Multimillion grant to KI researcher from AFA Försäkring

Jenny Selander, researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), is to receive SEK 8 million from AFA Försäkring for research on how physical and chemical work environment risks affect the risk of developing cardiac and vascular diseases.

Earlier studies indicate that exposure to physical and chemical work environment factors can elevate the risk of cardiac and vascular disease. Few studies, however, have focused on the impact when people are exposed to more than one environmental risk of heart and vascular disease in women in particular, or taken health and socioeconomic status in early life into consideration.

The project “Cardiac diseases in people of working age – a unified approach to determine the significance of the physical and chemical work environment” studies concurrent effects, gender-specific differences in risk and individual risk factors. Examples of the kind of work environment risk focused on include noise, air pollution, vibrations, and physical and strenuous work.

The project is expected to contribute to explaining the relationship between physical and chemical work environment factors and the risk of cardiac and vascular disease. It is hoped that it will also lead to possibilities to design better preventive work.

AFA Försäkring is making grants totalling SEK 50 million to six new research projects within the framework of an R&D programme focusing on research for a working life without cardiac and vascular diseases.