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A mixtures approach to solvent exposures and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a population-based study in Denmark

  • NEURO-EPIDEMIOLOGY
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Abstract

Studies of occupational solvent exposures and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been conflicting. We conducted a population-based case–control study of mixed occupational solvent exposures and ALS. Using the Danish National Patient Registry, we identified ALS cases in Denmark from 1982 to 2013, and matched them to 100 controls based on sex and birth year. We estimated cumulative exposures to solvents (benzene, methylene chloride, toluene, trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane) via job exposure matrices and applied them to occupational history from the Danish Pension Fund. Sex-stratified conditional logistic regression analyses revealed higher adjusted odds of ALS for men with exposure to benzene (aOR = 1.20; 95% CI 1.02, 1.41) and methylene chloride (aOR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.07, 1.42). We used weighted quantile sum regression to explore combined solvent exposures and risk of ALS in exposed subjects and found increased odds of 26 to 28% in all exposure lag periods for every one-unit increase in the mixture index in men. Weights of methylene chloride predominated the mixture index in all lag periods. Our study suggests an increased risk of ALS in men exposed to multiple solvents, with the greatest influence being from methylene chloride. These findings highlight the need to utilize mixtures analysis when considering co-occurring exposures.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Grants R01 ES019188 and P30 ES000002 to MGW. ASD was supported in part by a National Institutes of Health training Grant T32 ES007069. We also appreciate the assistance of summer intern, [Blinded for review] for his assistance compiling and organizing literature in preparation for this study. None of the authors reported any conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Aisha S. Dickerson & Marc G. Weisskopf

  2. Environmental and Occupation Medicine and Epidemiology Division of the Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 667 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 1402-176, USA

    Aisha S. Dickerson & Marc G. Weisskopf

  3. Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Johnni Hansen

  4. Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Shiraya Thompson

  5. National Rehabilitation Center for Neuromuscular Disorders, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Ole Gredal

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Dickerson, A.S., Hansen, J., Thompson, S. et al. A mixtures approach to solvent exposures and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a population-based study in Denmark. Eur J Epidemiol 35, 241–249 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-020-00624-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-020-00624-5

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