Environmental Exposures And Risk For Cancer and Chronic Diseases In Adults

National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The anaysis of data from the North Carolina kidney disease study focused the potential risk associated with self-reported jobs history and specific occupational exposures, including solvents, dusts, metals and silica. Our study included 548 cases with renal disfunction confirmed by hospital chart review and 514 matched population controls. We categorized exposure likelihood and exposure intesity based on industrial hygiene review of occupational history. Silica appears associated with increased risk for kidney disease;a manuscript has been drafted. I assessing self-reported occupationa data, kidney disease risk appeared to be increased in association with employment in agriculture, construction, furniture manufacturing. Risk appeared to be enhanced in the presence of exposure to dust or solvents. We are measuring arsenic levels in historical urine samples from 300 Pima Indians participating a in long term follow-up study conducted by NIDDK. Half remained free of diabetes at follow-up exam at least 10 years after initial visit and half had developed diabetes. We are also using the Pima cohort study to assess risk of diabetes and diabetic nephropathy in serum samples from 100 individuals who developed diabetes without nephropathy, 100 who developed diabetic nephropathy, and 100 who remained diabetes free after at least 10 years of follow-up. Analysis of a data from a previous case-control study of ALS and from linked databases in Sweden, we demostrated associations between family structure and ALS risk, family history of ALS and risk for ALS, and several occupational exposures and risk. We also reported an inverse association between lead levels and ALS survival.