Respirable crystalline silica and lung cancer in community-based studies: impact of job-exposure matrix specifications on exposure-response relationships
Ohlander, Johan; Kromhout, Hans; Vermeulen, Roel; Portengen, Lützen; Kendzia, Benjamin; Savary, Barbara; Cavallo, Domenico; Cattaneo, Andrea; Migliori, Enrica; Richiardi, Lorenzo; Plato, Nils; Wichmann, Heinz-Erich; Karrasch, Stefan; Consonni, Dario; Landi, Maria Teresa; Caporaso, Neil E; Siemiatycki, Jack; Gustavsson, Per; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Ahrens, Wolfgang; Pohlabeln, Hermann; Fernández-Tardón, Guillermo; Zaridze, David; Jolanta Lissowska, Jolanta Lissowska; Beata Swiatkowska, Beata Swiatkowska; John K Field, John K Field; McLaughlin, John R; Demers, Paul A; Pandics, Tamas; Forastiere, Francesco; Fabianova, Eleonora; Schejbalova, Miriam; Foretova, Lenka; Janout, Vladimir; Mates, Dana; Barul, Christine; Brüning, Thomas; Behrens, Thomas; Straif, Kurt; Schüz, Joachim; Olsson, Ann; Peters, Susan
(2024) Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, volume 50, issue 3, pp. 178 - 186
(Article)
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The quantitative job-exposure matrix SYN-JEM consists of various dimensions: job-specific estimates, region-specific estimates, and prior expert ratings of jobs by the semi-quantitative DOM-JEM. We analyzed the effect of different JEM dimensions on the exposure-response relationships between occupational silica exposure and lung cancer risk to investigate how these variations influence
... read more
estimates of exposure by a quantitative JEM and associated health endpoints. METHODS: Using SYN-JEM, and alternative SYN-JEM specifications with varying dimensions included, cumulative silica exposure estimates were assigned to 16 901 lung cancer cases and 20 965 controls pooled from 14 international community-based case-control studies. Exposure-response relationships based on SYN-JEM and alternative SYN-JEM specifications were analyzed using regression analyses (by quartiles and log-transformed continuous silica exposure) and generalized additive models (GAM), adjusted for age, sex, study, cigarette pack-years, time since quitting smoking, and ever employment in occupations with established lung cancer risk. RESULTS: SYN-JEM and alternative specifications generated overall elevated and similar lung cancer odds ratios ranging from 1.13 (1st quartile) to 1.50 (4th quartile). In the categorical and log-linear analyses SYN-JEM with all dimensions included yielded the best model fit, and exclusion of job-specific estimates from SYN-JEM yielded the poorest model fit. Additionally, GAM showed the poorest model fit when excluding job-specific estimates. CONCLUSION: The established exposure-response relationship between occupational silica exposure and lung cancer was marginally influenced by varying the dimensions of SYN-JEM. Optimized modelling of exposure-response relationships will be obtained when incorporating all relevant dimensions, namely prior rating, job, time, and region. Quantitative job-specific estimates appeared to be the most prominent dimension for this general population JEM.
show less
Download/Full Text
Keywords: JEM, cancer, case-control study, exposure–response, general population, job-exposure matrix, lung cancer, lung neoplasm, quantitative exposure assessment, respirable crystalline silica, respirable quartz exposure
ISSN: 0355-3140
Publisher: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
Note: Publisher Copyright: © 2024, Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health. All rights reserved.
(Peer reviewed)