Premium
Quantitative exposure‐response for silica dust and lung cancer in Vermont granite workers
Author(s) -
Attfield Michael D.,
Costello Joseph
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.10348
Subject(s) - medicine , lung cancer , pneumoconiosis , silicosis , occupational hygiene , poisson regression , confounding , environmental health , pathology , population , occupational safety and health
Background Excess lung cancer mortality among the exposed Vermont granite workers has been reported. These studies were based on job and tenure surrogates, with the potential for misclassification and inability to evaluate quantitative exposure‐response. Methods Industrial hygiene data collected from 1924 to 1977 was analyzed in conjunction with mortality data to examine quantitative exposure‐response for silica, lung cancer, and other lung diseases. A person‐years analysis was undertaken by cumulative exposure group, including lagged and unlagged tabulations. Poisson models were fitted to untransformed and log transformed exposure. Results The results indicated a clear relationship of lung cancer, tuberculosis, pneumoconiosis, non‐malignant lung disease, and kidney cancer with cumulative exposure. An exposure to 0.05 mg/m 3 from age 20 to 64 was associated with a lifetime excess risk of lung cancer for white males of 27/1,000. Conclusions The results of this study of workers exposed almost exclusively to silica and no other major occupational confounding exposures indicate a clear exposure‐response for lung cancer. Am. J. Ind. Med. 45:129–138, 2004. Published 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.