Study of Occupational Chromium, Iron, and Nickel Exposure and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Denmark

Aisha S. Dickerson, Johnni Hansen, Ole Gredal and Marc G. Weisskopf
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Aisha S. Dickerson: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Johnni Hansen: Danish Cancer Society Research Center, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Ole Gredal: National Rehabilitation Center for Neuromuscular Disorders, 8000 Copenhagen, Denmark
Marc G. Weisskopf: Departments Epidemiology of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-9

Abstract: Studies of occupational metal exposures and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have focused primarily on known neurotoxicants, including lead, mercury, selenium, and cadmium. However, these exposures are often co-occurring with other lesser studied metals. We conducted a population-based case-control study with the aim of assessing associations between occupational chromium, iron, and nickel exposures and risk of ALS. We identified ALS cases in Denmark from 1982 through 2013 from the Danish National Patient Registry and matched them to 100 controls based on birth year and sex. Cumulative metal exposures were estimated using job exposure matrices applied to occupational history from the Danish Pension Fund. Although mutually adjusted odds of ALS were higher in men with chromium exposures in the third quartile (aOR = 1.24; 95% CI 0.91, 1.69) and fourth quartile (aOR = 1.19; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.76) compared to those with no exposure, differences did not reach statistical significance. We also observed higher odds of ALS in women with nickel exposures in the third quartile (aOR = 2.21; 95% CI: 1.14, 4.28), but not for the fourth quartile (aOR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.23, 1.64). Our findings do not suggest associations between occupational exposures to these metals and ALS. However, unavoidable non-differential misclassification from the use of JEMs may have masked truly increased risk.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALS; motor neuron disease; metals; occupational exposures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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