Premium
Mortality among United States aerospace materials manufacturing workers
Author(s) -
Marsh Gary M.,
Buchanich Jeanine M.,
Graves Jessica,
Zimmerman Sarah,
Liu Yimeng
Publication year - 2019
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.22943
Subject(s) - medicine , nephrosis , standardized mortality ratio , multiple myeloma , cancer , mortality rate , nephritis , environmental health , surgery
Objectives To evaluate long‐term mortality rates among aerospace material manufacturing workers as follow‐up to an earlier observed excess of nephritis/nephrosis. Methods Subjects were 2020 workers ever employed in the facility during 1963‐2014. Vital status through 2014 was determined for all subjects and cause of death for 99.2% of 492 deaths. We computed standard mortality ratios (SMR) and internal relative risks. Results SMRs for nephritis/nephrosis were unremarkable. We observed statistically significant elevated SMRs for kidney cancer among all workers and for the category “other lymphatic hematopoietic tissue cancer” (4/5 deaths from multiple myeloma) among long‐term workers with potential plant exposure. Conclusions We found no evidence of elevated mortality rates for nephritis/nephrosis. Study limitations precluded robust evaluation of whether the elevated rates for kidney cancer and other lymphatic hematopoietic tissue cancer were related to occupational factors at the study site. Our findings for these two cancers warrant continued mortality follow‐up.