Silicosis appears inevitable among former denim sandblasters: a 4-year follow-up study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Akgun M ; Alper F ; Araz O ; Gorguner M ; Karaman A ; Kreiss, Kathleen ; Ucar EY
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: The course of denim sandblasting silicosis is unknown. We aimed to reevaluate former sandblasters studied in 2007 for incident silicosis, radiographic progression, pulmonary function loss, and mortality and to examine any associations between these outcomes and previously demonstrated risk factors for silicosis. METHODS: We defined silicosis on chest radiograph as category 1/0 small opacity profusion using the International Labor Organization classification. We defined radiographic progression as a profusion increase of two or more subcategories, development of a new large opacity, or an increase in large opacity category. We defined pulmonary function loss as a >/= 12% decrease in FVC. RESULTS: Among the 145 former sandblasters studied in 2007, 83 were reassessed in 2011. In the 4-year follow-up period, nine (6.2%) had died at a mean age of 24 years. Of the 74 living sandblasters available for reexamination, the prevalence of silicosis increased from 55.4% to 95.9%. Radiographic progression, observed in 82%, was associated with younger age, never smoking, foreman work, and sleeping at the workplace. Pulmonary function loss, seen in 66%, was positively associated with never smoking and higher initial FVC % predicted. Death was associated with never smoking, foreman work, number of different denim-sandblasting places of work, sleeping at the workplace, and lower pulmonary function, of which only the number of different places worked remained in multivariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: This 4-year follow-up suggests that almost all former denim sandblasters may develop silicosis, despite short exposures and latency. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Health Radiography Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Silicon Dioxide Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Age-factors Long-term-study Lung-disorders Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system-disorders Radiographic-analysis Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-factors Sand-blasters Sand-blasting Silica-dusts Silicosis Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  0012-3692
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  148
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046808
• Citation:
  Chest 2015 Sep; 148(3):647-654
• Contact Point Address:
  Metin Akgun, MD, FCCP, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Atatürk University, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey
• Email:
  akgunm@gmail.com
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7) ; Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Chest
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ac2ac8d56f90d48256648027527e8e5487258dedf6bc5230291cceb04355727ccff049f0dab015d29f5b0edabbd3b1b4274fe04a71dec7fe888b6f29b43d49e6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202116/cdc_202116_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.03 MB ]