Lupus Triggered By More Than the Outdoors

Chemical Reaction

The environmental exposure that has one of the best-studied connections with lupus is silica, a mineral that people can be exposed to in mining and glass production. “Silica is one of the strongest known risk factors for the development of lupus,” says Frederick W. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Environmental Autoimmunity Group at the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The problem seems to lie in the fine dust from rock or sand, or in products such as pottery, ceramics, or tile dust, according to Christine G. Parks, M.S.P.H., Ph.D., a research fellow in the Epidemiology Branch of the NIEHS.

The increased lupus risk is between two- and fivefold in those who have been exposed to silica at work, says Miller, who collaborated with Gourley on a review of environmental factors in lupus. Most of the risk noted in studies has been from occupational, not occasional, exposures—miners and farmers who were regularly exposed to silica dust on the job.

Occupational pesticide use has been linked to lupus, as well. Most of the studies have looked at people who worked with pesticides, particularly farmers and agricultural laborers. Recently, though, Parks discovered that even home pesticide use could be an influencing factor. “We found that more frequent or long-term use of insecticides, where you’re being directly exposed by spraying or mixing, was related to a higher risk of developing lupus and rheumatoid arthritis in the postmenopausal women we looked at,” she says.

http://www.lupus.org/magazine/entry/lupus-triggered-by-more-than-the-outdoors