Field evaluation of a passive personal air sampler for screening of PAH exposure in workplaces

New sampling methods are needed to simplify and enable frequent monitoring of workers' exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The sampler needs to fulfil some key operational requirements for occupational exposure assessments: (i) be useable as a personal sampler; (ii) work over 8 h exposure time; (iii) sequester PAHs both in gas and particle phase, (iv) yield reliable estimates of air concentrations. Here, a new smaller design of the traditional polyurethane foam (PUF) passive air sampler (PAS) (i.e. a 'mini-PUF') was introduced and assessed against these requirements in sites with elevated PAH concentrations. The exposure times were 2 weeks and 8 hours. The obtained sampling rates (R-values) were not significantly different between gas phase (0.4-3.3 m3 day-1, 0.3-2.3 L min-1) and particle associated PAHs (0.5-1.9 m3 day-1, 0.4-1.3 L min-1). The accuracy in estimating air concentrations was within ±25% from the active sampler for half of the PAHs for the mini-PUF under 8 h exposures. Significant correlations (p < 0.003) were found between personally deployed mini-PUFs and a co-deployed personal active sampling method. This together with the low costs and ease-of-use of the mini-PUF encourage application in exposure assessments

Risk factors for severe COVID-19 in the young—before and after ICU admission

Abstract Background Factors associated with severe COVID-19 and death among young adults are not fully understood, including differences between the sexes. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with severe COVID-19 requiring intensive care and 90-day mortality among women and men below 50 years of age. Methods A register-based study using data from mandatory national registers, where patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to the ICU with need for mechanical ventilation (cases) between March 2020 and June 2021 were matched regarding age, sex, and district of residence with 10 population-based controls. Both the study population and the controls were divided into groups based on age (< 50 years, 50–64, and ≥ 65 years) and sex. Multivariate logistic regression models including socioeconomic factors were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between severe COVID-19 in the population to compare the magnitude of the risk associations for co-morbidities in the different age categories, and subsequently factors associated with 90-day mortality among patients admitted to ICU. Results In total, 4921 cases and 49,210 controls (median age 63 years, 71% men) were included. The co-morbidities with the strongest associations with severe COVID-19 for the young population compared to older patients were chronic kidney disease (OR 6.80 [3.61–12.83]), type 2 diabetes (OR 6.31 [4.48–8.88]), hypertension (OR 5.09 [3.79–6.84]), rheumatoid arthritis (OR 4.76 [2.29–9.89]), obesity (OR 3.76 [2.88–4.92]), heart failure (OR 3.06 [1.36–6.89]), and asthma (OR 3.04 [2.22–4.16]). When comparing women vs. men < 50 years of age, stronger associations were seen for women regarding type 2 diabetes (OR 11.25 [6.00–21.08] vs OR 4.97 [3.25–7.60]) and hypertension (OR 8.76 [5.10–15.01] vs OR 4.09 [2.86–5.86]). The factors associated with 90-day mortality in the young were previous venous thromboembolism (OR 5.50 [2.13–14.22]), chronic kidney disease (OR 4.40 [1.64–11.78]) and type 2 diabetes (OR 2.71 [1.39–5.29]). These associations with 90-day mortality were foremost driven by the female population. Conclusion Chronic kidney failure, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, heart failure, and asthma were the strongest risk factors associated with severe COVID-19 requiring ICU-care in individuals < 50 years compared to the older population. However, after ICU admission, previous thromboembolism, chronic kidney failure, and type 2 diabetes were associated with increased 90-day mortality. The risk associations for co-morbidities were generally stronger among younger individuals compared to older and in women compared to men