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Biomedical subjects

K Kurppa

Publications and source records attributed to K Kurppa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Occupational noise exposure and course of pregnancy.

The study examined the possible relation of occupational noise exposure to adverse pregnancy outcomes. The experience of 1,190 reference mothers from a case-referent study based on the Finnish Register of Congenital Malformations was scrutinized. Exposure to noise was blindly assessed from a description of the mother's workday by two industrial hygienists. Women with an estimated level of noise of around 80 dB LAeq(8 h) or higher were considered exposed. Threatened abortion was not associated with noise exposure alone, but, when it was combined with shift work, the adjusted risk was over twofold. The adjusted risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension was twice as high among the mothers exposed to noise in shift work, and the duration of their pregnancy was shorter. The analyses produced indications of a relation between noise and growth retardation which was not connected with shift work. There were significantly ascending trends in the proportions of these outcomes according to increasing exposure intensity.

Abortion, Threatened↗
PubMed1989

Noise exposure during pregnancy and selected structural malformations in infants.

The study tested the hypothesis of exposure to noise during pregnancy being teratogenic. It included 1,475 Finnish mothers who had given birth to a malformed child (orofacial cleft or structural defect of the central nervous system, skeleton, or heart and great vessels) and 1,475 reference mothers. A special interview soon after delivery yielded the primary information on exposure. Of the 783 mothers who reported noise exposure in the first trimester, 370 were case mothers and 413 were referents. Hygienic assessment indicated that 102 case mothers and 103 referents had been exposed in the first trimester to a sound level of around 80 dB LAeq(8 h) or higher, the overall odds ratio being 1.0 (95% confidence interval 0.7-1.3). Adjustment for potential confounders by logistic regression methods gave similar results. There was no obvious trend suggesting a hazard when different exposure categories were considered.

Congenital Abnormalities↗
PubMed1988

Cardiovascular malformations, work attendance, and occupational exposures during pregnancy in Finland.

To explore for associations between occupational factors and cardiovascular malformations, information on the parents of 160 infants with cardiovascular malformations and 160 control parents was studied. The case infants had been reported consecutively to the Finnish Register of Congenital Malformations. All mothers were interviewed identically after delivery, using both open and pro forma questions about detailed work tasks, exposures, and leisure activities during pregnancy. The interview information was evaluated blindly. Neither parental occupational titles nor maternal working per se gave new clues to the teratogenic risk; nor did shift working, wearing of personal protective equipment, or the mother's own opinion on exposures during pregnancy. Identified occupational exposures, as categorized by an industrial hygienist, showed no remarkable associations to cardiovascular malformations. Few mothers were exposed substantially to specific occupational hazards. Comparing mothers who used medications in the first trimester with those who did not showed an odds ratio of 2.2 (95% confidence interval 1.3-3.9) when adjusted for potential confounding by multivariate logistic methods.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1988

Office employment, work with video display terminals, and course of pregnancy. Reference mothers' experience from a Finnish case-referent study of birth defects.

In an examination of the possible harmful effects of work in an office environment and the use of a video display terminal (VDT) on the course of pregnancy, the experience of 1,475 reference mothers from a Finnish case-referent study of birth defects was analyzed. The study was based on the national Register of Congenital Malformations, whose data were supplemented with special interviews on mothers' work conditions. The group which worked in an office environment consisted of 239 women, of whom 60 had worked with video display terminals; 805 mothers had not worked in an office. Only mothers who had worked during most of their pregnancy and who had a singleton birth were included; hence 431 women were excluded from the analysis. The information on threatened abortion, length of gestation, birthweight, placental weight, and maternal blood pressure was analyzed. Office work involved no elevated risk of threatened abortion when compared with nonoffice work, and among the VDT users the proportion with symptoms related to an impending early termination of pregnancy was similar to that of other office workers. No unfavorable effects on the length of gestation were observed between the compared groups, and there were no differences in the birthweight of the babies when adjustment was made for gestational age or the other aspects under consideration. Thus the results did not suggest that office employment or work with video display terminals would be harmful for pregnancy.

Abortion, Threatened↗
PubMed1988

Thyroid function as assessed by routine laboratory tests of workers with long-term lead exposure.

Thyroid function was studied in 176 male workers occupationally exposed to lead. The mean blood lead concentration of the workers was 2.70 (SD 1.15, range 0.70-6.45) mumol/l. The mean duration of lead exposure was 7.6 (range 0.1-20) years. The total thyroxine (T4), free thyroxine (FT4), total triiodothyronine (T3), and thyrotropin concentrations in serum were similar in the workers in the low and high blood lead categories. In regression equations the duration of lead exposure had a weak but significant negative association with T4 and FT4, and this association was particularly pronounced when the analyses were restricted to workers with the most intense lead exposure over time. Thus, the results suggest that thyroid function might be depressed as a result of intense long-term lead exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Cancer incidence of workers in the Finnish pulp and paper industry.

The cancer incidence of 3,545 workers in the Finnish pulp and paper industry was assessed in a retrospective cohort study. The cohort included workers with continuous employment of at least one year between 1 January 1945 and 31 December 1961 and was followed until 31 December 1980. Six subcohorts were formed (sulfite mill, sulfate mill, paper mill, board mill, maintenance department, and power plant). Separate analyses were made for the 2,597 workers hired after 1 January 1945. The smoking habits were surveyed. Among the men, 196 cases of primary cancer were detected versus 203.8 expected [standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 96, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 82-114], and there were 47 cancer cases among the women versus 57.9 expected (SIR 91, 95% CI 60-108). Lung cancer occurred in 78 men (62.6 expected, SIR 125, 95% CI 98-155), and the excess was the most prominent for the male board mill workers (40 observed, 81.1 expected, SIR 222, 95% CI 158-302), particularly after 20 year's latency (25 observed, 7.8 expected, SIR 323, 95% CI 209-476). Analogous excesses of lung cancer occurred among the men (especially the male board mill workers) who began work after 1 January 1945. The findings were not explained by smoking habits.

Female↗
PubMed1986

Silica dust and lung cancer: results from the Nordic occupational mortality and cancer incidence registers.

Autopsy studies of the relationship between silicosis and lung cancer have been mainly negative; but recent epidemiologic studies have indicated a positive association, and an excess lung cancer risk has been observed in some occupational groups with exposure to silica dust. For the further shedding of light on the possible association between silica dust and lung cancer, analysis was made on mortality and cancer incidence data available in census-based record linkage studies from the Nordic countries for males in occupational groups with potential exposure to silica dust. The study showed an excess lung cancer risk for foundry workers in all the Nordic countries and for miners in Sweden. These results were consistent with findings from previous in-depth epidemiologic studies. The lung cancer risk did not differ significantly from that of the respective national populations for males working in excavation; stone quarries; sand and gravel pits; and glass, porcelain, ceramic, and tile manufacture. Stonecutters, who are probably not exposed to known lung carcinogens at the workplace but in some places to high concentrations of silica dust, showed a significant excess lung cancer risk in both Finland and Denmark. Excess lung cancer risks furthermore were seen for Finish miners, for Finnish males in excavation work, and for Danish glassworkers.

Denmark↗
PubMed1985

Birth defects and exposure to video display terminals during pregnancy. A Finnish case-referent study.

In a test of the widely publicized allegation that exposure to video display terminals causes birth defects, interview forms of mothers of 1 475 children reported consecutively to the Finnish Register of Congenital Malformations to have defects of the central nervous system, orofacial clefts, skeletal defects, or cardiovascular malformations and the forms of the same number of their paired referents were studied. The scrutiny revealed 490 mothers with occupational titles indicating potential exposure to video display terminals. Of the 490, 235 were case mothers and 255 were referents. Then, unaware of the case-referent status, three members of the research team perused the mothers' interview descriptions of workday activities for information indicating exposure to video display terminals. Work with such terminals during the first trimester of pregnancy was ascertained for 111 mothers. Of these, 51 were case mothers and 60 were referents. The comparison of the mothers exposed to video display terminals during the first trimester with those not exposed at all showed a crude odds-ratio point estimate of 0.9 with 95% confidence limits of 0.6 and 1.2. Adjustment for potential confounders by multivariate logistic regression methods did not materially affect the risk estimates. The results did not indicate a teratogenic risk for operators of video display terminals.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

[3H]proline incorporation in vivo in capsular tissues and menisci during the development of osteoarthritis. An experimental study with rabbits.

In an effort to clarify factors related to the pathogenesis of experimental osteoarthritis, biochemical alterations were studied in articular soft tissues of adult rabbits through the immobilization of the knee of the hind leg in extension for 3, 7, 11, 18, 35 or 56 days. The medial collateral ligament and medial meniscus of the knee, as well as the joint capsule of the hip, were analysed. Total protein synthesis (measured by [3H]proline incorporation) increased in the immobilized legs in all of the tissues examined. The collagen synthesis rate (estimated by specific radioactivity of hydroxyproline) in the medial collateral ligament was enhanced, whereas the collagen content (measured as hydroxyproline concentration) of the tissue declined temporarily. This observation suggests that the collagen degradation rate transiently exceeds that of collagen synthesis. The results indicate that distinct biochemical alterations occur in the periarticular tissues during the early phases of immobilization-induced osteoarthritis. It is of interest that biochemical changes similar to those of the immobilized leg were seen, to a lesser extent, in the structures of the contralateral nonimmobilized leg.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Chemical exposures at work and cardiovascular morbidity. Atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias.

Relatively little systematic research has been directed towards the potential effects, either etiologic or aggravating, of industrial chemicals on cardiovascular diseases. While some evidence indicates that exposure to certain pesticides might affect lipoprotein metabolism in man, there is no consistent documentation to support the view that atherosclerosis is caused in man by chemical exposures in industry. In this respect results from some animal studies are highly interesting, eg, exposure to some carcinogens, but the hypotheses presented have not yet been vigorously tested in man. Exposure to carbon monoxide is detrimental to the myocardium, especially in patients with ischemic heart disease, but there are no reliable data on elevated cardiac mortality due to carbon monoxide exposure in industrial populations. A few studies have reported arrhythmias or sudden deaths among workers exposed to solvents and organic nitrates. The effects of lead and cadmium upon human blood pressure have remained controversial, although the bulk of controlled epidemiologic studies suggests that they, if at all existent, are not strong.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Coffee consumption during pregnancy and selected congenital malformations: a nationwide case-control study.

Finland leads the world in per capita coffee consumption. To evaluate the hypothesis that coffee consumption during pregnancy is teratogenic, 755 pairs of mothers of malformed children and their controls were personally interviewed soon after delivery. After excluding tea drinkers and pairs with inadequate information, the study group included 706 pairs. Study subjects consisted of mothers of children with 112 defects of the central nervous system, 241 orofacial clefts, 210 structural defects of the skeleton, and 143 cardiovascular malformations. The coffee consumption during pregnancy was similar for the mothers of malformed or non-malformed children. The comparison of the mothers drinking at least four cups of coffee a day during pregnancy with those not consuming coffee at all showed a relative risk point estimate of 1.0 with the 95 per cent confidence limits of 0.7 and 1.3.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1983

Screening for occupational exposures and congenital malformations.

Since 1976 the Finnish matched-pair Register of Congenital Malformations has been linked to a special project which screens for associations between selected congenital malformations and chemical and physical exposures during early pregnancy. Case mothers and their referents are personally interviewed. Exposure data are quantitated blindly by a team of industrial hygienists and occupational health experts. An analysis of data from 1,047 pairs is now underway. The pairs consist of 289 defects of the central nervous system, 421 orofacial clefts, 200 selected structural malformations of the skeleton, and 137 selected cardiovascular defects. Exposure to organic solvents was associated with defects of the central nervous system in the initial two-year material. However this association was no longer detectable during the following three-year period. More pairs must be gathered before a reasonable judgment regarding the teratogenic potential of solvents becomes possible.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗