Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Regional variations in German mesothelioma mortality rates: 2000–2010

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Cancer Causes & Control Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Germany has one of the highest age-adjusted mesothelioma mortality rates worldwide. As mesothelioma occurs ≥30 years after asbestos exposure, contemporary rates likely reflect exposures in the 1960–1970s. During this period, political division between West and East Germany led to differences regarding the import and consumption of asbestos. It is unclear whether mesothelioma rates also differ between these formerly separate countries which are now served by similar health and mortality reporting systems, thereby facilitating regional comparisons.

Methods

We examined regional, temporal, and sex variations in mesothelioma mortality rates in Germany in 2000–2010, collapsing the federal states into West Germany, East Germany, and Berlin. We calculated truncated (≥40 years) age-standardized mesothelioma mortality rates (ASRs40+) per 100,000 person-years, estimated sex-stratified mortality rate ratios (MRRs) (95 % confidence intervals (CIs)), adjusted for age and calendar year from Poisson models, and fitted age–period–cohort models.

Results

There were 12,854 mesothelioma deaths at ages ≥ 40 years in Germany during 2000–2010. ASRs40+ were higher in West (males 4.4; females 0.8) than East (males 1.7; females 0.6) Germany. MRRs for West versus East Germany were 2.68 (95 % CI 2.48–2.88) among males and 1.42 (95 % CI 1.27–1.59) among females. In both regions, mortality rates increased for birth cohorts until the mid 1940s and subsequently declined. The country’s peak mesothelioma burden is predicted to occur by 2020.

Conclusions

Geographical differences in mesothelioma mortality rates are consistent with heterogeneous historical asbestos exposures. Differences may exist for other asbestos-related cancers and should be investigated in analytic studies with individual asbestos exposure information.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Boffetta P, Stayner L (2006) Pleural and peritoneal neosplasms. In: Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni JF (eds) Cancer epidemiology and prevention, 3rd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 659–673

  2. Peto J, Hodgson JT, Matthews FE, Jones JR (1995) Continuing increase in mesothelioma mortality in Britain. Lancet 345(8949):535–539

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Price B, Ware A (2004) Mesothelioma trends in the United States: an update based on surveillance, epidemiology, and end results program data for 1973 through 2003. Am J Epidemiol 159(2):107–112

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bianchi C, Bianchi T (2007) Malignant mesothelioma: global incidence and relationship with asbestos. Ind Health 45(3):379–387

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Delgermaa V, Takahashi K, Park EK, Le GV, Hara T, Sorahan T (2011) Global mesothelioma deaths reported to the World Health Organization between 1994 and 2008. Bull World Health Organ 89(10):716–724C

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Jemal A, Grauman D, Devesa S (2000) Recent geographic patterns of lung cancer and mesothelioma mortality rates in 49 shipyard counties in the United States, 1970–1994. Am J Ind Med 37(5):512–521

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Okello C, Treasure T, Nicholson AG, Peto J, Moller H (2009) Certified causes of death in patients with mesothelioma in South East England. BMC Cancer 9:28

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Doll R, Cook P (1967) Summarizing indices for comparison of cancer incidence data. Int J Cancer 2(3):269–279

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Rutherford MJ, Lambert PC, Thompson JR (2010) Age-period-cohort modelling. Stata J 10:602–627

    Google Scholar 

  10. Pisati M (2004) Simple thematic mapping. Stata J 4:361–378

    Google Scholar 

  11. Rutherford MJ, Thompson JR, Lambert PC (2012) Projecting cancer incidence using age-period-cohort models incorporating restricted cubic splines. Int J Biostat 8(1):33

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Goldberg S, Rey G, Luce D et al (2010) Possible effect of environmental exposure to asbestos on geographical variation in mesothelioma rates. Occup Environ Med 67(6):417–421

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Hagemeyer O, Otten H, Kraus T (2006) Asbestos consumption, asbestos exposure and asbestos-related occupational diseases in Germany. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 79(8):613–620

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Virta RL (2006) Worldwide asbestos supply and consumption trends from 1900 through 2003

  15. Pott F (1994) Asbestos use and carcinogenicity in Germany and a comparison with animal studies. Ann Occup Hyg 38(4):589–600, 420

    Google Scholar 

  16. Sturm W, Menze B, Krause J, Thriene B (1994) Use of asbestos, health risks and induced occupational diseases in the former East Germany. Toxicol Lett 72(1–3):317–324

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Sturm W, Menze B, Krause J, Thriene B (1995) Asbestos-related diseases and asbestos types used in the former GDR. Exp Toxicol Pathol 47(2–3):173–178

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Arendt M, Blome H, Bonk L et al (2013) Faserjahre. BK-report 1/2013. Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung (DGUV), Berlin 2013

  19. Hodgson JT, Darnton A (2010) Mesothelioma risk from chrysotile. Occup Environ Med 67(6):432

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. IARC (2012) A review of human carcinogens: arsenic, metals, fibres, and dusts. IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans, vol 100 C

  21. Montanaro F, Bray F, Gennaro V et al (2003) Pleural mesothelioma incidence in Europe: evidence of some deceleration in the increasing trends. Cancer Causes Control 14(8):791–803

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Darnton A, Hodgson J, Benson P, Coggon D (2012) Mortality from asbestosis and mesothelioma in Britain by birth cohort. Occup Med (Lond) 62(7):549–552

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Burdorf A, Jarvholm B, Englund A (2005) Explaining differences in incidence rates of pleural mesothelioma between Sweden and the Netherlands. Int J Cancer 113(2):298–301

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Fuchs-Schundeln N, Schundeln M (2009) Who stays, who goes, who returns? East-West migration within Germany since reunification. Econ Transit 17(4):703–738

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Peto J, Decarli A, La VC, Levi F, Negri E (1999) The European mesothelioma epidemic. Br J Cancer 79(3–4):666–672

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Schuz J, Schonfeld SJ, Kromhout H et al (2013) A retrospective cohort study of cancer mortality in employees of a Russian chrysotile asbestos mine and mills: study rationale and key features. Cancer Epidemiol 37(4):440–445

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Pesch B, Taeger D, Johnen G et al (2010) Cancer mortality in a surveillance cohort of German males formerly exposed to asbestos. Int J Hyg Environ Health 213(1):44–51

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. van Kampen V, Merget R, Butz M, Taeger D, Bruning T (2008) Trends in suspected and recognized occupational respiratory diseases in Germany between 1970 and 2005. Am J Ind Med 51(7):492–502

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the German Federal Statistical Office for providing the data. We also acknowledge the WHO for provision of data from the mortality database.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Environment and Radiation, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon Cedex 08, France

    Sara J. Schonfeld, Valerie McCormack & Joachim Schüz

  2. Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

    Mark J. Rutherford

Authors
  1. Sara J. Schonfeld
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Valerie McCormack
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mark J. Rutherford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Joachim Schüz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara J. Schonfeld.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schonfeld, S.J., McCormack, V., Rutherford, M.J. et al. Regional variations in German mesothelioma mortality rates: 2000–2010. Cancer Causes Control 25, 615–624 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0368-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0368-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation