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NIOSH Safety and Health Topic:

Occupational Heart Disease

Little is known about occupational risks for coronary heart disease. A few specific toxins encountered occupationally are known to affect the heart, most prominently carbon disulfide, nitroglycerin, and carbon monoxide. Of these, carbon monoxide is the most common occupational exposure; it is also a common environmental exposure due to vehicle exhaust. There is substantial evidence that environmental tobacco smoke, extreme heat, and extreme cold are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and it is presumed that they are risk factors when they are encountered in the occupational setting. In addition, while the linkages are not yet understood, numberous studies show a relationship between exposure to stress at work and heart disease. The weight of the evidence also supports and assocation between occupational noise and increased blood pressure, although this association cannot yet be regarded as established. Shift work, which disrupts circadian rhythms, has also been linked to heart disease, although there again, the data are far from conclusive. Physical activity at work, either too much or too little, can also be a risk factor for heart disease. While in general, more physical activity results in less heart disease, heavy lifting (in occupational and nonoccupational settings) has been associated with increased risk of heart attack. Further epidemiologic research into all these areas is warranted.

NIOSHTIC-2 Search

NIOSHTIC-2 search results on Occupational Heart Disease
NIOSHTIC-2 is a searchable bibliographic database of occupational safety and health publications, documents, grant reports, and journal articles supported in whole or in part by NIOSH.

Carbon Disulfide

Occupational Heart Disease
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Environmental and Occupational Medicine (1992; pp. 593-600))
Chemical and nonchemical causes of occupational heart disease were reviewed. Several chemical agents were considered to have a direct effect on the myocardium. Evidence for a direct causal relationship between carbon-disulfide and coronary artery disease (CAD) was strongest.

Carbon Monoxide

Exposure of Motor Vehicle Examiners to Carbon Monoxide: A Historical Prospective Mortality Study
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Archives of Environmental Health (1981; vol. 36, pp. 59-66))
Information about the effect of exhaust emissions, including carbon-monoxide (CO), on motor vehicle examiners.

Heart Disease Mortality Among Bridge and Tunnel Officers Exposed to Carbon Monoxide
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
American Journal of Epidemiology (1988; vol. 128, pp. 1276-1288)
The authors investigated the effect of occupational exposure to carbon monoxide on mortality from heart disease in a retrospective study of 5,529 New York City bridge and tunnel officers employed between January 1, 1952 and February 10, 1981, at any one of nine major water crossings operated by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority of New York City.

Occupational Heart Disease
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Environmental and Occupational Medicine (1992; pp. 593-600))
Chemical and nonchemical causes of occupational heart disease were reviewed. Several chemical agents were considered to have a direct effect on the myocardium.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Risk Factors for Heart Disease Among Never Smokers in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(abstract on journal Web site)
(American Journal of Epidemiology (1998; vol. 147, pp. 932-939))
An analysis of studies of occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and heart disease, which estimated an increased risk of heart disease of 20-30% among exposed workers, causing 1,710 deaths annually among workers aged 35-69.

NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 54: Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the Workplace (Lung Cancer and Other Health Effects)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 91-108 (1991)
This publication contains information on the carcinogenic effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and the possible association between ETS exposure and an increased risk of heart disease.

Occupational Heart Disease
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Environmental and Occupational Medicine (1992; pp. 593-600))
Chemical and nonchemical causes of occupational heart disease were reviewed. Several chemical agents were considered to have a direct effect on the myocardium.

Nitroglycerin

Cardiovascular Mortality Among Munitions Workers Exposed to Nitroglycerin and Dinitrotoluene
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Scandanavian Journal of Work and Environmental Health (1992; vol. 18, pp. 34-43))
Information about a study of cardiovascular mortality among munitions workers exposed to nitroglycerin and dinitrotoluene (DNT).

Occupational Heart Disease
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Environmental and Occupational Medicine (1992; pp. 593-600))
Chemical and nonchemical causes of occupational heart disease were reviewed. Several chemical agents were considered to have a direct effect on the myocardium.

Shiftwork

Occupational Heart Disease
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Environmental and Occupational Medicine (1992; pp. 593-600))
Chemical and nonchemical causes of occupational heart disease were reviewed. Several chemical agents were considered to have a direct effect on the myocardium.

Plain Language About Shift Work
this document in PDF PDF only  572 KB (47 pages)
NIOSH Publication Number 97-145 (1997)
This publication explains the hazards of shiftwork, how the hazards occur, and how the hazards of shiftwork can be avoided.

Shift Work, Long Hours, and Cardiovascular Disease: A Reveiw
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Occupational Medicine (2000; vol 15, pp. 7-17))
A review of the literature with comments on possible mechanisms linking irregular hours and heart disease as well as on the methodologic difficulties of studying this topic.

Shift Work, Shift Change, and Risk of Death from Heart Disease at Work
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(American Journal of Industrial Medicine (1996; vol 29, pp. 278-281))
A study of shift work and heart disease among blue-collar workers, which found no relationship between non-rotating shift work and the risk of heart disease.

Stress

A Follow-up Study of Job Strain and Heart Disease Among Males in the NHANES1 Population
(abstract--bibliographic information only ; full text available on journal web site)
(American Journal of Industrial Medicine (1997; vol. 31, pp. 256-260))
A study of heart disease and job stress, which found that increased job control--which reduces job stress--was associated with lower incidence of ischemic heart disease, taking into account leading risk factors such as smoking.

Occupational Heart Disease
(abstract--bibliographic information only)
(Environmental and Occupational Medicine (1992; pp. 593-600))
Chemical and nonchemical causes of occupational heart disease were reviewed. Several chemical agents were considered to have a direct effect on the myocardium.

Stress...At Work
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 99-101 (1999)
Esta Pãgina en Español En Español
This booklet highlights knowledge about the cause of stress at work and outlines steps that can be taken to prevent job stress.

 

Occupational Heart Disease

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