Papers by Fabriziomaria GOBBA
American Journal of Epidemiology, 2003
The authors evaluated the relation between occupational exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF)... more The authors evaluated the relation between occupational exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. The study was based on 27,790 subjects from the Swedish Twin Registry. Exposure to ELF magnetic fields was assessed by linking occupation reported in 1967 or 1973 to a job exposure matrix. Four levels of exposure were related to cause-specific mortality through 1996, and primary and contributing causes of death were considered. The authors estimated relative risks by Cox regression, with adjustment for several cardiovascular disease risk indicators. The authors calculated the synergy index to evaluate potential interaction between exposure to ELF magnetic fields (>0.2 µT) and genetic susceptibility to acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Arrhythmia-related death, ischemic heart disease other than AMI, and atherosclerosis showed no association with ELF magnetic fields. The authors found a low-level increase in AMI risk in the highest exposure group (relative risk = 1.3, 95% confidence interval: 0.9, 1.9) and suggestions of an exposure-response relation (p = 0.02). A synergy index of 2.7 (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 6.6) in monozygotic twins indicated that the risk of AMI was strengthened among ELF magnetic field-exposed subjects with genetic susceptibility to the disease. The results for AMI corroborate previous findings from the United States. The unusual opportunity to include genetic susceptibility in the present analyses showed that evaluations of effect modification in vulnerable subjects are warranted in ELF magnetic field research.
Infection, Feb 7, 2024
Purpose Anti SARS-CoV-2 vaccination initially showed high effectiveness in preventing COVID-19. H... more Purpose Anti SARS-CoV-2 vaccination initially showed high effectiveness in preventing COVID-19. However, after the surge of variants of concern, the effectiveness dropped. Several studies investigated if this was related to the decrease of the humoral response over time; however, this issue is still unclear. The aim of this study was to understand whether SARS-CoV-2 anti-S IgG levels can be used to predict breakthrough infection risk and define the timing for further booster doses administration. Method Within the framework of the ORCHESTRA Project, over 20,000 health workers from 11 European centers were enrolled since December 2020. We performed two Cox proportional hazards survival analyses regarding pre-Omicron (from January to July 2021) and Omicron (December 2021-May 2022) periods. The serological response was classified as high (above the 75th percentile), medium (25th-75th), or low (< 25th). Results Seventy-four (0.33%) and 2122 (20%) health workers were infected during the first and second periods, respectively. Both Cox analyses showed that having high anti-S titer was linked to a significantly lower risk of infection as compared to having medium serological response [HR of high vs medium anti-S titer = 0.27 (95% CI 0.11-0.66) during the first phase, HR = 0.76 (95% CI 0.62-0.93) during the second phase]. Conclusion Vaccine effectiveness wanes significantly after new variants surge, making anti-S titer unsuitable to predict optimal timing for further booster dose administration. Studies on other immunological indicators, such as cellular immunity, are therefore needed to better understand the mechanisms and duration of protection against breakthrough infection risk.
Abstracts, Mar 1, 2023
such as balazone, since 1997, and the announcement of the ban on 30 pesticides (mevinone, etc.) a... more such as balazone, since 1997, and the announcement of the ban on 30 pesticides (mevinone, etc.) and 87 pesticides (dibenzoate, etc.) from 2013 to 2019. Conclusions The intervention effects of major agricultural reforms and pesticide source control bans are actually reflected in the age-standardized incidence of pesticide poisoning. It also supports the view that the ban on extremely toxic organophosphorus pesticides in the past was indeed effective in the control of organic phosphorus pesticide poisoning among farmers.
Cytotoxic activities of natural killer (NK) lymphocytes in workers exposed to various levels of extremely low frequency magnetic field
n/a, 2003
Scambi tra Cromatidi Fratelli (SCE) e High-Frequency Cells in lavoratori professionalmente esposti a campi magnetici a frequenza estremamente bassa (ELF)
BACKGROUND: Up now no firm conclusions can be drawn on the genotoxicity of Extremely Low Frequenc... more BACKGROUND: Up now no firm conclusions can be drawn on the genotoxicity of Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Magnetic Fields (MF) in exposed workers: both an increase in chromosomal aberrations (CA) and micronuclei (MN) or no effects were observed in substation workers, while a slight increase in CA, but not in sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) or MN was reported in linesman; an increase in CA was observed in cable splicers and, more recently, in train engine drivers, but results have not been replicated. OBJECTIVES: Objective of the study was an evaluation of possible genotoxicity of occupational exposure to ELF-MF. METHODS: SCE, high-frequency cells (HFC) and SCE in HFC were measured in peripheral blood lymphocytes from 70 workers exposed to various levels of ELF-MF in different occupations, not involving exposure to known mutagens or carcinogens. In all participants, individual ELF-MF exposure was measured throughout the whole work-shift for 3 consecutive days by personal monitoring. RESULTS: Time Weighted Average (TWA) values of ELF-MF in the whole group ranged from 0.01 to 3.48 microT; the geometric mean was 0.19 mT, and only 3 subjects exceeded 2 microT. According to the individual TWA exposure, subjects were divided into two groups: low exposed ( 0.2 microT). The mean values of SCE, HFC and SCE in HFC were compared between low and highly exposed: no significant differences were observed. The result was further tested by selection and comparison of workers exposed up to 0.1 microT vs. exposed > 0.4 microT only, i.e. excluding intermediate exposures: again no difference in genotoxicity indices was observed. Also multivariate analysis did not show any correlation between individual ELF-MF exposure and genotoxicity indices. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study do not give any support to the hypothesis that occupational exposure to ELF-MF up to about 2 microT, i.e. at the levels currently found in most workplaces, can exert a genotoxic effect in workers
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Feb 10, 2021
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Medicina Del Lavoro, Jun 8, 2018
Natural killer activity in workers exposed to various levels of Extremely Low Frequency-Electromagnetic Fields (ELF-EMF)
Data on the effects of Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Magnetic Fields (MF) on immune system in hum... more Data on the effects of Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Magnetic Fields (MF) on immune system in humans are conflicting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the NK cytotoxic activity in peripheral lymphocytes of a group of workers exposed to different levels of ELF-MF
Frontiers in Public Health
IntroductionThe rising incidence of skin cancer over the years has made it a significant public a... more IntroductionThe rising incidence of skin cancer over the years has made it a significant public and occupational health issue. However, skin cancer is highly preventable, mainly through reduced exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR), which can be achieved by a variety of individual and collective protective measures and interventions. The relative risk associated with different patterns of exposure to solar UVR differs for the subtypes of keratinocyte cancers (KC). Specifically, whether the exposure is intermittent or continuous, and occurs in an occupational or leisure/recreational setting. The main aim of the study using this protocol is to contribute to raising public and policy awareness on solar UVR-inflicted occupational skin cancers in Lisbon. This will be achieved by performing direct measurements of the solar UVR dose received by outdoor workers using a digital platform. Results will likely contribute to further understanding the risk estimates for keratinocyte cance...
PLOS ONE
Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the most significant occupational carcinogenic exposure in t... more Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the most significant occupational carcinogenic exposure in terms of the number of workers exposed (i.e., outdoor workers). Consequently, solar UVR-induced skin cancers are among the most common forms of occupational malignancies that are potentially expected globally. This systematic review is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021295221) and aims to assess the risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) associated to occupational solar UVR exposure. Systematic searches will be performed in three electronic literature databases (PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, and Scopus). Further references will be retrieved by a manual search (e.g., in grey literature databases, internet search engines, and organizational websites). We will include cohort studies and case-control studies. Risk of Bias assessment will be conducted separately for case-control and cohort studies. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) will be used fo...
Antibodies
The titer of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies produced after vaccination shows a relevant decay ove... more The titer of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies produced after vaccination shows a relevant decay over time, as demonstrated in several studies. However, less is known on the possible factors affecting the entity of this decay. The aim of this study is to analyze a group of individual factors which are possibly associated with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titer decay six months after the second vaccine dose. We report here the results of a follow-up serological analysis and a questionnaire-based evaluation of a sample of workers from an Italian nursing home, vaccinated with two doses of BNT162b2 vaccine in early 2021. The baseline data were collected one month after the vaccine, while in the present analysis we report the data collected six months later. Our data show a relevant decay of the neutralizing antibody titer, even if for all the workers a largely positive response was detected. Moreover, our results demonstrate a possible association between younger age and the absence of previou...
Energies
Solar radiation exposure at work is a relevant heath risk in the construction sector. Our objecti... more Solar radiation exposure at work is a relevant heath risk in the construction sector. Our objective was to monitor for a full month the individual solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure of a group of three construction workers active in Siena (latitude = 43°19′ N), a town in Tuscany (Italy). We used personal electronic dosimeters “X-2012-10” (Gigahertz, Turkenfeld, Germany) to register the UV irradiance in the UVA and UVB/C regions separately and we consulted a specific database to retrieve the corresponding ambient erythemal UVR dose (cloud-free conditions). In spring, construction workers from central Italy received a quite variable UVR dose, between 0.9 standard erythemal doses (SED) and 15.6 SED/day, 5.7 on average. Considering the proportion with respect to the potential environmental exposure, personal exposure resulted between 2.7% and 31.2% of the ambient erythemal dose, with a mean value of 12.5%. Cumulatively, the three construction workers received in one working mont...
European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education
Published studies dealing with health promotion activities, such as the improvement of physical a... more Published studies dealing with health promotion activities, such as the improvement of physical activity and healthy eating, for workers and students prove the effectiveness of these preventive interventions. The consequent benefits include better prevention of cardiovascular risk and an improvement in quality of life. Considering this, an intervention aimed at promoting healthy eating and non-sedentary lifestyles has been implemented within an Italian university: the aim of the present research is to evaluate its effectiveness. The intervention consisted of a targeted asynchronous e-learning two-hour course on healthy eating and non-sedentary lifestyles. The attendants were 2004 university students and employees. We conducted two surveys before and after the training intervention, and, through the responses obtained, we evaluated the effectiveness of the intervention. We applied different statistical methods, including unpaired t-tests and nonparametric tests, principal components ...
NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy
We developed a visual tool to assess risk perception for a sample of male construction workers (f... more We developed a visual tool to assess risk perception for a sample of male construction workers (forty Italian and twenty-eight immigrant workers), just before and after a sixteen-hour training course. The questionnaire included photographs of real construction sites, and workers were instructed to select pictograms representing the occupational risks present in each photograph. Points were awarded for correctly identifying any risks that were present, and points were deducted for failing to identify risks that were present or identifying risks that were not present. We found: (1) Before the course, risk perception was significantly lower in immigrants compared to Italians ( p < .001); (2) risk perception improved significantly ( p < .001) among all workers tested; and (3) after the training, the difference in risk perception between Italians and immigrants was no longer statistically significant ( p = .1086). Although the sample size was relatively small, the results suggest t...
Safety and Health at Work, 2022
The terms and conditions for the reuse of this version of the manuscript are specified in the pub... more The terms and conditions for the reuse of this version of the manuscript are specified in the publishing policy. For all terms of use and more information see the publisher's website.
Safety and Health at Work, 2022
The terms and conditions for the reuse of this version of the manuscript are specified in the pub... more The terms and conditions for the reuse of this version of the manuscript are specified in the publishing policy. For all terms of use and more information see the publisher's website.
La Medicina del Lavoro, 2020
Background: The eye is an important sensory organ occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation (I... more Background: The eye is an important sensory organ occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation (IR) in healthcare workers (HCWs) engaged in medical imaging (MI). New evidence highlights the possible induction of cataract at IR exposure levels to be much lower than expected in the past. Objective: Conduct an updated review on the current evidence on cataract risk in healthcare workers exposed to IR. Methods: Published scientific studies on cataract risk in IR exposed healthcare workers were collected through a systematic search of two biomedical databases (MEDLINE and Scopus). Data from included studies was extracted and summarized. Study quality was also assessed. Results: All 21 eligible studies reported an increased prevalence of cataract, especially posterior subcapsular cataract, in IR exposed HCWs with a higher prevalence in interventional cardiology staff. Discussion: Our review synthesizes the latest evidence to support the hypothesis of a significantly increased risk of occu...
filtrazione utilizzando il selettore IOM, sono state determinate le concentrazioni di polveri tot... more filtrazione utilizzando il selettore IOM, sono state determinate le concentrazioni di polveri totali con metodo gravimetrico, di cromo totale con ICP-MS-DRC, e delle specie del CrIII e del CrVI con HPLC accoppiato ad un ICP-MS. Risultati. L’esposizione occupazionale a CrVI nei 16 campionamenti ambientali effettuati ha mostrato concentrazioni comprese tra <0.0005 e 2.80 μg/m3 (valore mediano 0.025 μg/m3), mentre l’esposizione a Cr totale è risultata compresa tra 0.007 e 48.10 μg/m3 (valore mediano 0.12 μg/m3). Il rapporto CrVI/CrIII ha evidenziato come il CrVI prevalga generalmente sul CrIII (valore mediano 2.79), tuttavia con range variabile da 0.03 a 13.0. Conclusioni. I risultati hanno confermato la validità della speciazione del Cr aerodisperso per valutare l’esposizione occupazionale a CrVI rispetto a quella a CrIII. LA PREVENZIONE DELLE DERMATOPATIE PROFESSIONALI
Poster Presentations, 2021
Introduction A few epidemiologic studies have reported increased risk of circulatory disease amon... more Introduction A few epidemiologic studies have reported increased risk of circulatory disease among population exposed to ionizing radiation although the mechanism has not been established. Objectives We investigated the association between occupational radiation exposure and inflammatory biomarkers in medical workers at interventional radiology departments. Methods We conducted a field survey for interventional medical workers in 2017. Individual radiation dose was linked to the National Dose Registry in 1996-2017. Twenty-three inflammatory biomarkers related to circulatory diseases were measured using by multiplex immunoassays in blood plasma. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the associations between radiation exposure and inflammatory biomarkers adjusted for potential confounders. Results A total of 73 male medical workers (52 radiologists, 21 radiologic technologists) were included in this study and they have been worked for a mean of 11.1 years at the department of interventional radiology. The mean cumulative badge dose was 22.5 mSv, which ranged from the 0.01 to 109.3 mSv. The pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-b, IFN-γ, and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ra, IL-4 were significantly decreased with cumulative occupational radiation dose (coefficient =-0.388 per 10 mSv,-0.080 per 10 mSv,-0.564 per 10 mSv,-0.068 per 10 mSv, respectively), whereas endothelial cell adhesion molecules E-selectin and pro-inflammatory cytokines MIF showed significantly increased association (coefficient = 0.058 per 10 mSv, 0.189 per 10 mSv, respectively). The association between radiation dose and the level of biomarkers were similar by job titles. Conclusion This study suggests that low-dose occupational radiation exposure was associated with a few inflammatory biomarkers related with circulatory diseases among interventional medical workers. However, given some limitations, further investigation with larger population are warranted.
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Papers by Fabriziomaria GOBBA