Formaldehyde exposure and respiratory and related cancers. A case-referent study among Finnish woodworkers.

Abstract

exposure and respiratory and related cancers: A case-referent study among Finnish wood work ers. Scand J Work Environ Health II (1985) 409-415. A case-referent study was undertaken to investigate the associations between formaldehyde exposure and respiratory and related cancers. Fifty-seven such cancers from a retrospective cohort of male woodworkers form ed the case group. They were mat ched by year of birth with 171 referents . Exposure to formaldehyde was assessed with job-exposure matrices . The median of the time-weighted average concentration was about I ppm, and the mean duration of exposure was 10 years among the exposed. Odds ratios (dR) were calculated for formaldehyde exposure (1.44), peak exposure to form aldehyde (1.26), and exposure to formald ehyde-containing wood dust (1.22). None of the values exceeded unity with statistical significance. Allowance was also made for a 10-year period from the onset of exposure . Birth year, cigarette smok ing and exposure to wood dust, chlorophenols, pesticides, and terpene s were contr olled by stratification . The adju sted dRs did not change appreci ably. Th e highest dR was 1.95 for formaldehyde exposure without allowance for minimum latenc y, adjusted for exposure to terpenes. No expo sure-response relation was observed for the level, duration, or dose (ppm-years) of formald ehyde exposure. Th e result is nonpositive and may be explained by absence of effect, by too short a follow-up, or by insuffici ent power for detecting a mild excess risk.

Epidemiologic evidence on the relationship between formaldehyde exposure and cancer.

“…Among the industrial workers, the CRR was 1.1 for lung cancer for the shorter latency group and 1.2 for the longer latenc y group . Three studies showed higher lung cancer risks with longer latency (23,25,31), and three b Lower level = all exp osed , high er leve l = p robab ly exposed t o high leve ls for at least one year. C On a scal e of 1-9, lower level = 1-2 and higher level = 2:3 (all among th ose exposed to lower levels of wood dusts) .…”

“…With these data, quant itative estimates were developed and used in exposure-response analyses. Only two of the industrial studies included information on exposure oth er than fo rmaldehyde (24,31) .…”

Formaldehyde exposure and respiratory cancer among woodworkers--an update.

“…The follow-up of all male production workers who entered and were employed for at least a year in the se plants bet ween I January 1944 and 31 December 1965 formed the " entry" cohort base from which the case-referent study was built. The numbers of cohort members from the vari ous woodworking facilities were 630 from particle board plants, 1775 from plywood plants, 876 from constru ctio n carpen tr y plant s, 1483 from furniture manu facturin g plants, 2531 from sawmills, and 12 from a glue manu facturing plan t. Thi s was the final combined cohort base embracing the experience of the orig inal cohort (N = 3805; 57 cases during 1957-1980), the result s of which have been published earlier (19); the extended followup of the same cohort (16 additional cases during [1981][1982]; and the follow-up of the augmented cohort, mainly from construction carpentry and furniture industries (N = 3502; 63 cases during .…”

“…We have earlier reported a statistically nonsignificant rate ratio of 1.4 for respiratory cancer among Finnish woodworkers exposed to formaldeh yde , as contrasted to woodworkers occupationally unexposed to formaldeh yde (19). The data deri ved from a casereferent study nested within a woodworker cohort.…”

Exposure to formaldehyde and cancer mortality in a cohort of workers producing resins.

“…Epidemiologic studie s were carried out in various occupationally exposed popu lations . Different designs were used , ie, proportional mortality ra tio (PMR) studies (14,16,20,22), standardized mortality ratio (SMR) studies (I, 7, 8, 13,23), and case-referent studie s (4,II,17,18). Their results have been inconclusive so far.…”