Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia

© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Background: Studies comparing different forms of asbestos are rare, and limited by the failure to compare results with unexposed populations. We compare autoimmune responses among former workers and residents of the crocidolite mining and milling town of Wittenoom, Wes...

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Main Authors: Reid, Alison, Franklin, P., de Klerk, N., Creaney, J., Brims, Fraser, Musk, B., Pfau, J.
Format: Journal Article
Published: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68913
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author Reid, Alison
Franklin, P.
de Klerk, N.
Creaney, J.
Brims, Fraser
Musk, B.
Pfau, J.
author_facet Reid, Alison
Franklin, P.
de Klerk, N.
Creaney, J.
Brims, Fraser
Musk, B.
Pfau, J.
author_sort Reid, Alison
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Background: Studies comparing different forms of asbestos are rare, and limited by the failure to compare results with unexposed populations. We compare autoimmune responses among former workers and residents of the crocidolite mining and milling town of Wittenoom, Western Australia, with an unexposed population. Methods: ANA testing using indirect immunofluorescence was performed on randomly selected serum samples from Wittenoom workers or residents and compared with those from participants of another unexposed cohort study. Results: ANA scores were higher in the Wittenoom participants compared with Busselton and the odds of being ANA positive was fivefold greater among Wittenoom participants than Busselton (OR 5.5, 95%CI 2.3-13.0). Conclusions: This study is the first to report increased ANA positivity among persons exposed exclusively to crocidolite. This finding of a high frequency of positive ANA tests among crocidolite-exposed subjects may be an indicator for an increased risk of systemic autoimmune diseases and needs further scrutiny.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-689132018-06-29T12:35:58Z Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia Reid, Alison Franklin, P. de Klerk, N. Creaney, J. Brims, Fraser Musk, B. Pfau, J. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Background: Studies comparing different forms of asbestos are rare, and limited by the failure to compare results with unexposed populations. We compare autoimmune responses among former workers and residents of the crocidolite mining and milling town of Wittenoom, Western Australia, with an unexposed population. Methods: ANA testing using indirect immunofluorescence was performed on randomly selected serum samples from Wittenoom workers or residents and compared with those from participants of another unexposed cohort study. Results: ANA scores were higher in the Wittenoom participants compared with Busselton and the odds of being ANA positive was fivefold greater among Wittenoom participants than Busselton (OR 5.5, 95%CI 2.3-13.0). Conclusions: This study is the first to report increased ANA positivity among persons exposed exclusively to crocidolite. This finding of a high frequency of positive ANA tests among crocidolite-exposed subjects may be an indicator for an increased risk of systemic autoimmune diseases and needs further scrutiny. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68913 10.1002/ajim.22863 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. restricted
spellingShingle Reid, Alison
Franklin, P.
de Klerk, N.
Creaney, J.
Brims, Fraser
Musk, B.
Pfau, J.
Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia
title Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia
title_full Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia
title_fullStr Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia
title_short Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia
title_sort autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: evidence from wittenoom, western australia
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68913