Increased Standardised Incidence Ratio of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in Taiwanese Asbestos Workers: A 29-Year Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective. This paper aimed to determine the standardised incidence ratio (SIR) of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in workers exposed to asbestos in Taiwan. Methods. All workers employed in asbestos-related factories and registered by the Bureau of Labour Insurance between 1 March, 1950, and 31 December, 1989, were included in the study and were followed from 1 January, 1980, through 31 December, 2009. Incident cases of all cancers, including MPM (ICD-9 code: 163), were obtained from the Taiwan Cancer Registry. SIRs were calculated based on comparison with the incidence rate of the general population of Taiwan and adjusted for age, calendar period, sex, and duration of employment. Results. The highest SIR of MPM was found for male workers first employed before 1979, with a time since first employment more than 30 years (SIR 4.52, 95% CI: 2.25–8.09). After consideration of duration of employment, the SIR for male MPM was 5.78 (95% CI: 1.19–16.89) for the workers employed for more than 20 years in asbestos-related factories. Conclusions. This study corroborates the association between occupational asbestos exposure and MPM. The highest risk of MPM was found among male asbestos workers employed before 1979 and working for more than 20 years in asbestos-related factories.

Impacto Da Exposição Ao Amianto Na Saúde Da População Adulta: Revisão Integrativa

“…O adoecimento no sexo masculino por mesotelioma é resultante das funções ocupacionais lideradas por homens, portanto a carga de doenças amianto relacionadas tendem a prevalecer. A exposição mesmo por um período de tempo reduzido é uma ameaça à saúde (9) . O gênero masculino apresentam risco acentuado de desenvolver doenças provenientes da exposição, devido ao fato dos homens estarem à frente dos cargos ocupacionais nas empresas que manipulam o amianto (32) .…”

“…Dessa forma, o risco ocupacional é uma preocupação emergente, pois a carga de doenças tem um maior impacto em homens, que trabalham diretamente com o amianto (7)(8) e com tempo de exposição em geral superior a 20 anos (9) .…”

Clustering of malignant pleural mesothelioma in asbestos factories: a subgroup analysis in a 29-year follow-up study to identify high-risk industries in Taiwan

“…This study is a subgroup analysis focusing on the MPM cases identified in the retrospective cohort study 12. Taiwan EPA regulates and categorises five groups of asbestos-related factories: those in the asbestos cement industry, the asbestos friction industry, the asbestos thermal insulation industry, industries using serpentine and other (not elsewhere classified).…”

“…We established a retrospective cohort study, using of Taiwan’s Labour Insurance programme to identify those who worked in asbestos-related industries between 1950 and 1989 and followed up with the Taiwan Cancer Registry for the period 1980–2009 to identify incident cancer. Lin et al reported that male asbestos workers had an increased standardised incidence ratio (SIR 2.65, 95% CI 1.54 to 4.25) of MPM 12. Among them, those with more than 20 working years had the highest risk (SIR=5.78).…”

Transnational Dynamics Amid Poor Regulations: Taiwan’s Asbestos Ban Actions and Experiences

“…A historical investigation suggested that only the Labor Insurance possessed the statistical information on occupational diseases, such as silicosis and asbestosis, in Taiwan and these data were not open for academic research [ 39 ]. In the 2010s, increasing epidemiological evidence showed high risk of respiratory cancer among workers associated with occupational asbestos exposure [ 8 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. ARDs, including asbestosis, pleural plaques, and mesothelioma, remained under-recognized in Taiwan [ 38 ].…”