Last data update: Jun 17, 2024. (Total: 47034 publications since 2009)
Records 1-5 (of 5 Records) |
Query Trace: Kullman GJ [original query] |
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Pesticide use and fatal injury among farmers in the Agricultural Health Study
Waggoner JK , Henneberger PK , Kullman GJ , Umbach DM , Kamel F , Beane Freeman LE , Alavanja MC , Sandler DP , Hoppin JA . Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2012 86 (2) 177-87 PURPOSE: To assess whether pesticide use practices were associated with injury mortality among 51,035 male farmers from NC and IA enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study. METHODS: We used Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age and state to estimate fatal injury risk associated with self-reported use of 49 specific pesticides, personal protective equipment, specific types of farm machinery, and other farm factors collected 1-15 years preceding death. Cause-specific mortality was obtained through linkage to mortality registries. RESULTS: We observed 338 injury fatalities over 727,543 person-years of follow-up (1993-2008). Fatal injuries increased with days/year of pesticide application, with the highest risk among those with 60+ days of pesticide application annually [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.87; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.10, 3.18]. Chemical-resistant glove use was associated with decreased risk (HR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.58, 0.93), but adjusting for glove use did not substantially change estimates for individual pesticides or pesticide use overall. Herbicides were associated with fatal injury, even after adjusting for operating farm equipment, which was independently associated with fatal injury. Ever use of five of 18 herbicides (2,4,5-T, paraquat, alachlor, metribuzin, and butylate) were associated with elevated risk. In addition, 2,4-D and cyanazine were associated with fatal injury in exposure-response analyses. There was no evidence of confounding of these results by other herbicides. CONCLUSION: The association between application of pesticides, particularly certain herbicides, and fatal injuries among farmers should be interpreted cautiously but deserves further evaluation, with particular focus on understanding timing of pesticide use and fatal injury. |
Occupational sensitization to soy allergens in workers at a processing facility
Green BJ , Cummings KJ , Rittenour WR , Hettick JM , Bledsoe TA , Blachere FM , Siegel PD , Gaughan DM , Kullman GJ , Kreiss K , Cox-Ganser J , Beezhold DH . Clin Exp Allergy 2011 41 (7) 1022-30 BACKGROUND: Exposure to soy antigens has been associated with asthma in community outbreaks and in some workplaces. Recently, 135 soy flake processing workers (SPWs) in a Tennessee facility were evaluated for immune reactivity to soy. Allergic sensitization to soy was common and was five times more prevalent than in health care worker controls (HCWs) with no known soy exposure. OBJECTIVE: To characterize sensitization to soy allergens in SPWs. Methods Sera that were positive to soy ImmunoCAP (n=27) were tested in IgE immunoblots. Wild-type (WT) and transgenic (TG) antigens were sequenced using nanoscale Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (nanoUPLC MS/MS). IgE reactivity towards 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (CP4-EPSP), a protein found in TG soy, was additionally investigated. De-identified sera from 50 HCWs were used as a control. Results Immunoblotting of WT and TG soy flake extracts revealed IgE against multiple soy antigens with reactivity towards 48, 54, and 62 kDa bands being the most common. The prominent proteins that bound SPW IgE were identified by nanoUPLC MS/MS analysis to be the high molecular weight soybean storage proteins, beta-conglycinin (Gly m 5), and Glycinin (Gly m 6). No specific IgE reactivity could be detected to lower molecular weight soy allergens, Gly m 1 and Gly m 2, in soybean hull (SH) extracts. IgE reactivity was comparable between WT and TG extracts; however, IgE antibodies to CP4-EPSP could not be detected. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: SPWs with specific IgE to soy reacted most commonly with higher molecular weight soybean storage proteins compared with the lower molecular weight SH allergens identified in community asthma studies. IgE reactivity was comparable between WT and TG soy extracts, while no IgE reactivity to CP4-EPSP was observed. High molecular weight soybean storage allergens, Gly m 5 and Gly m 6, may be respiratory sensitizers in occupational exposed SPWs. |
Mortality in the Agricultural Health Study, 1993-2007
Waggoner JK , Kullman GJ , Henneberger PK , Umbach DM , Blair A , Alavanja MC , Kamel F , Lynch CF , Knott C , London SJ , Hines CJ , Thomas KW , Sandler DP , Lubin JH , Beane Freeman LE , Hoppin JA . Am J Epidemiol 2011 173 (1) 71-83 Comparing agricultural cohorts with the general population is challenging because the general healthiness of farmers may mask potential adverse health effects of farming. Using data from the Agricultural Health Study, a cohort of 89,656 pesticide applicators and their spouses (N = 89, 656) in North Carolina and Iowa, the authors computed standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) comparing deaths from time of the enrollment (1993-1997) through 2007 to state-specific rates. To compensate for the cohort's overall healthiness, relative SMRs were estimated by calculating the SMR for each cause relative to the SMR for all other causes. In 1,198,129 person-years of follow-up, 6,419 deaths were observed. The all-cause mortality rate was less than expected (SMR(applicators) = 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.52, 0.55; SMR(spouses) = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.55). SMRs for all cancers, heart disease, and diabetes were significantly below 1.0. In contrast, applicators experienced elevated numbers of machine-related deaths (SMR = 4.15, 95% CI: 3.18, 5.31), motor vehicle nontraffic accidents (SMR = 2.80, 95% CI: 1.81, 4.14), and collisions with objects (SMR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.34). In the relative SMR analysis for applicators, the relative mortality ratio was elevated for lymphohematopoietic cancers, melanoma, and digestive system, prostate, kidney, and brain cancers. Among spouses, relative SMRs exceeded 1.0 for lymphohematopoietic cancers and malignancies of the digestive system, brain, breast, and ovary. Unintentional fatal injuries remain an important risk for farmers; mortality ratios from several cancers were elevated relative to other causes. |
Adverse respiratory outcomes associated with occupational exposures at a soy processing plant
Cummings KJ , Gaughan DM , Kullman GJ , Beezhold DH , Green BJ , Blachere FM , Bledsoe T , Kreiss K , Cox-Ganser J . Eur Respir J 2010 36 (5) 1007-15 This study aimed to characterize the relationship between adverse health outcomes and occupational risk factors among workers at a soy processing plant.A questionnaire, spirometry, methacholine challenge, immune testing, and air sampling for dust and soy were offered. Prevalence ratios (PRs) of respiratory problems from comparisons with the US adult population were calculated. Soy-specific IgG and IgE among participants and healthcare worker controls were compared. Associations between health outcomes and potential explanatory variables were examined using logistic regression.One hundred forty-seven (52%) of 281 employees, including 66 (70%) of 94 production workers, participated. PRs were significantly elevated for wheeze, sinusitis, ever-asthma, and current asthma. Participants had significantly higher mean concentrations of soy-specific IgG (97.9 mg.L(-1) vs. 1.5 mg.L(-1)) and prevalence of soy-specific IgE (21% vs. 4%) than controls. Participants with soy-specific IgE had 3-fold greater odds of current asthma or asthma-like symptoms, and 6-fold greater odds of work-related asthma-like symptoms; the latter additionally was associated with production work and higher peak dust exposures. Airways obstruction was associated with higher peak dust. Work-related sinusitis, nasal allergies, and rash were associated with reported workplace mold exposure.Asthma and symptoms of asthma, but not other respiratory problems, were associated with immune reactivity to soy. |
Pesticide use and adult-onset asthma among male farmers in the Agricultural Health Study
Hoppin JA , Umbach DM , London SJ , Henneberger PK , Kullman GJ , Coble J , Alavanja MC , Beane Freeman LE , Sandler DP . Eur Respir J 2009 34 (6) 1296-303 Although specific pesticides have been associated with wheeze in farmers, little is known about pesticides and asthma. Data from 19,704 male farmers in the Agricultural Health Study were used to evaluate lifetime use of 48 pesticides and prevalent adult-onset asthma, defined as doctor-diagnosed asthma after the age of 20 yrs. Asthma cases were categorised as allergic (n = 127) and nonallergic (n = 314) based on their history of eczema or hay fever. Polytomous logistic regression, controlling for age, state, smoking and body mass, was used to assess pesticide associations. High pesticide exposure events were associated with a doubling of both allergic and nonallergic asthma. For ever-use, 12 individual pesticides were associated with allergic asthma and four with nonallergic asthma. For allergic asthma, coumaphos (OR 2.34; 95% CI 1.49-3.70), heptachlor (OR 2.01; 95% CI 1.30-3.11), parathion (OR 2.05; 95% CI 1.21-3.46), 80/20 mix (carbon tetrachloride/carbon disulfide) (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.23-3.76) and ethylene dibromide (OR 2.07; 95% CI 1.02-4.20) all showed ORs of >2.0 and significant exposure-response trends. For nonallergic asthma, DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) showed the strongest association (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.09-1.84), but with little evidence of increasing asthma with increasing use. Current animal handling and farm activities did not confound these results. There was little evidence that allergy alone was driving these associations. In conclusion, pesticides may be an overlooked contributor to asthma risk among farmers. |
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