Cancer mortality in U.S. counties with shipyard industries during World War II

Blot, William J.; Stone, B. J.; Fraumeni, Joseph F.; Morris, Linda E.

doi:10.1016/0013-9351(79)90105-1

Cited by 27 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In an ecological study, Blot et a1 [1978] demonstrated an association between county lung cancer rates and shipyard employment. In a more refined casecontrol study, Blot et al [1979] demonstrated a summary odds ratio of 1.6 for shipyard employment and lung cancer after adjusting for smoking, other occupations, age, race, and county of residence. These data suggest that lung cancer death rates in the area in which the plant was located are likely to be elevated by local shipyard employment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Exposures and mortality among chrysotile asbestos workers. Part II: Mortality

Dement

Harris

Symons

et al. 1983

American J Industrial Med

117

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A retrospective cohort mortality study was conducted among a cohort of 1,261 white males employed one or more months in chrysotile asbestos textile operations and followed between 1940 and 1975. Statistically significant excess mortality was observed for all causes combined (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 150), lung cancer (SMR = 135), diseases of the circulatory system (SMR = 125), nonmalignant respiratory diseases (SMR = 294), and accidents (SMR = 134). Using estimated fiber exposure levels in conjunction with detailed worker job histories, exposure-response relationships were investigated. Strong exposure-response relationships for lung cancer and asbestos related non-malignant respiratory diseases were observed. Compared with data for chrysotile miners and millers, chrysotile textile workers were found to experience significantly greater lung cancer mortality at lower lifetime cumulative exposure levels. Factors such as differences in airborne fiber characteristics may partially account for the large differences in exposure response between textile workers and miners and millers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Exposures and mortality among chrysotile asbestos workers. Part II: Mortality

Dement

Harris

Symons

et al. 1983

American J Industrial Med

117

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“…The shipyard counties used in this study, as de®ned in the previous ecological respiratory cancer mortality study [Blot et al, 1979], are the 49 counties where there was construction or repair of 2000-ton ships during World War II [Fasset, 1948;Blot et al, 1979]. The remaining counties were considered as a group, and a subgroup of 222 coastal nonshipyard counties was identi®ed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mapping the distribution of lung cancer mortality rates for white males in the United States for the 1950±69 period revealed that counties with high rates clustered along the northeast and south coasts [Mason et al, 1975]. To identify possible reasons, an ecological study of respiratory cancer mortality in 49 shipyard counties was conducted, and elevated mortality rates in shipyard counties compared to nonshipyard counties were reported [Blot et al, 1979]. Subsequent analytical studies [Blot et al, , 1982Harrington et al, 1978;Gottlieb et al, 1979;Kolonel et al, 1980Kolonel et al, , 1985 consistently found shipyard employment and asbestos exposure to be risk factors for lung cancer, with risk ratios ranging from 1.4 to 1.7.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent geographic patterns of lung cancer and mesothelioma mortality rates in 49 shipyard counties in the United States, 1970-94

2000

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Background Lung cancer mortality rates among white males in the United States were observed to be elevated during 1950–69 in counties with shipbuilding industries during World War II; risk was found to be associated with asbestos exposure. We evaluated the geographic patterns in more recent years, 1970–94, for whites and compared them with the 1950–69 patterns. Methods We calculated age‐adjusted rates and estimated rate ratios between comparison groups. Results Rates generally were higher in shipyard counties than in all nonshipyard counties and in coastal nonshipyard counties for both sexes and time periods. Rates increased markedly from 1950–69 to 1970–94 in all groups, with the changes more pronounced in females than males. Pleural mesothelioma mortality rates were also significantly higher in shipyard counties than coastal nonshipyard counties in all regions among males but not among females. Conclusions The more pronounced changes in lung cancer mortality rates among females in shipyard counties may be attributed to the combined effects of low asbestos exposures and changes in smoking behavior. Am. J. Ind. Med. 37:512–521, 2000. Published 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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“…For example, the high rates of mesothelioma in counties of the southeastern United States correlated with the presence of shipyard industries and led to the identification of asbestos (used in ship manufacture) as a cause of mesothelioma. 4 We sought to generate insights about the etiology of ovarian cancer by correlating ovarian cancer incidence rates with the distribution of manufacturing within the United States. We report that the incidence of ovarian cancer is significantly correlated with the extent of US manufacturing and, in particular, with the manufacturing of pulp and paper.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%