TY - JOUR
T1 - Study of occupational chromium, iron, and nickel exposure and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in denmark
AU - Dickerson, Aisha S.
AU - Hansen, Johnni
AU - Gredal, Ole
AU - Weisskopf, Marc G.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This work was supported by funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grants R01 ES019188 and P30 ES000002 to M.G.W.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2020/11/1
Y1 - 2020/11/1
N2 - Studies of occupational metal exposures and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have focused primarily on known neurotoxicants, including lead, mercury, selenium, and cadmium. However, these exposures are often co-occurring with other lesser studied metals. We conducted a population-based case-control study with the aim of assessing associations between occupational chromium, iron, and nickel exposures and risk of ALS. We identified ALS cases in Denmark from 1982 through 2013 from the Danish National Patient Registry and matched them to 100 controls based on birth year and sex. Cumulative metal exposures were estimated using job exposure matrices applied to occupational history from the Danish Pension Fund. Although mutually adjusted odds of ALS were higher in men with chromium exposures in the third quartile (aOR = 1.24; 95% CI 0.91, 1.69) and fourth quartile (aOR = 1.19; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.76) compared to those with no exposure, differences did not reach statistical significance. We also observed higher odds of ALS in women with nickel exposures in the third quartile (aOR = 2.21; 95% CI: 1.14, 4.28), but not for the fourth quartile (aOR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.23, 1.64). Our findings do not suggest associations between occupational exposures to these metals and ALS. However, unavoidable non-differential misclassification from the use of JEMs may have masked truly increased risk.
AB - Studies of occupational metal exposures and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have focused primarily on known neurotoxicants, including lead, mercury, selenium, and cadmium. However, these exposures are often co-occurring with other lesser studied metals. We conducted a population-based case-control study with the aim of assessing associations between occupational chromium, iron, and nickel exposures and risk of ALS. We identified ALS cases in Denmark from 1982 through 2013 from the Danish National Patient Registry and matched them to 100 controls based on birth year and sex. Cumulative metal exposures were estimated using job exposure matrices applied to occupational history from the Danish Pension Fund. Although mutually adjusted odds of ALS were higher in men with chromium exposures in the third quartile (aOR = 1.24; 95% CI 0.91, 1.69) and fourth quartile (aOR = 1.19; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.76) compared to those with no exposure, differences did not reach statistical significance. We also observed higher odds of ALS in women with nickel exposures in the third quartile (aOR = 2.21; 95% CI: 1.14, 4.28), but not for the fourth quartile (aOR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.23, 1.64). Our findings do not suggest associations between occupational exposures to these metals and ALS. However, unavoidable non-differential misclassification from the use of JEMs may have masked truly increased risk.
KW - ALS
KW - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
KW - Metals
KW - Motor neuron disease
KW - Occupational exposures
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85094900635&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85094900635&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17218086
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17218086
M3 - Article
C2 - 33147887
AN - SCOPUS:85094900635
VL - 17
SP - 1
EP - 10
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1661-7827
IS - 21
M1 - 8086
ER -