O-153 Ischemic heart disease and occupational exposure to dust

Introduction

Increasing evidence supports an association between exposure to ambient air pollution and ischemic heart disease, but only few studies have investigated if occupational exposure to dust is associated with cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study is to determine if certain particulate occupational exposures increase the risk of ischemic heart disease.

Methods

In this study we will assess the risk of acute myocardial infarction in relation to occupational exposure to mineral dust (respirable quartz), organic dust (endotoxin, wood dust), motor exhaust particles and metal-containing particles. The study is designed as a register-based follow-up study of the entire Danish working population with data on exposure (1976–2019) to specific types of dust based on quantitative job exposure matrices and with data on ischemic heart disease from the National Patient Registry (1995–2019). Demographics, comorbidities, and socio-economic factors will be included in the analyses as well as other working environment conditions such as noise, physically demanding work, sedentary work, stress, and outdoor air pollution. The study will include about one million people with information on occupational exposure to dust through approximately 40 million person-years.

Results

The data analysis is on-going and preliminary results will be presented at the conference.

Conclusions

We expect that this study will contribute with new knowledge on the risk of acute myocardial infarction following different kinds of particulate exposures at work, thus providing the basis for appropriate preventive actions in the working environment.