Original article

Scand J Work Environ Health 1990;16(3):163-168    pdf

https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.1800 | Issue date: 01 Jun 1990

Low birthweight, congenital malformations, and spontaneous abortions among dry-cleaning workers in Scandinavia.

by Olsen J, Hemminki K, Ahlborg G, Bjerkedal T, Kyyronen P, Taskinen H, Lindbohm ML, Heinonen OP, Brandt L, Kolstad H, et al.

With a common study protocol, case-referent studies within cohorts were performed in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland to study reproductive hazards of women doing dry-cleaning work. Due to national differences not all of the studies could follow exactly the same procedures in data collection, but they were all based on the linkage of cohorts of dry-cleaning and laundry workers to national registers of births and reproductive failures. Summary measures from each study were combined without the data being pooled. The most significant finding was an increased risk of spontaneous abortion among the most exposed women in the Finnish data. This finding was only supported by the results of the other studies to a minor degree, and the combined odds ratio had confidence limits which included unity.