Mortality in the NIOSH styrene cohort and exposure subcohorts for selected causes, WA State rates for 1960–2011, and standardised rate ratios for selected causes with >5 deaths or statistically significant excess mortality, comparing high-exposed and low-exposed workers
| Low exposure | High exposure | High vs low | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cause of death | n | WA SMR (95% CI) | n | WA SMR (95% CI) | n | WA SMR (95% CI) | SRR (95% CI) |
| All causes | 598 | 0.96 (0.89 to 1.04) | 445 | 0.91 (0.83 to 1.00) | 153 | 1.17 (0.99 to 1.37) | 1.41 (0.86 to 2.30) |
| All cancers | 181 | 1.07 (0.92 to 1.23) | 127 | 0.98 (0.82 to 1.16) | 54 | 1.35 (1.01 to 1.76) | 1.51 (0.96 to 2.38) |
| digestive and peritoneum | 38 | 0.94 (0.67 to 1.29) | 27 | 0.87 (0.57 to 1.26) | 11 | 1.21 (0.60 to 2.17) | 2.71 (1.07 to 6.86) |
| pancreas | 10 | 1.08 (0.52 to 1.98) | 7 | 1.00 (0.40 to 2.05) | † | 1.33 (0.27 to 3.90) | 1.65 (0.41 to 6.64) |
| trachea, bronchus, lung | 67 | 1.23 (0.95 to 1.56) | 48 | 1.14 (0.84 to 1.51) | 19 | 1.54 (0.92 to 2.40) | 0.77 (0.42 to 1.41) |
| ovary | 5 | 3.08 (1.00 to 7.19) | † | 1.93 (0.05 to 10.73) | 4 | 3.62 (0.99 to 9.28) | 4.16 (0.46 to 37.35) |
| prostate | 17 | 1.20 (0.70 to 1.92) | 15 | 1.19 (0.66 to 1.96) | † | 1.31 (0.16 to 4.72) | 0.49 (0.11 to 2.25) |
| kidney | 6 | 1.37 (0.50 to 2.97) | † | 1.19 (0.32 to 3.04) | † | 1.95 (0.24 to 7.06) | 1.30 (0.19 to 8.97) |
| bladder, other urinary site | 5 | 1.06 (0.35 to 2.48) | † | 1.02 (0.28 to 2.61) | † | 1.28 (0.03 to 7.15) | 1.40 (0.16 to 12.54) |
| other and unspecified sites | 10 | 1.11 (0.53 to 2.04) | 7 | 1.01 (0.41 to 2.08) | † | 1.45 (0.30 to 4.25) | 2.27 (0.52 to 9.98) |
| lymphatic, haematopoietic | 16 | 0.90 (0.52 to 1.47) | 11 | 0.80 (0.40 to 1.43) | 5 | 1.26 (0.41 to 2.94) | 2.09 (0.55 to 7.88) |
| Multiple myeloma | 6 | 1.82 (0.67 to 3.96) | 5 | 1.93 (0.63 to 4.50) | † | 1.41 (0.04 to 7.86) | 2.45 (0.28 to 21.09) |
| Leukaemia | 6 | 0.90 (0.33 to 1.95) | † | 0.57 (0.12 to 1.68) | † | 2.07 (0.43 to 6.06) | 2.97 (0.54 to 16.20) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 17 | 1.04 (0.60 to 1.66) | 13 | 1.05 (0.56 to 1.80) | † | 0.99 (0.27 to 2.52) | 0.90 (0.27 to 3.03) |
| Mental and psychiatric disorders | 11 | 1.19 (0.59 to 2.13) | 9 | 1.22 (0.56 to 2.31) | † | 1.10 (0.13 to 3.97) | 0.55 (0.12 to 2.55) |
| Nervous system disorders | 17 | 0.75 (0.44 to 1.20) | 14 | 0.77 (0.42 to 1.29) | † | 0.66 (0.14 to 1.93) | 0.49 (0.13 to 1.86) |
| Heart diseases | 148 | 0.82 (0.69 to 0.97) | 113 | 0.76 (0.62 to 0.91) | 35 | 1.15 (0.80 to 1.60) | 1.71 (0.55 to 5.31) |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 122 | 0.83 (0.69 to 0.99) | 94 | 0.77 (0.62 to 0.94) | 28 | 1.15 (0.77 to 1.67) | 1.03 (0.36 to 2.94) |
| Other circulatory system diseases | 57 | 1.08 (0.82 to 1.39) | 46 | 1.05 (0.77 to 1.41) | 11 | 1.18 (0.59 to 2.11) | 0.97 (0.46 to 2.02) |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 38 | 1.11 (0.78 to 1.52) | 30 | 1.06 (0.71 to 1.51) | 8 | 1.36 (0.59 to 2.68) | 1.15 (0.48 to 2.75) |
| Diseases of arteries, veins, lymphatics | 15 | 0.95 (0.53 to 1.56) | 13 | 1.00 (0.53 to 1.71) | † | 0.70 (0.08 to 2.52) | 0.70 (0.16 to 3.12) |
| Respiratory system diseases | 56 | 0.99 (0.75 to 1.28) | 39 | 0.84 (0.60 to 1.15) | 17 | 1.64 (0.96 to 2.63) | 1.93 (0.84 to 4.47) |
| Pneumonia | 8 | 0.64 (0.28 to 1.27) | 6 | 0.56 (0.21 to 1.23) | † | 1.12 (0.14 to 4.04) | 4.04 (0.51 to 32.19) |
| COPD | 38 | 1.15 (0.81 to 1.58) | 25 | 0.94 (0.61 to 1.39) | 13 | 2.02 (1.08 to 3.46) | 1.76 (0.80 to 3.92) |
| Other respiratory diseases | 9 | 0.99 (0.45 to 1.88) | 7 | 0.95 (0.38 to 1.95) | † | 1.16 (0.14 to 4.20) | 0.68 (0.14 to 3.31) |
| Digestive system diseases | 24 | 0.95 (0.61 to 1.42) | 22 | 1.14 (0.72 to 1.73) | † | 0.33 (0.04 to 1.20) | 0.17 (0.04 to 0.76) |
| Cirrhosis and other liver diseases. | 15 | 1.21 (0.68 to 2.00) | 14 | 1.55 (0.85 to 2.60) | † | 0.30 (0.01 to 1.66) | 0.16 (0.02 to 1.24) |
| Genitourinary system diseases | 7 | 0.98 (0.40 to 2.02) | † | 0.69 (0.19 to 1.77) | † | 2.27 (0.47 to 6.62) | 3.12 (0.63 to 15.47) |
| Transportation injuries | 17 | 1.05 (0.61 to 1.68) | 12 | 1.09 (0.56 to 1.90) | 5 | 0.97 (0.31 to 2.25) | 0.64 (0.22 to 1.89) |
| Falls | 6 | 1.02 (0.37 to 2.22) | 5 | 1.06 (0.34 to 2.47) | † | 0.87 (0.02 to 4.87) | 0.19 (0.02 to 1.67) |
| Other injury | 16 | 1.17 (0.67 to 1.90) | 9 | 0.95 (0.44 to 1.81) | 7 | 1.65 (0.66 to 3.40) | 3.09 (1.02 to 9.33) |
| Violence | 14 | 0.96 (0.52 to 1.61) | 13 | 1.26 (0.67 to 2.16) | † | 0.23 (0.01 to 1.31) | 0.13 (0.02 to 1.03) |
| Other and unspecified causes | 16 | 1.10 (0.63 to 1.78) | 12 | 1.13 (0.58 to 1.98) | † | 1.01 (0.28 to 2.59) | 0.56 (0.17 to 1.86) |
*Never worked in a department with potential high-styrene exposure.
†Sparse numbers of deaths not reported to protect worker confidentiality.
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; NIOSH, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; SMR, standardised mortality ratio; SRR, standardised rate ratio; WA, Washington.