Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Original article
Welding, a risk factor of lung cancer: the ICARE study
  1. Mireille Matrat1,2,3,
  2. Florence Guida1,
  3. Francesca Mattei1,
  4. Sylvie Cénée1,
  5. Diane Cyr1,
  6. Joëlle Févotte4,
  7. Marie Sanchez1,
  8. Gwenn Menvielle5,6,
  9. Loredana Radoï1,7,
  10. Annie Schmaus1,
  11. Anne-Sophie Woronoff8,
  12. Danièle Luce9,10,
  13. Isabelle Stücker1,
  14. Icare Study Group11
    1. 1Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, UVSQ, CESP, INSERM, Equipe Epidémiologie des cancers, gènes et environnement, Villejuif, France
    2. 2Faculté de médecine, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil, France
    3. 3Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal, Service de Pneumologie et Pathologie Professionnelle, Créteil, France
    4. 4Unité Mixte de Recherche Épidémiologique et de Surveillance Transport Travail Environnement (UMRESTTE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
    5. 5INSERM, UMR_S 1136, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Paris, France
    6. 6UPMC Université de la Sorbonne, Université Paris 06, UMRS 1136, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Paris, France
    7. 7Faculté de chirurgie dentaire, Université Paris Descartes, Montrouge, France
    8. 8Registre des tumeurs du Doubs et du territoire de Belfort, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besançon, Besançon, France
    9. 9INSERM U1085, IRSET, campus de Fouillole, Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe
    10. 10Université de Rennes 1, campus de Fouillole, Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe
    11. 11INSERM U1018 Equipe Epidémiologie des cancers, gènes et environnement, Bâtiment INSERM 15/16, 16 avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier, Villejuif, France
    1. Correspondence to Dr Isabelle Stücker, INSERM U1018 Equipe Epidémiologie des cancers, gènes et environnement, Bâtiment INSERM 15/16, 16 avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier, Villejuif, Cedex F-94807, France; isabelle.stucker{at}inserm.fr

    Abstract

    Objectives We investigated the relationship between lung cancer and occupational exposure to welding activity in ICARE, a population-based case–control study.

    Methods Analyses were restricted to men (2276 cases, 2780 controls). Welding exposure was assessed through detailed questionnaires, including lifelong occupational history. ORs were computed using unconditional logistic regression, adjusted for lifelong cigarette smoking and occupational exposure to asbestos.

    Results Among the regular welders, welding was associated with a risk of lung cancer (OR=1.7, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.5), which increased with the duration (OR=2.0, 95% CI 1.0 to 3.9 when duration >10 years), and was maximum 10–20 years since last welding. The risk was more pronounced in case of gas welding (OR=2.0, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.3), when the workpiece was covered by paint, grease, or other substances (OR=2.0, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.4) and when it was cleaned with chemical substances before welding. No statistically significant increase in lung cancer risk was observed among occasional welders.

    Conclusions Although these results should be confirmed, we showed that type of welding and mode of workpiece preparation are important determinants of the lung cancer risk in regular welders.

    Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.