Summary
The risk of shipyard workers acquiring lung cancer and gastrointestinal cancer was investigated retrospectively by analysing the mortality pattern of 365 deceased shipyard workers. Instead of using the proportional mortality ratio (PMR), the odds ratio (OR) was determined according to a method proposed by Axelson, Miettinen and Der Wang. The pattern of causes of death among Swedish males was used as a reference. The OR was 2.3 for lung cancer and 1.4 for gastrointestinal cancer, using death in cancers of other sites (ICD 170–209) as reference diseases. There was a heavy exposure to asbestos, which is the probable cause of the increased risk of lung cancer in this population.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Axelson O (1979) The case-referent (case-control) study in occupational health epidemiology. Scand J Work Environ Health 5:91–99
Barroll A, Ramström LM (1979) Tobaksvanor i Sverige. Tobaken och vi 1:7–15 [in Swedish]
Blot WJ, Fraumeni JF (1981) Cancer among shipyard workers. In: Peto R, Schneideman M (eds) Banburry Report 9: Quantification of occupational cancer. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, pp 37–46
Cause of death 1960, 1961, 1962, ... 1978, 1979. National Central Bureau of Statistics, Stockholm
Edge JR (1976) Asbestos-related disease in Barrow-in-Furness. Environ Res 11:244–247
Edge JR (1979) Incidence of bronchial carcinoma in shipyard workers with pleural plaques. Ann NY Acad Sci 330:289–294
Fletcher DE (1972) A mortality study of shipyard workers with pleural plaques. Br J Ind Med 29:142–145
Harries PG (1968) Asbestosis hazards in naval dockyards. Ann Occup Hyg 11:135–145
Kolonel LN, Hirohata T, Chappell BV, Viola FV, Harris DE (1980) Cancer mortality in a cohort of naval shipyard workers in Hawaii: early findings. JNCI 64:739–743
de Lajartre M, de Lajartre AY (1979) Mesothelioma on the coast of Brittany, France. Ann NY Acad Sci 330:323–332
Lumley KPS (1976) A proportional study of cancer registrations of dockyard workers. Br J Ind Med 33:108–114
Mantel N, Haenszel W (1959) Statistical aspects of the analysis of data from retrospective studies of disease. JNCI 22:719–748
McEwen J, Finlayson A, Mair A, Gibson AAM (1970) Mesothelioma in Scotland. Br Med J 4:575–578
Miettinen OS (1976) Estimability and estimation in case-referent studies. Am J Epidemiol 103:226–235
Miettinen O, Der Wang J (1981) An alternative to the proportionate mortality ratio. Am J Epidemiol 114:144–148
Puntoni R, Vercelli M, Franco M, Valerie, F, Santi L (1979) Mortality among shipyard workers in Genoa, Italy. Ann NY Acad Sci 330:353–377
Sandén Å, Järvholm B, Näslund P-E (1984) Mortality and morbidity of Swedish insulation workers. Scand J Work Environ Health 10:207
Selikoff IJ, Seidman H (1981) Cancer of the pancreas among asbestos insulation workers. Cancer 47:1469–1473
Stumphins J (1968) Epidemiology of mesothelioma on Walcheren Island. Br J Ind Med 28:59–66
Stumphins J (1979) Mesothelioma incidence in a Dutch shipyard. Ann NY Acad Sci 330:317–322
Whitwell R, Rawcliff RM (1971) Diffuse malignant mesothelioma and astbestos exposure. Thorax 26:6–22
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sandén, Å., Näslund, PE. & JärvhoIm, B. Mortality in lung and gastrointestinal cancer among shipyard workers. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 55, 277–283 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377686
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377686