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Query: UMLS:C0032273 (pneumoconiosis)
 1,578 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pulmonary diseases attributable to asbestos exposure constitute a significant public health burden, yet few studies have investigated potential genetic determinants of susceptibility to asbestos-related diseases. The glutathione-S-transferases are a family of conjugating enzymes that both catalyze the detoxification of a variety of potentially cytotoxic electrophilic agents and act in the generation of sulfadipeptide leukotriene inflammatory mediators. The gene encoding glutathione-S-transferase class mu (GSTM-1) is polymorphic; approximately 50% of Caucasian individuals have a homozygous deletion of this gene and do not produce functional enzyme. Glutathione-S-transferase mu (GST-mu) deficiency has been previously reported to be associated with smoking-induced lung cancer. We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the prevalence of the homozygous deletion for the GSTM-1 gene in members of the carpentry trade occupationally exposed to asbestos. Members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America attending their 1991 National Union conference were invited to participate. Each participant was offered a chest X-ray and was asked to complete a comprehensive questionnaire and have their blood drawn. All radiographs were assessed for the presence of pneumoconiosis in a blinded fashion by a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-certified International Labor Office "B" reader. Individual GSTM-1 status was determined using polymerase chain reaction methods. Six hundred fifty-eight workers were studied. Of these, 80 (12.2%) had X-ray abnormalities associated with asbestos exposure. Individuals genetically deficient in GST-mu were significantly more likely to have radiographic evidence of nonmalignant asbestos-related disease than those who were not deficient (chi 2 = 5.0; P < 0.03).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1994 Sep
PMID:Inherited glutathione-S-transferase deficiency is a risk factor for pulmonary asbestosis. 800 Feb 97

A cohort of some 11,000 men born 1891-1920 and employed for at least one month in the chrysotile mines and mills of Quebec, was established in 1966 and has been followed ever since. Of the 5351 men surviving into 1976, only 16 could not be traced; 2508 were still alive in 1989, and 2827 had died; by the end of 1992 a further 698 were known to have died, giving an overall mortality of almost 80%. This paper presents the results of analysis of mortality for the period 1976 to 1988 inclusive, obtained by the subject-years method, with Quebec mortality for reference. In many respects the standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) 20 years or more after first employment were similar to those for the period 1951-75--namely, all causes 1.07 (1951-75, 1.09); heart disease 1.02 (1.04); cerebrovascular disease 1.06 (1.07); external causes 1.17 (1.17). The SMR for lung cancer, however, rose from 1.25 to 1.39 and deaths from mesothelioma increased from eight (10 before review) to 25; deaths from respiratory tuberculosis fell from 57 to five. Among men whose exposure by age 55 was at least 300 million particles per cubic foot x years (mpcf.y), the SMR (all causes) was elevated in the two main mining regions, Asbestos and Thetford Mines, and for the small factory in Asbestos; so were the SMRs for lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and respiratory disease other than pneumoconiosis. Except for lung cancer, however, there was little convincing evidence of gradients over four classes of exposure, divided at 30, 100, and 300 mpcf.y. Over seven narrower categories of exposure up to 300 mpcf.y the SMR for lung cancer fluctuated around 1.27 with no indication of trend, but increased steeply above that level. Mortality form pneumoconiosis was strongly related to exposure, and the trend for mesothelioma was not dissimilar. Mortality generally was related systematically to cigarette smoking habit, recorded in life from 99% of survivors into 1976; smokers of 20 or more cigarettes a day had the highest SMRs not only for lung cancer but also for all causes, cancer of the stomach, pancreas, and larynx, and ischaemic heart disease. For lung cancer SMRs increased fivefold with smoking, but the increase with dust exposure was comparatively slight for non-smokers, lower again for ex-smokers, and negligible for smokers of at least 20 cigarettes a day; thus the asbestos-smoking interaction was less than multiplicative. Of the 33 deaths from mesothelioma in the cohort to date, 28 were in miners and millers and five were in employees of a small asbestos products factory where commercial amphiboles had also been used. Preliminary analysis also suggest that the risk of mesothelioma was higher in the mines and mills at Thetford Mines than in those at Asbestos. More detailed studies of these differences and of exposure-response relations for lung cancer are under way.
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PMID:The 1891-1920 birth cohort of Quebec chrysotile miners and millers: mortality 1976-88. 828 Jun 38

The ability of preoperative quality-of-life and physiologic variables to predict postoperative complications was tested in 117 consecutive patients undergoing thoracotomy for possible or definite lung cancer. Preoperatively, quality of life was globally assessed by the QLI and Sickness Impact Profile. Dyspnea was assessed by the Clinical Dyspnea Index and a modified Pneumoconiosis Research Unit question. Spirometry and maximal exercise testing were carried out in 115 and 46 subjects, respectively. Thirty-seven percent experienced at least one respiratory complication (eg, pneumonia, atelectasis prompting bronchoscopy, pulmonary embolism). Twofold or greater increases in respiratory complications were associated with current smoking (p < 0.05), cancer as the final pathologic condition (p < 0.10), at least moderate dyspnea (p < 0.10), FEV 1 < 60 percent of predicted (p < 0.05), ventilatory reserve < 25 L (p < 0.05), and VO2max < 1.25 L (p < 0.05). Twofold increases in the incidence of any complication (respiratory, cardiac, etc) were associated with age > or = 75 years (p < 0.05) and cancer as the final pathologic condition (p < 0.05). We conclude that simple historic information (age, smoking status, cancer status, dyspnea) indicates the risk of postoperative morbidity. General quality-of-life measures were not good predictors of morbidity. Our findings corroborate the few studies supporting the value of VO2max and suggest that the usefulness of the ventilatory reserve deserves further attention.
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PMID:Preoperative prediction of pulmonary complications following thoracic surgery. 832 61

Pathological examinations of 233 consecutive autopsy cases with nonasbestos pneumonconiosis revealed evidence of diffuse interstitial fibrosis (DIF) in 64 (27.5%), among whom 45 (19.3%) showed bilateral involvement and 9 (3.9%) extensive disease closely resembling usual interstitial pneumonia. The patients with DIF were significantly older and had longer occupational histories as compared with those without DIF. There was no correlation between the occurrence of DIF and the type of the underlying disease (silicosis or mixed dust pneumoconiosis) except that an extensive DIF was more frequently associated with mixed dust pneumoconiosis. The extensive DIF developed an in situ malignancy much more frequently (33.3%) than the focal disease (2.6%).
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PMID:Diffuse interstitial fibrosis in nonasbestos pneumoconiosis--a pathological study. 834 54

A retrospective cohort study was made on lung cancer and all tumours among coal workers with pneumoconiosis in the Haibowan Mining Bureau. Results indicated that the mortality of lung cancer among workers with pneumoconiosis was distinctly higher than that among the local population (P < 0.005, RR = 56.1, AR = 225.2, SMR = 8.07, P < 0.01). The mortality of all tumours among staffs and workers in the Haibowan Mining Bureau was 599.4 per one hundred thousand, but only 62.5 among the local population (P < 0.005). It is suggested that lung cancer in workers exposed to coal dust for more than 18 years should be regarded as occupational cancer.
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PMID:[An epidemiological investigation on lung cancer and other tumours among coal workers with pneumoconiosis]. 835 19

Cancer is a worldwide public health problem, accounting for an increasing proportion of all deaths. It is the second leading cause of death in most of the industrialised world, and developing countries appear to be launched on a cancer epidemic, similar to that in industrialised countries. In developing countries, most cancer deaths are due to tumours of the stomach, oesophagus, lung, liver and uterine cervix; occupational cancers account for an undetermined number of these cases. Occupationally associated neoplasms may either be related directly to specific exposures within a workplace, e.g., bladder cancer in benzidine-exposed workers, or reflect indirect factors, including socioeconomic status and conditions of life. Asbestos-induced pneumoconiosis is recognised as an occupational disease in many developing countries, whereas asbestos-related malignancies draw less attention. The rising prevalence of cigarette smoking in these countries greatly magnifies the effect of asbestos in inducing lung cancer. Transplantation of industries from developed to developing countries is often accompanied by a reduction in the standard of working conditions. The rising unemployment in developing countries is unlikely to incite workers to claim better conditions.
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PMID:Occupational cancer in developing and newly industrialized countries. 836 28

This study estimates the extent of work-related chronic disease fatalities in Oklahoma. Occupational cancer, pneumoconiosis, and chronic respiratory, cardiovascular, renal, and neurological diseases are addressed specifically. Also, the costs of chronic occupational illness are estimated. Because many cases of work-related disease find their way to the primary care physician, an individual who often has little formal training in the recognition and diagnosis of occupational or environmental illness, the education of primary care physicians and medical students in occupational disease recognition and prevention is encouraged.
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PMID:Occupational illness in Oklahoma. 842 42

The relationships between chest radiographs (CXR) and corresponding pathology were investigated in 430 autopsied coal miners from West Virginia. Whole-lung sections were reviewed and graded on four-point severity scales for the following lesions of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP): macules, micro- and macronodules (small and large fibrotic nodules), and progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Antemortem CXR were classified by three B readers using the 1971 International Labor Office (ILO) U/C classification (6). On pathologic examination, 96% of miners had macules, 70% micronodules, 45% macronodules, 15% silicosis, and 28% PMF. By CXR, 69% of the miners had small, rounded opacity profusions of category > or = 0/1. Data analysis revealed increasing odds that small opacities of category > or = 0/1 would be detected with increasing grade of nodules. Profusion category 0/0 was often reported for cases with macules of mild to moderate grade and mild levels of micronodules. Overall, q-type opacities were associated with macules and micronodules, whereas the large r-type opacities were associated with macronodules. By CXR, large opacities showed good correlation with pathologic PMF. However, about one-third of cases identified as having large opacities by CXR were not substantiated as PMF by pathology. One-fourth of these cases could be explained by lung lesions such as Caplan's nodules, tuberculosis scars, and tumors. Similarly, 22% of cases classified as PMF on pathology had no large opacities by CXR. In half of these cases, the radiologists had noted other abnormalities (cancer, tuberculosis) by CXR as large opacities. Overall, the study showed good agreement (Somer's d = 0.64) between the predicted probabilities and observed responses of a profusion category > or = 0/1 for pathologic CWP lesions. However, the study also showed that CXR were insensitive for detecting minimal CWP lesions, and were unreliable indicators in the presence of concomitant pulmonary pathology.
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PMID:Radiographic and pathologic correlation of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. 881 Jun 14

A 60-year-old man has been followed up for pneumoconiosis for 7 years. He was admitted to our hospital because of melena. He was undergone a colonofiberscopy and was diagnosed as rectal cancer. We performed anterior resection of the rectum (Stage I). About 5 months after the first operation, abnormal shadows of the both lungs were growing in size. Bronchoscopic examination revealed adenocarcinoma, we performed left upper lobectomy (Stage I) and this case was judged a synchronous double cancer.
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PMID:[Experience with surgery for synchronous double cancer of rectum and lung detected after long-term follow-up for pneumoconiosis]. 895 94

This paper draws together the mortality experience for a cohort of some 11000 male Quebec Chrysotile miners and millers, reported at intervals since 1971 and now again updated. Of the 10918 men in the complete cohort, 1138 were lost to view, almost all never traced after employment of only a month or two before 1935; the other 9780 men were traced into 1992. Of these, 8009 (82%) are known to have died: 657 from lung cancer, 38 from mesotheliona, 1205 from other malignant disease, 108 from pneumoconiosis and 561 from other non-malignant respiratory diseases (excluding tuberculosis). After early fluctuations. SMRs (all causes) against Quebec rates have been reasonably steady since about 1945. For men first employed in Asbestos, mine or factory, they were very much what might have been expected for a blue collar population without any hazardous exposure. SMRs in the Thetford Mines area were almost 8% higher, but in line with anecdotal evidence concerning socio-economic status. At exposures below 300 (million particles per cubic foot) x years, (mpcf.y), equivalent to roughly 1000 (fibres/ml) x years-or, say, 10 years in the 1940s at 80 (fibres/ml)-findings were as follows. There were no discernible associations of degree of exposure and SMRs, whether for all causes of death or for all the specific cancer sites examined. The average SMRs were 1.07 (all causes), and 1.16, 0.93, 1.03 and 1.21, respectively, for gastric, other abdominal, laryngeal and lung cancer. Men whose exposures were less then 300 mpcf.y suffered almost one-half of the 146 deaths from pneumoconiosis or mesothelioma; the elimination of these two causes would have reduced these men's SMR (all causes) from 1.07 to approximately 1.06. Thus it is concluded from the viewpoint of mortality that exposure in this industry to less than 300 mpcf.y has been essentially innocuous, although there was a small risk or pneumoconiosis or mesothelioma. Higher exposures have, however, led to excesses, increasing with degree of exposure, of mortality from all causes, and from lung cancer and stomach cancer, but such exposures, of at least 300 mpcf.y, are several orders of magnitude more severe than any that have been seen for many years. The effects of cigarette smoking were much more deleterious than those of dust exposure, not only for lung cancer (the SMR for smokers of 20+ cigarettes a day being 4.6 times higher than that for non-smokers), but also for stomach cancer (2.0 times higher), laryngeal cancer (2.9 times higher), and-most importantly-for all causes (1.6 times higher).
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PMID:The 1891-1920 birth cohort of Quebec chrysotile miners and millers: development from 1904 and mortality to 1992. 1141 50


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