Is occupational organic solvent exposure a risk factor for scleroderma?

The primary objective was to determine whether occupational exposure to organic solvents is related to an increased risk of systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma).

Occupational histories were obtained from 178 SSc patients and 200 controls. Exposure scores were computed for each individual using job exposure matrices, which were validated by an industrial expert.

Among men, those with SSc were more likely than controls to have a high cumulative intensity score (odds ratio [OR] 2.9, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.1-7.6) and a high maximum intensity score (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.2-7.1) for any solvent exposure. They were also more likely than controls to have a high maximum intensity score for trichloroethylene exposure (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.0-10.3). Among men and women, significant solvent-disease associations were observed among SSc patients who tested positive for the anti-Scl-70 autoantibody; these trends were not observed among the men and women who tested negative for anti-Scl-70.

These results provide evidence that occupational solvent exposure may be associated with an increased risk of SSc.