Advance Publication Journal of Occupational Health Accepted for Publication Aug 26, 2009 J-STAGE Advance Published Date: Oct 16, 2009 1 Title: Causal relationship between indium compound inhalation and effects on the lungs 2 Authors: Makiko Nakano1, Kazuyuki Omae1, Akiyo Tanaka2, Miyuki Hirata2, Takehiro 3 Michikawa1, Yuriko Kikuchi1, Noriyuki Yoshioka1, Yuji Nishiwaki1, and Tatsuya Chonan3 4 1) Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Keio 5 University 6 2) Department of Hygiene, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University. 7 3) Department of Medicine, Nikko Memorial Hospital 8 Correspondence to: Makiko Nakano, MD 9 e-mail:
[email protected] 10 phone: +81-3-5363-3758 11 fax: +81-3-3359-3686 12 13 Type of contribution: Originals 14 Running title: Indium-induced respiratory effects 15 The number of words in abstract and the text: (271 words, 3853 words) 16 The number of tables and figures: 5 tables and 1 figure 17 18 Keywords: indium, interstitial pneumonitis, HRCT, KL-6, SP-D, cross-sectional study 19 1 1 Abstract: 2 Background: Recent case reports and epidemiological studies suggest that inhalation of 3 indium dust induces lung damage 4 Objectives: To elucidate the dose-dependent effects of indium on the lungs and to prove a 5 causal relationship more clearly. 6 Methods: A baseline observation was conducted on 465 workers currently exposed to 7 indium, 127 workers formerly exposed to indium and 169 workers without indium exposure 8 in 12 factories and 1 research laboratory from 2003 to 2006. Indium in serum (In-S) was 9 determined as an exposure parameter, and its effects on the lungs were examined.