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The prevalence of respiratory symptoms and lung function impairment was studied in a sample of men from a population screening of asbestos-related disorders. When the rates were adjusted for age and smoking habits, 83 subjects with lung fibrosis had an increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms, in particular, phlegm when coughing and breathlessness grades 1-3. Among 200 subjects under 70 years of age who had pleural plaques only, a statistically significant increase was observed in the prevalence of breathlessness grade 1 compared to an external reference population. Among 98 asbestos-exposed subjects who had normal chest X-rays, there was an increase in the prevalence of breathlessness grade 2, cough during the day, and phlegm when coughing. There was a higher proportion of subjects with lung fibrosis who were below 80% of the predicted values for forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) than in the other groups. There was also a higher proportion of subjects with pleural plaques only who were below 90% of the predicted value for FVC than in a group of 90 subjects without asbestos exposure. In accordance with previous studies, these results indicate that pleural plaques in asbestos workers may be of greater importance as a clinical feature than has been recognized in the past.

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S. Asbestos-related findings in chest radiographs of the male population of the county of Telemark, Norway -A cross-sectional study. Scand J Work Environ Health 12 (1986) 567-573. In order to investigate the prevalence of asbestos-related diseases, a cross-sectional population study was conducted among 28 216 men aged 40 years in nine municipalities of the county of Telemark, Norway. In a primary radiographic screening 10 x IO-cm chest radiographs were taken of 21 483 persons. In two independent readings of the radiographs, pleural changes were observed in 6.9 and 8.5 % of the study subjects. Radiographic findings in the primary screening led to 1 431 subjects being selected for a reexamination. On the basis of occupational histories and 40 x 4O-cm chest radiographs, it was concluded that 470 of these subjects (2.2 010 of the screened population) had radiographic changes consistent with an asbestos-related disorder. Among these, 86 had lung fibrosis (82 in combination with pleural plaques) and 384 had pleural plaques only. There were marked differences in the occurrence of asbestos-related disorders between the seven urban and two rural communities studied, and agreement was observed between the occurrence of such disorders and the degree and duration of the reported asbestos exposure. The study presents evidence that asbestos-related disorders may be more prevalent in the general male population than has been recognized earlier.