An historical prospective study of mortality within a cohort of gas distribution workers

Abstract

An historical prospective study of mortality within a cohort of 1,410 gas distribution workers was conducted. This cohort was followed for ten years (1971-1980) and data on 118 deaths were obtained. Five-year (1973-1977) averages of both St. Louis and United States age-specific mortality figures were used to create "expected" mortality rates for comparison with the observed deaths in the cohort. Analyses of the cohort were done according to: 1) person-years contributed during the study period (the "age-attained" method) and 2) the number of years from commencement of work in the company until the end of the study period (1980) or death (the "latency" methods of analysis, Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) were calculated for all causes of death, all malignant neoplasms, and for cardiovascular disease and malignant neoplasms of the respiratory and digestive systems. In no case was the SMR found to be beyond the range of what would be expected in the "standard" populations. While the present study does not contradict the negative findings of the one previous investigation of mortality of gas distribution workers, the limitations of small cohort size, reliance on death certificates and non-industrial comparison populations make any conclusions at best provisional.

Ο Ρόλος Των Βιολογικών Παραγόντων Στην Αντιμετώπιση Ασθενών Με Μη Μικροκυτταρικό Καρκίνο Του Πνεύμονα

“…Εργάτες που εκτέθηκαν σε εκπομπές από μονάδες φυσικού αερίου εμφάνισαν μεγαλύτερο κίνδυνο καρκίνου του πνεύμονα, που ηταν σχεδόν διπλάσιος σε σχέση με τους μη εκτεθειμένους. Οι κατασκευαστές οροφών που εκτέθηκαν σε αναθυμιάσεις λιθανθρακό πισσας καθώς δούλευαν στην ύπαιθρο, είχαν περίπου 50% αύξηση του κινδύνου εμφάνισης καρκίνου του πνεύμονα μετά από έκθεση 20 χρονών και 150% αύξηση μετά από 40 χρόνια [52].…”