Occupational risk factors for Wegener's granulomatosis: a case-control study

Wegener's granulomatosis is a systemic vasculitis of unknown aetiology. Previous studies have presented environmental exposures such as silica and farming as potential risk factors.

To investigate the potential risk for Wegener's granulomatosis associated with occupations involving contact with animals and various airway exposures, using a population-based approach.

In the Swedish Register of inpatient care 2288 cases with Wegener's granulomatosis were identified. Ten matched controls for every case were selected from the Swedish Population Register. By linking the cases and controls to the Swedish population censuses, information on employments before the diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis was collected. Relative risks were assessed as odds ratios using conditional logistic regression.

Odds ratios for specific occupations ranged from 0.6 to 1.9, and centred symmetrically around 1. No statistically significant increased risk was noted for the investigated occupations.