Background: Beryllium exposure is a necessary but not sufficient cause of CBD and BeS. The presence of HLADPB1 Glutamine 69 and other polymorphisms were shown in previous studies to influence disease development. Our goal was to examine genetics and exposure effect in the development of BeS and CBD and progression from BeS to CBDMethods: DNA-based typing was conducted for all subjects (n=361) consisting of 61 CBD, 41 BeS, and 259 exact matched controls. Exposures were assessed through job history and industrial hygiene records.Results: Glutamine 69 increased the risk of Chronic Beryllium Disease and Beryllium Sensitization (OR respectively 25.7; 95% CI 6.1-108.5 and 6.4; 95% CI 2.4-17.1). Glutamine 71 had an important role in the development of BeS (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.1-5.6) and was shown to be protective for CBD among Beryllium sensitized individuals (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.16-0.87). There was no clear dose-response or interaction between genetics and exposure, but the matched controls without susceptible genes, although having the highest exposure, remained healthy.Conclusion: Glutamine 69 increased the odds of developing CBD and BeS. Glutamine 71 showed an important role in the development of BeS and possibly reducing the risk of progression to CBD. Further work to explore other polymorphisms is needed to assess exposure-genetic interactions and dose-response associations.
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