ArticleERJ open research2016
Artificial stone dust-induced functional and inflammatory abnormalities in exposed workers monitored quantitatively by biometrics.
Article in ERJ open research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Artificial Stone Associated Silicosis: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Biomonitoring of urban ultrafine particle exposure and associated health effects.International journal of public health · 2026Article
- Tetrandrine slows disease progression on high-resolution computed tomography and lung function decline in artificial stone-associated silicosis: a retrospective cohort study.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Article
- Silicosis: from pathogenesis to therapeutics.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- What Do Safety Data Sheets for Artificial Stone Products Tell Us About Composition? A Comparative Analysis with Physicochemical Data.Annals of work exposures and health · 2022Article
- Alveolar crystal burden in stone workers with artificial stone silicosis.Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) · 2022Article
- Current global perspectives on silicosis-Convergence of old and newly emergent hazards.Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) · 2022Review
- Rapid Assessment of Oxidative Damage Potential: A Comparative Study of Engineered Stone Dusts Using a Deoxyguanosine Assay.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Silica Exposure Estimates in Artificial Stone Benchtop Fabrication and Adverse Respiratory Outcomes.Annals of work exposures and health · 2022Article
- Risk Factors of Silicosis Progression: A Retrospective Cohort Study in China.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Compositional and structural analysis of engineered stones and inorganic particles in silicotic nodules of exposed workers.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2021Article
- Early Detection Methods for Silicosis in Australia and Internationally: A Review of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Quantitation of Silica Contents in Lung Explants of Transplanted Patients: Artificial Stone-Induced Silicosis vs. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Association between Crystalline Silica Dust Exposure and Silicosis Development in Artificial Stone Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Cigarette-related cadmium and environmental pollution exposure are reflected in airway ultrafine particle content.ERJ open research · 2020Article
- Artificial stone-associated silicosis in China: A prospective comparison with natural stone-associated silicosis.Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) · 2020Article
- Functional, inflammatory and interstitial impairment due to artificial stone dust ultrafine particles exposure.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2019Article
- Artificial stone-associated silicosis: clinical-pathological-radiological correlates of disease.Respirology case reports · 2019Article
- HO-1 protects smokers exposed to artificial stone dust for pulmonary function tests deterioration.Sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and diffuse lung diseases : official journal of WASOG · 2018Article
- Interstitial lung diseases associated with metal content in silicone breast implants: a case series.Sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and diffuse lung diseases : official journal of WASOG · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The manufacture of kitchen and bath countertops in Israel is based mainly on artificial stone that contains 93% silica as natural quartz, and ∼3500 workers are involved in cutting and processing it. Artificial stone produces high concentrations of silica dust. Exposure to crystalline silica may cause silicosis, an irreversible lung disease. Our aim was to screen exposed workers by quantitative biometric monitoring of functional and inflammatory parameters. 68 exposed artificial stone workers were compared to 48 nonexposed individuals (controls). Exposed workers filled in questionnaires, and all participants underwent pulmonary function tests and induced sputum analyses. Silica was quantitated by a Niton XL3 X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Pulmonary function test results of exposed workers were significantly lower and induced sputa showed significantly higher neutrophilic inflammation compared to controls; both processes were slowed down by the use of protective measures in the workplace. Particle size distribution in induced sputum samples of exposed workers was similar to that of artificial stone dust, which contained aluminium, zirconium and titanium in addition to silica. In conclusion, the quantitation of biometric parameters is useful for monitoring workers exposed to artificial stone in order to avoid deterioration over time.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.