Occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica and chronic non-malignant renal disease: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: While occupational exposure to respirable silica is known to lead to lung disease, most notably silicosis, its association with chronic kidney disease is unclear. OBJECTIVES: This review explores the association between occupational exposure to respirable silica and chronic non-malignant renal disease such as glomerulonephritis. The evidence has been collected and compiled. Possible sources of bias are thoroughly discussed. METHODS: Cohort studies with silica exposure and case–control studies of renal disease were searched in PubMed until January 2015. Two authors independently abstracted data; any disagreement was resolved by consulting a third reviewer. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the association to silica exposure. RESULTS: A total of 23 cohort and four case–control studies were included in the analysis. The meta-analysis of cohort studies yielded elevated overall SMRs for renal disease. Some studies, however, included dose–response analyses, most of which did not show a positive trend. The approaches and results of the case–control studies were very heterogeneous. CONCLUSIONS: While the studies of cohorts exposed to silica found elevated SMRs for renal disease, no clear evidence of a dose–response relationship emerged. The elevated risk may be attributed to diagnostic and methodological issues. In order to permit a reliable estimation of a possible causal link, exposed cohorts should be monitored for renal disease, as the information from mortality studies is hardly reliable in this field. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00420-017-1219-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.