterns were consistent with prior reports from this cohort, and results for splined exposures generally reflected their categorically modeled counterparts. We found significantly increased incidence of stomach and kidney cancer with higher levels of straight MWF exposure and increased rectal and prostate cancer with increasing water-based synthetic MWF exposure. Only non-Hodgkin lymphoma and prostate cancer were associated with soluble MWF. All results for colon and lung cancers were null. Our results provide updated evidence for associations between MWF exposure and incidence of several types of cancer.

Associations between prenatal and early-life air pollution exposure and lung function in young children: Exploring influential windows of exposure on lung development.

BACKGROUND: Evidence in the literature suggests that air pollution exposures experienced prenatally and early in life can be detrimental to normal lung development, however the specific timing of critical windows during development is not fully understood. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated air pollution exposures during the prenatal and early-life period in association with lung function at ages 6-9, in an effort to identify potentially influential windows of exposure for lung development. METHODS: Our study population consisted of 222 children aged 6-9 from the Fresno-Clovis metro area in California with spirometry data collected between May 2015 and May 2017. We used distributed-lag non-linear models to flexibly model the exposure-lag-response for monthly average exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) during the prenatal months and first three years of life in association with forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), adjusted for covariates. RESULTS: PM2.5 exposure during the prenatal period and the first 3-years of life was associated with lower FVC and FEV1 assessed at ages 6-9. Specifically, an increase from the 5th percentile of the observed monthly average exposure (7.55 µg/m3) to the median observed exposure (12.69 µg/m3) for the duration of the window was associated with 0.42 L lower FVC (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.82, -0.03) and 0.38 L lower FEV1 (95% CI: -0.75, -0.02). The shape of the lag-response indicated that the second half of pregnancy may be a particularly influential window of exposure. Associations for ozone were not as strong and typically CIs included the null. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that prenatal and early-life exposures to PM2.5 are associated with decreased lung function later in childhood. Exposures during the latter months of pregnancy may be especially influential.

Metalworking Fluid Exposure and Stroke Mortality Among US Autoworkers.

Although air pollution is an important risk factor for stroke, few studies have considered the impact of workplace exposure to particulate matter (PM). We examined implications of exposure to PM composed of metalworking fluids (MWFs) for stroke mortality in the United Autoworkers-General Motors cohort. Cox proportional hazards models with age as the timescale were used to estimate the association of cumulative straight, soluble, and synthetic MWF exposure with stroke mortality, controlling for sex, race, plant, calendar year, and hire year. Among 38,553 autoworkers followed during 1941-1995, we identified 114 ischemic stroke deaths and 113 hemorrhagic stroke deaths. Overall stroke mortality risk was increased among workers in the middle exposure category for straight MWF (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.87, 1.98) and workers in the highest exposure category for synthetic MWF (HR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.13, 3.16) compared with workers who had no direct exposure. Ischemic stroke mortality risk was increased among workers in the highest exposure categories for straight MWF (HR = 1.45, 95% CI: 0.83, 2.52) and synthetic MWF (HR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.39, 4.50). We observed no clear relationship between MWF exposure and hemorrhagic stroke mortality. Our results support a potentially important role for occupational PM exposures in stroke mortality and indicate the need for further studies of PM exposure and stroke in varied occupational settings.

Traffic-related air pollution is associated with glucose dysregulation, blood pressure, and oxidative stress in children.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults. Antecedents likely begin in childhood and whether childhood exposure to air pollution plays a contributory role is not well understood. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether children's exposure to air pollution is associated with markers of risk for metabolic syndrome and oxidative stress, a hypothesized mediator of air pollution-related health effects. METHODS: We studied 299 children (ages 6-8) living in the Fresno, CA area. At a study center visit, questionnaire and biomarker data were collected. Outcomes included hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), urinary 8-isoprostane, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and BMI. Individual-level exposure estimates for a set of four pollutants that are constituents of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) - the sum of 4-, 5-, and 6-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds (PAH456), NO2, elemental carbon, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) - were modeled at the primary residential location for 1-day lag, and 1-week, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year averages prior to each participant's visit date. Generalized additive models were used to estimate associations between each air pollutant exposure and outcome. RESULTS: The study population was 53% male, 80% Latinx, 11% Black and largely low-income (6% were White and 3% were Asian/Pacific Islander). HbA1c percentage was associated with longer-term increases in TRAP; for example a 4.42 ng/m3 increase in 6-month average PAH456 was associated with a 0.07% increase (95% CI: 0.01, 0.14) and a 3.62 µg/m3 increase in 6-month average PM2.5 was associated with a 0.06% increase (95% CI: 0.01, 0.10). The influence of air pollutants on blood pressure was strongest at 3 months; for example, a 6.2 ppb increase in 3-month average NO2 was associated with a 9.4 mmHg increase in SBP (95% CI: 2.8, 15.9). TRAP concentrations were not significantly associated with anthropometric or adipokine measures. Short-term TRAP exposure averages were significantly associated with creatinine-adjusted urinary 8-isoprostane. DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that both short- and longer-term estimated individual-level outdoor residential exposures to several traffic-related air pollutants, including ambient PAHs, are associated with biomarkers of risk for metabolic syndrome and oxidative stress in children.

Risk for heat-related illness among wildland firefighters: job tasks and core body temperature change.

OBJECTIVES: In order to make recommendations to protect wildland firefighters (WLFFs) from heat-related illness, the role physical exertion plays on core body temperature (Tc) in the work environment needs to be considered. We aimed to estimate the association of time-varying job tasks with differing exertion levels on change in Tc, among WLFFs engaged in fire management activities, while controlling for ambient conditions and individual characteristics. In addition, we examined whether duration of tasks modified the relationship between task and change in Tc. METHODS: We used data from The Wildland Firefighter Heat Related Illness study, a repeated measures study with individual-level data on 301 WLFFs from 2013 to 2016. Job tasks over one full shift were recorded and categorised into four levels (sedentary, light, moderate and high) based on estimated exertion levels. Tc was measured every 15 s using an ingestible sensor and personal monitors measured ambient conditions. The analysis used generalised estimating equations with an autoregressive correlation structure. RESULTS: We found statistically significant associations between job tasks with increased physical demand and increases in Tc. When compared with sedentary tasks, the estimated increases in Tc for light, moderate and high activity tasks of average duration were 0.07°C (95% CI 0.02 to 0.11°C), 0.19°C (95% CI 0.15 to 0.23) and 0.44°C (95% CI 0.39 to 0.49°C), respectively. In addition, we found evidence of interaction between task type and duration. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the hypothesis that occupational exposure to physical exertion increases Tc, highlighting the need to update recommendations to protect WLFFs from heat-related illness.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality: The Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study (DEMS).

BACKGROUND: Miners are highly exposed to diesel exhaust emissions from powered equipment. Although biologically plausible, there is little evidence based on quantitative exposure assessment, that long-term diesel exposure increases risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To fill this gap, we examined COPD mortality and diesel exhaust exposure in the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study (DEMS). METHODS: We fit Cox models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for COPD mortality and cumulative exposure (µg/m3-years) to respirable elemental carbon (REC), a key metric for diesel exhaust exposure. Separate models were fit for ever-underground and surface-only miners to allow for effect modification. Exposure was lagged by 0, 10 and 15 years. In a secondary analysis, we addressed the healthy worker survivor effect by applying the parametric g-formula to handle time-varying confounding affected by prior exposure among ever-underground workers. RESULTS: Based on 140 cases, the HRs for COPD mortality increased as categories of lagged REC exposure increased for all workers. Among surface-only workers, those in the middle exposure category (0 lag) had a significantly elevated hazard ratio of 2.34 (95% CI: 1.11-4.61) relative to those in the lowest category. Among the ever-underground, that ratio was 1.35, with wide confidence intervals. Using the g-formula, we estimated that the lifetime cumulative risk of COPD mortality would have been reduced from the observed 5.0%-3.1% under a hypothetical intervention where all ever-underground workers were always unexposed. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest long term exposure to diesel exhaust may increase risk of COPD in miners, though power was limited.

Diesel Exhaust, Respirable Dust, and Ischemic Heart Disease: An Application of the Parametric g-formula.

BACKGROUND: Although general population studies of air pollution suggest that particulate matter-diesel exhaust emissions in particular-is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease, direct evidence from occupational cohorts using quantitative metrics of exposure is limited. In this study, we assess counterfactual risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality under hypothetical scenarios limiting exposure levels of diesel exhaust and of respirable mine/ore dust in the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study cohort. METHODS: We analyzed data on 10,779 male miners from 8 nonmetal, noncoal mines-hired after diesel equipment was introduced in the respective facilities-and followed from 1948 to 1997, with 297 observed IHD deaths in this sample. We applied the parametric g-formula to assess risk under hypothetical scenarios with various limits for respirable elemental carbon (a surrogate for diesel exhaust), and respirable dust, separately and jointly. RESULTS: The risk ratio comparing the observed risk to cumulative IHD mortality risk at age 80 under a hypothetical scenario where exposures to elemental carbon and respirable dust are eliminated was 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64, 0.97). The corresponding risk difference was -3.0% (95% CI: -5.7, -0.3). CONCLUSION: Our findings, based on data from a cohort of nonmetal miners, are consistent with the hypothesis that interventions to eliminate exposures to diesel exhaust and respirable dust would reduce IHD mortality risk.

Declining blood lead levels among small-scale miners participating in a safer mining pilot programme in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to monitor blood lead levels (BLLs) of miners and ore processors participating in a pilot programme to reduce lead poisoning and take-home exposures from artisanal small-scale gold mining. A medical surveillance programme was established to assess exposures as new methods aimed at reducing lead exposures from ore were introduced in a community in Nigeria where children experienced substantial lead-related morbidity and mortality. METHODS: Extensive outreach and education were offered to miners, and investments were made to adopt wet methods to reduce exposures during mining and processing. We conducted medical surveillance, including a physical exam and repeated blood lead testing, for 61 miners selected from among several hundred who participated in the safer mining pilot programme and consented to testing. Venous blood lead concentrations were analysed using the LeadCare II device at approximately 3-month intervals over a period of 19 months. RESULTS: Overall geometric mean (GM) BLLs decreased by 32% from 31.6 to 21.5 µg/dL during the 19-month project. Women had a somewhat lower reduction in GM BLLs (23%) compared with men (36%). There was a statistically significant reduction in log BLLs from baseline to the final test taken by each participant (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The observed reductions in GM BLLs during the pilot intervention among this representative group of miners and ore processors demonstrated the effectiveness of the safer mining programme in this community. Such measures are feasible, cost-effective and can greatly improve health outcomes in mining communities.

Accelerated lung function decline in an aluminium manufacturing industry cohort exposed to PM2.5: an application of the parametric g-formula.

OBJECTIVE: Occupational dust exposure has been associated with accelerated lung function decline, which in turn is associated with overall morbidity and mortality. In the current study, we assess potential benefits on lung function of hypothetical interventions that would reduce occupational exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) while adjusting for the healthy worker survivor effect. METHODS: Analyses were performed in a cohort of 6485 hourly male workers in an aluminium manufacturing company in the USA, followed between 1996 and 2013. We used the parametric g-formula to assess lung function decline over time under hypothetical interventions while also addressing time-varying confounding by underlying health status, using a composite risk score based on health insurance claims. RESULTS: A counterfactual scenario envisioning a limit on exposure equivalent to the 10th percentile of the observed exposure distribution of 0.05 mg/m3 was associated with an improvement in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) equivalent to 37.6 mL (95% CI 13.6 to 61.6) after 10 years of follow-up when compared with the observed. Assuming a linear decrease and (from NHANES reference values), a 20 mL decrease per year for a 1.8 m-tall man as they age, this 37.6 mL FEV1 loss over 10 years associated with observed exposure would translate to approximately a 19% increase to the already expected loss per year from age alone. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that occupational PM2.5 exposure in the aluminium industry accelerates lung function decline over age. Reduction in exposure may mitigate accelerated loss of lung function over time in the industry.

Exposure-Lag-Response in Longitudinal Studies: Application of Distributed-Lag Nonlinear Models in an Occupational Cohort.

Prolonged exposures can have complex relationships with health outcomes, as timing, duration, and intensity of exposure are all potentially relevant. Summary measures such as cumulative exposure or average intensity of exposure may not fully capture these relationships. We applied penalized and unpenalized distributed-lag nonlinear models (DLNMs) with flexible exposure-response and lag-response functions in order to examine the association between crystalline silica exposure and mortality from lung cancer and nonmalignant respiratory disease in a cohort study of 2,342 California diatomaceous earth workers followed during 1942-2011. We also assessed associations using simple measures of cumulative exposure assuming linear exposure-response and constant lag-response. Measures of association from DLNMs were generally higher than those from simpler models. Rate ratios from penalized DLNMs corresponding to average daily exposures of 0.4 mg/m3 during lag years 31-50 prior to the age of observed cases were 1.47 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92, 2.35) for lung cancer mortality and 1.80 (95% CI: 1.14, 2.85) for nonmalignant respiratory disease mortality. Rate ratios from the simpler models for the same exposure scenario were 1.15 (95% CI: 0.89, 1.48) and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.46), respectively. Longitudinal cohort studies of prolonged exposures and chronic health outcomes should explore methods allowing for flexibility and nonlinearities in the exposure-lag-response.

Estimating Counterfactual Risk Under Hypothetical Interventions in the Presence of Competing Events: Crystalline Silica Exposure and Mortality From 2 Causes of Death.

Exposure to silica has been linked to excess risk of lung cancer and nonmalignant respiratory disease mortality. In this study we estimated risk for both these outcomes in relation to occupational silica exposure as well as the reduction in risk that would result from hypothetical interventions on exposure in a cohort of exposed workers. Analyses were carried out using data from an all-male study population consisting of 2,342 California diatomaceous earth workers regularly exposed to crystalline silica and followed between 1942 and 2011. We estimated subdistribution risk for each event under the natural course and interventions of interest using the parametric g-formula to adjust for healthy-worker survivor bias. The risk ratio for lung cancer mortality, comparing an intervention in which a theoretical maximum exposure limit was set at 0.05 mg/m3 (the current US regulatory limit) with the observed exposure concentrations, was 0.86 (95% confidence interval: 0.63, 1.22). The corresponding risk ratio for nonmalignant respiratory disease mortality was 0.69 (95% confidence interval: 0.52, 0.93). Our findings suggest that risks from both outcomes would have been considerably lower if historical silica exposures in this cohort had not exceeded current regulatory limits.

Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality and Diesel Exhaust and Respirable Dust Exposure in the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study.

Diesel exhaust is a suggested risk factor for ischemic heart disease (IHD), but evidence from cohorts using quantitative exposure metrics is limited. We examined the impact of respirable elemental carbon (REC), a key surrogate for diesel exhaust, and respirable dust (RD) on IHD mortality, using data from the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study in the United States. Using data from a cohort of male workers followed from 1948-1968 until 1997, we fitted Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios for IHD mortality for cumulative and average intensity of exposure to REC and RD. Segmented linear regression models allowed for nonmonotonicity. Hazard ratios for cumulative and average REC exposure declined relative to the lowest exposure category before increasing to 0.79 and 1.25, respectively, in the highest category. Relative to the category containing the segmented regression change points, hazard ratios for the highest category were 1.69 and 1.54 for cumulative and average REC exposure, respectively. Hazard ratios for RD exposure increased across the full exposure range to 1.33 and 2.69 for cumulative and average RD exposure, respectively. Tests for trend were statistically significant for cumulative REC exposure (above the change point) and for average RD exposure. Our findings suggest excess risk of IHD mortality in relation to increased exposure to REC and RD.

Assessment of the healthy worker survivor effect in cancer studies of the United Autoworkers-General Motors cohort.

OBJECTIVE: The healthy worker survivor effect (HWSE) can affect the validity of occupational studies when data are analysed incorrectly. HWSE depends on three underlying conditions: (1) leaving work predicts future exposure, (2) leaving work is associated with disease outcome and (3) prior exposure increases probability of leaving work. If all these conditions are satisfied, then employment status is a time-varying confounder affected by prior exposure, and standard regression will produce bias. We assessed these conditions for cancer outcomes in a cohort of autoworkers exposed to metalworking fluids (MWF). METHODS: The cohort includes 31 485 workers followed for cancer incidence from 1985 to 1994. As occupational exposures to straight, soluble and synthetic MWFs are necessarily zero after leaving work, condition (1) is satisfied. Cox models for cancer incidence and for employment termination were used to assess conditions (2) and (3), respectively. Employment termination by select ages was examined to better gauge the presence of condition (2). RESULTS: The HR for leaving work as a predictor of all cancers combined and prostate cancer was null, but elevated for lung and colorectal cancers among men. Condition (2) was more clearly satisfied for all cancer outcomes when leaving work occurred by age 50. Higher exposures to all three MWF types were associated with increased rates of leaving work (condition (3)), with the exception of straight MWF among women. CONCLUSIONS: We found evidence for the structural conditions underlying HWSE in a cohort of autoworkers. G-methods should be applied to reduce HWSE bias in studies of all cancers presently examined.

Incident Ischemic Heart Disease After Long-Term Occupational Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter: Accounting for 2 Forms of Survivor Bias.

Little is known about the heart disease risks associated with occupational, rather than traffic-related, exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5). We examined long-term exposure to PM2.5 in cohorts of aluminum smelters and fabrication workers in the United States who were followed for incident ischemic heart disease from 1998 to 2012, and we addressed 2 forms of survivor bias. Left truncation bias was addressed by restricting analyses to the subcohort hired after the start of follow up. Healthy worker survivor bias, which is characterized by time-varying confounding that is affected by prior exposure, was documented only in the smelters and required the use of marginal structural Cox models. When comparing always-exposed participants above the 10th percentile of annual exposure with those below, the hazard ratios were 1.67 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11, 2.52) and 3.95 (95% CI: 0.87, 18.00) in the full and restricted subcohorts of smelter workers, respectively. In the fabrication stratum, hazard ratios based on conditional Cox models were 0.98 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.02) and 1.17 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.37) per 1 mg/m(3)-year in the full and restricted subcohorts, respectively. Long-term exposure to occupational PM2.5 was associated with a higher risk of ischemic heart disease among aluminum manufacturing workers, particularly in smelters, after adjustment for survivor bias.

Occupational Diesel Exposure, Duration of Employment, and Lung Cancer: An Application of the Parametric G-Formula.

BACKGROUND: If less healthy workers terminate employment earlier, thus accumulating less exposure, yet remain at greater risk of the health outcome, estimated health effects of cumulative exposure will be biased downward. If exposure also affects termination of employment, then the bias cannot be addressed using conventional methods. We examined these conditions as a prelude to a reanalysis of lung cancer mortality in the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study. METHODS: We applied an accelerated failure time model to assess the effect of exposures to respirable elemental carbon (a surrogate for diesel) on time to termination of employment among nonmetal miners who ever worked underground (n = 8,307). We then applied the parametric g-formula to assess how possible interventions setting respirable elemental carbon exposure limits would have changed lifetime risk of lung cancer, adjusting for time-varying employment status. RESULTS: Median time to termination was 36% shorter (95% confidence interval = 33%, 39%), per interquartile range width increase in respirable elemental carbon exposure. Lung cancer risk decreased with more stringent interventions, with a risk ratio of 0.8 (95% confidence interval = 0.5, 1.1) comparing a limit of ≤25 µg/m respirable elemental carbon to no intervention. The fraction of cases attributable to diesel exposure was 27% in this population. CONCLUSIONS: The g-formula controlled for time-varying confounding by employment status, the signature of healthy worker survivor bias, which was also affected by diesel exposure. It also offers an alternative approach to risk assessment for estimating excess cumulative risk, and the impact of interventions based entirely on an observed population.

Occupational Exposure to PM2.5 and Incidence of Ischemic Heart Disease: Longitudinal Targeted Minimum Loss-based Estimation.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the incidence of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in relation to accumulated exposure to particulate matter (PM) in a cohort of aluminum workers. We adjusted for time varying confounding characteristic of the healthy worker survivor effect, using a recently introduced method for the estimation of causal target parameters. METHODS: Applying longitudinal targeted minimum loss-based estimation, we estimated the difference in marginal cumulative risk of IHD in the cohort comparing counterfactual outcomes if always exposed above to always exposed below a PM2.5 exposure cut-off. Analyses were stratified by sub-cohort employed in either smelters or fabrication facilities. We selected two exposure cut-offs a priori, at the median and 10th percentile in each sub-cohort. RESULTS: In smelters, the estimated IHD risk difference after 15 years of accumulating PM2.5 exposure during follow-up was 2.9% (0.6%, 5.1%) using the 10th percentile cut-off of 0.10 mg/m. For fabrication workers, the difference was 2.5% (0.8%, 4.1%) at the 10th percentile of 0.06 mg/m. Using the median exposure cut-off, results were similar in direction but smaller in size. We present marginal incidence curves describing the cumulative risk of IHD over the course of follow-up for each sub-cohort under each intervention regimen. CONCLUSIONS: The accumulation of exposure to PM2.5 appears to result in higher risks of IHD in both aluminum smelter and fabrication workers. This represents the first longitudinal application of targeted minimum loss-based estimation, a method for generating doubly robust semi-parametric efficient substitution estimators of causal parameters, in the fields of occupational and environmental epidemiology.

Early-Life State-of-Residence Characteristics and Later Life Hypertension, Diabetes, and Ischemic Heart Disease.

OBJECTIVES: We examined how state characteristics in early life are associated with individual chronic disease later in life. METHODS: We assessed early-life state of residence using the first 3 digits of social security numbers from blue- and white-collar workers from a US manufacturing company. Longitudinal data were available from 1997 to 2012, with 305 936 person-years of observation. Disease was assessed using medical claims. We modeled associations using pooled logistic regression with inverse probability of censoring weights. RESULTS: We found small but statistically significant associations between early-state-of-residence characteristics and later life hypertension, diabetes, and ischemic heart disease. The most consistent associations were with income inequality, percentage non-White, and education. These associations were similar after statistically controlling for individual socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and current state characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristics of the state in which an individual lives early in life are associated with prevalence of chronic disease later in life, with a strength of association equivalent to genetic associations found for these same health outcomes.

Social disparities in heart disease risk and survivor bias among autoworkers: an examination based on survival models and g-estimation.

OBJECTIVES: To examine gender and racial disparities in ischaemic heart disease (IHD) mortality related to metalworking fluid exposures and in the healthy worker survivor effect. METHODS: A cohort of white and black men and women autoworkers in the USA was followed from 1941 to 1995 with quantitative exposure to respirable particulate matter from water-based metalworking fluids. Separate analyses used proportional hazards models and g-estimation. RESULTS: The HR for IHD among black men was 3.29 (95% CI 1.49 to 7.31) in the highest category of cumulative synthetic fluid exposure. The HR for IHD among white women exposed to soluble fluid reached 2.44 (95% CI 0.96 to 6.22). However, no increased risk was observed among white men until we corrected for the healthy worker survivor effect. Results from g-estimation indicate that if white male cases exposed to soluble or synthetic fluid had been unexposed to that fluid type, then 1.59 and 1.20 years of life would have been saved on average, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We leveraged the strengths of two different analytic approaches to examine the IHD risks of metalworking fluids. All workers may have the same aetiological risk; however, black and female workers may experience more IHD from water-based metalworking fluid exposure because of a steeper exposure-response or weaker healthy worker survivor effect.

Marginal structural models in occupational epidemiology: application in a study of ischemic heart disease incidence and PM2.5 in the US aluminum industry.

Marginal structural models (MSMs) and inverse probability weighting can be used to estimate risk in a cohort of active workers if there is a time-varying confounder (e.g., health status) affected by prior exposure-a feature of the healthy worker survivor effect. We applied Cox MSMs in a study of incident ischemic heart disease and exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5) in a cohort of 12,949 actively employed aluminum workers in the United States. The cohort was stratified by work process into workers in smelting facilities, herein referred to as "smelters" and workers in fabrication facilities, herein referred to as "fabricators." The outcome was assessed by using medical claims data from 1998 to 2012. A composite risk score based on insurance claims was treated as a time-varying measure of health status. Binary PM2.5 exposure was defined by the 10th-percentile cutoff for each work process. Health status was associated with past exposure and predicted the outcome and subsequent exposure in smelters but not in fabricators. In smelters, the Cox MSM hazard ratio comparing those always exposed above the cutoff with those always exposed below the cutoff was 1.98 (95% confidence interval: 1.18, 3.32). In fabricators, the hazard ratio from a traditional Cox model was 1.34 (95% confidence interval: 0.98, 1.83). Results suggest that occupational PM2.5 exposure increases the risk of incident ischemic heart disease in workers in both aluminum smelting and fabrication facilities.

Diesel exhaust and respiratory dust exposure in miners and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality in DEMS II.

BACKGROUND: Diesel exhaust and respirable dust exposures in the mining industry have not been studied in depth with respect to non-malignant respiratory disease including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with most available evidence coming from other settings. OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between occupational diesel exhaust and respirable dust exposures and COPD mortality, while addressing issues of survivor bias in exposed miners. METHODS: The study population consisted of 11,817 male workers from the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study II, followed from 1947 to 2015, with 279 observed COPD deaths. We fit Cox proportional hazards models for the relationship between respirable elemental carbon (REC) and respirable dust (RD) exposure and COPD mortality. To address healthy worker survivor bias, we leveraged the parametric g-formula to assess effects of hypothetical interventions on both exposures. RESULTS: Cox models yielded elevated estimates for the associations between average intensity of REC and RD and COPD mortality, with hazard ratios (HR) corresponding to an interquartile range width increase in exposure of 1.46 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.12, 1.91) and 1.20 (95 % CI: 0.96, 1.49), respectively for each exposure. HRs for cumulative exposures were negative for both REC and RD. Based on results from the parametric g-formula, the risk ratio (RR) for COPD mortality comparing risk under an intervention eliminating REC to the observed risk was 0.85 (95 % CI: 0.55, 1.06), equivalent to an attributable risk of 15 %. The corresponding RR comparing risk under an intervention eliminating RD to the observed risk was 0.93 (95 % CI: 0.56, 1.31). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, based on data from a cohort of nonmetal miners, are suggestive of an increased risk of COPD mortality associated with REC and RD, as well as evidence of survivor bias in this population leading to negative associations between cumulative exposures and COPD mortality in traditional regression analysis.