Nonmalignant respiratory disease mortality among woodworkers participating in the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II)

Abstract

Nonmalignant respiratory disease (NMRD) mortality was examined among woodworkers participating in the American Cancer Society's CPS‐II cohort study. During the 6‐year prospective follow‐up, there were 97 NMRD deaths among 11,541 men reporting employment in wood‐related occupations and 1,338 NMRD deaths among 317,424 men reporting no exposure to wood dust or wood‐related jobs. Relative risks, adjusted for age and smoking, were calculated using Poisson regression. A small excess of NMRD was observed among woodworkers. However, the relative risk was higher among woodworkers who did not report exposure to wood dust (RR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.18–1.97) than those who did (RR = 1.27, 95% CI = 0.91–1.77), and no clear trend with duration of exposure was observed. An excess of NMRD was observed among woodworkers reporting exposure to asbestos (RR = 1.59, 95% CI = 0.85–2.96), as well as the small number of woodworkers reporting exposure to formaldehyde (RR = 1.95, 95% CI = 0.63–6.06), but men not reporting exposure to these substances also had an excess risk. Although limited by a short follow‐up period and crude indicators of exposure, the strengths of this analysis were the ability to compare woodworkers to a similar, healthy population and to adjust for the effects of smoking. Cohort studies with better exposure information are needed to examine the role of occupational exposures among woodworkers in the etiology of respiratory disease. Am. J. Ind. Med. 34:238–243, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Cancer mortality and wood dust exposure among participants in the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II)

“…The strengths of the study were the size of the exposed cohort, the prospective design of the study, the availability of information on exposure to wood dust, asbestos, and formaldehyde, as well as smoking, and that comparisons were made with an appropriate reference group. An excess risk of nonmalignant respiratory disease was also observed among persons reporting wood-related occupations in this CPS-II cohort [Demers et al, 1998].…”

“…These sites were also those chosen for detailed review in the IARC monograph [1995] on wood dust. Risks for non-malignant respiratory diseases among woodworkers in this cohort are presented in a separate report [Demers et al, 1998].…”

Occupational exposure to wood dust and health effects on the respiratory system in a minor industrial estate in Bursa/Turkey

“…In general, wood dust exposure deteriorates pulmonary functions, increases the prevalence of respiratory diseases, exacerbates existing illnesses, increases cancer incidence and deaths [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reports that wood dust causes cancer and included it in 1995 into Group 1 carcinogens [1].…”

Social and occupational differences in chronic obstructive lung disease in Denmark 1981-1993

“…Some industries have been associated with elevated risks for COPD. Among them are the rubber industry [Peters et al, 1976;Weeks et al, 1981;Zuskin et al, 1994], the metal industry [Sjo Ègren et al, 1985;Malo et al, 1987;Scotti et al, 1989], the wood industry [Chan-Yeung et al, 1976;Toren et al, 1991;Demers et al, 1998], bakery and bread production [Gimenez et al, 1995;Houba et al, 1996Houba et al, , 1998Fishwick et al, 1997] and the hotel, restaurant and catering industry [Akbar-Khanzadeh et al, 1996;Lemiere et al, 1996;Ross et al, 1998]. High risk of COPD has also been associated with occupations like farmers [Pratt 1990;Melbostad et al, 1997;Warren, 1997] and professional drivers [Balarajan et al, 1988;Toren et al, 1997].…”