Increased lung cancer mortality among chrysotile asbestos textile workers is more strongly associated with exposure to long thin fibres

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dement, John M. ; Elliott L ; Kuempel, Eileen D. ; Loomis D ; Richardson D ; Stayner L
• Description:
  Background Animal data and physical models suggest that the carcinogenicity of asbestos fibres is related to their size and shape. Objectives To investigate the influence of fibre length and diameter on lung cancer risk in workers at asbestos textile mills in North Carolina and South Carolina, USA. Methods Men and women (n=6136) who worked =30 days in production and were employed between 1940 and 1973 were enumerated and followed for vital status through 2003. A matrix of fibre size-specific exposure estimates was constructed using determinations of fibre numbers and dimensions through analysis of 160 historical dust samples by transmission electron microscopy. Associations of lung cancer mortality with metrics of fibre exposure were estimated by Poisson regression with adjustment for age, sex, race and calendar year. Results Exposure to fibres throughout the range of length and diameter was significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer. Models for fibres >5 µm long and <0.25 µm in diameter provided the best fit to the data, while fibres 5-10 µm long and <0.25 µm in diameter were associated most strongly with lung cancer mortality (log rate about 4% per IQR, p<0.001). When indicators of mean fibre length and diameter were modelled simultaneously, lung cancer risk increased as fibre length increased and diameter decreased. Conclusions The findings support the hypothesis that the occurrence of lung cancer is associated most strongly with exposure to long thin asbestos fibres. The relationship of cancer risk and fibre dimensions should be examined in cohorts exposed to other types of fibres.Supplementary data is available at: http://oem.bmj.com/content/suppl/2012/05/11/oemed-2012-100676.DC1/oemed-2012-100676-s1.pdf [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asbestos Epidemiology Inorganic Chemicals Lung Lung Diseases Men Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Safety Textile Industry Women

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• Keywords:
  Asbestos-fibers Humans Lung-cancer Lung-disease Lung-disorders Models Mortality-data Mortality-rates Mortality-surveys Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-analysis Statistical-analysis Textile-workers Textiles-industry

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• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Nebraska ; North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  69
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040887
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2012 Aug; 69(8):564-568
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr Dana Loomis, Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, 984395 University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA
• Email:
  dana.loomis@unmc.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4) ; Chrysotile (CAS RN 12001-29-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Mining
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030930
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20110131
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cdf8d841466de43446abede94ee08c49e999ecaaecd95a48520403d1e34939ba25ea423c37695642931c70f679117ce91d93f05aff1421557cb425d9ba0ac02c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193593/cdc_193593_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 179.13 KB ]