Lung Disease in Chinese Textile Workers

描述(由申请者提供)：上海纺织工人学习是R01 OH 02421的竞争性延续。这项提案旨在解决长期暴露在有机粉尘和内毒素下的工人的呼吸健康问题。实验室研究表明，接触革兰氏阴性细菌内毒素会导致急性呼吸道症状和肺功能改变。到目前为止，还没有其他前瞻性流行病学研究讨论棉尘和内毒素对工人的急性和慢性呼吸影响的相对贡献。尽管到目前为止，这项研究已经阐明了粉尘和内毒素相关的肺反应的新方面，但重大问题仍未得到回答。在目标1中，我们将模拟每个受试者25年来肺功能的变化(阶段1)，以及这些下降与粉尘和内毒素的关联(阶段II)。在AIM 2中，我们将研究通过退休解除接触对呼吸健康状况的长期影响。最后，我们增加了一个创新的目标3：评估暴露的急性和慢性肺反应的基因-环境相互作用。自1981年以来一直被跟踪的研究人群(封闭队列)非常适合进行流行病学研究，因为：人员流动率低；女工吸烟率非常低；可靠的基线数据；以相同方式进行研究的合适的对照小组；行业官员、工会和合作研究团队之间的良好合作；可以接触到退休或因残疾离开行业的受试者；以及成本效益。该人口包括447名棉纺织工人和472名丝绸纺织工人，这是1981年首次调查的结果。1986年、1992年、1996年和2001年进行了跟踪调查，参与情况良好。这项拟议的研究是独一无二的，因为在25年期间对粉尘和内毒素的暴露估计可以评估整个研究间隔内粉尘和内毒素的暴露反应关系。这一队列是对暴露在蔬菜粉尘和内毒素中的工作人群进行的最大规模的前瞻性研究。这项工作的结果与各种职业环境中的疾病控制有关，包括纺织、谷物加工、木材加工、动物圈养、污水处理、生物技术以及飓风卡特里娜和丽塔等环境灾难的清理。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Shanghai Textile Worker study is a competing continuation of R01 OH 02421. This proposal is designed to address unanswered questions regarding the respiratory health of workers chronically exposed to organic dust and endotoxin. Exposure to gram-negative bacterial endotoxin has been described in laboratory studies as producing acute respiratory symptoms and lung function change. To date, no other prospective epidemiologic study has addressed the relative contributions of cotton dust and endotoxin in producing both acute and chronic respiratory effects of workers. Although the study to date has elucidated new aspects of dust and endotoxin-related pulmonary responses, significant questions remain unanswered. In AIM 1, we will model changes in pulmonary function over 25 years for each subject (stage 1) and the association of these declines with dust and endotoxin (stage II). In AIM 2, we will examine the long-term effects of removal by retirement from exposure on respiratory health status. Finally, we have added an innovative AIM 3: to assess gene-environment interactions for acute and chronic pulmonary responses to exposure. The study population (a closed cohort) that has been followed since 1981 is unusually well-suited for epidemiologic study due to: low turnover; very low smoking prevalence among women workers; reliable baseline data; a suitable comparison group studied in identical fashion; excellent cooperation among industry officials, union and the collaborative research team; access to subjects who have retired or left the industry in disability; and cost-efficiency. The population includes 447 cotton textile and 472 silk textile workers first surveyed in 1981. Follow-up surveys were conducted in 1986,1992,1996, and 2001 with excellent participation. The proposed study is unique because exposure estimates for both dust and endotoxin over a 25-year period allow assessment of exposure response relationships for both dust and endotoxin for the full study interval. This cohort represents the largest prospective study of a working population exposed to vegetable dust and endotoxin. Results of this work are relevant to disease control in a wide variety of occupational settings, including textiles, grain processing, wood processing, animal confinement, sewage treatment, biotechnology, and clean-up of environmental disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.