Abstract
Purpose
A multi-centre IARC-coordinated European cohort study provided evidence of an association between lung cancer risk and bitumen fume exposure. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess whether these associations were robust to assumptions in the exposure assessment for which support could not be obtained due to lack of either measurements or direct observations.
Methods
New exposure estimates were generated by changing assumptions on exposure levels, specific tasks, lags, and coal tar use. Subsequently, Poisson regression models estimated relative risks (RRs); change in fit of models was evaluated.
Results
The influence of these assumptions was minimal, with log-likelihood deviations between −5.0 and 4.7% and similar patterns in dose-dependent increases of lung cancer risk. In the highest exposure categories, point estimates of RRs ranged 2.07–2.83 for average, and 1.22–2.23 for cumulative exposure.
Conclusions
The small increase in lung cancer risk associated with bitumen fume exposure depends only to a limited extent on the subjective judgments made in the exposure assessment for this cohort.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahrens W, Stewart P (2003) Retrospective exposure assessment. In: Nieuwenhuijsen MJ (ed) Exposure assessment in occupational and environmental epidemiology. Oxford University Press Inc, Oxford, pp 103–118
Boffetta P, Burstyn I, Partanen T, Kromhout H, Svane O, Langard S, Jarvholm B et al (2001) IARC epidemiological study of cancer mortality among European asphalt workers (IARC International Report No 01/003). International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon
Boffetta P, Burstyn I, Partanen T, Kromhout H, Svane O, Langard S, Jarvholm B et al (2003a) Cancer mortality among European asphalt workers: an international epidemiological study. I. Results of the analysis based on job titles. Am J Ind Med 43:18–27
Boffetta P, Burstyn I, Partanen T, Kromhout H, Svane O, Langard S, Jarvholm B et al (2003b) Cancer mortality among European Asphalt workers: an International Epidemiological Study. II. Exposure to Bitumen Fume and Other Agents. Am J Ind Med 43:28–39
Burstyn I, Kromhout H (2000) Are all members of a paving crew uniformly exposed to bitumen fume, organic vapour and benzo(a)pyrene? Risk Anal 20(5):653–663
Burstyn I, Kromhout H, Cruise PJ, Brennan P (2000a) Designing an international industrial hygiene database of exposures among workers in the Asphalt industry. Ann Occup Hyg 44(1):57–66
Burstyn I, Kromhout H, Kauppinen T, Heikkila P, Boffetta P (2000b) Statistical modelling of the determinants of historical exposure to bitumen and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons among paving workers. Ann Occup Hyg 44(1):43–56
Burstyn I, Kromhout H, Boffetta P (2000c) Literature review of levels and determinants of exposure to potential carcinogens and other agents in road construction industry. Am Ind Hyg Ass J 61:715–726
Burstyn I, Boffetta P, Burr GA, Cenni A, Knecht U, Sciarra G, Kromhout H (2002) Validity of empirical models of exposure in asphalt paving. Occup Environ Med 9:620–624
Burstyn I, Boffetta P, Kauppinen T, Heikkila P, Svane O, Partanen T, Stucker I et al (2003a) Estimating exposures in the Asphalt industry for an international epidemiological cohort study on cancer. Am J Ind Med 43:3–17
Burstyn I, Boffetta P, Kauppinen T, Heikkila P, Svane O, Partanen T, Stucker I et al (2003b) Performance of different exposure assessment approaches in a study of bitumen fume exposure and lung cancer mortality. Am J Ind Med 43:40–48
Checkoway H, Pearce N, Hickey JLS, Dement JM (1990) Latency analysis in occupational epidemiology. Arch Environ Health 45(2):95–100
Doll RS (1996) Weak associations in epidemiology: importance, detection, and interpretation. J Epidemiol 6(4):S11–S20
Fayerweather WE (2007) Meta-analysis of lung cancer in asphalt roofing and paving workers with external adjustment for confounding by coal tar. J Occup Environ Hyg 4(S1):175–200
Feinleib M (1987) Biases and weak associations. Prev Med 16(2):150–164
Hooiveld M, Spee T, Burstyn I, Kromhout H, Heederik D (2003) Lung cancer mortality in a Dutch cohort of asphalt workers: evaluation of possible confounding by smoking. Am J Ind Med 43:79–87
Kromhout H, Loomis DP, Kleckner RC, Savitz DA (1997) Sensitivity of the relation between cumulative magnetic field exposure and brain cancer mortality to choice of monitoring data grouping scheme. Epidemiology 8(4):442–445
Loomis D, Kromhout H (2004) Exposure variability: concepts and applications in occupational epidemiology. Am J Ind Med 45(1):113–122
Loomis A, Kromhout H, Kleckner RC, Savitz DA (1998) Effects of the analytical treatment of exposure data on associations of cancer and occupational magnetic field exposure. Am J Ind Med 34(1):49–56
Loomis D, Salvan A, Kromhout H, Kriebel D (1999) Selecting indices of occupational exposure for epidemiologic studies. Occup Hyg 5(1):73–91
Mundt DJ, van Wijngaarden E, Mundt KA (2007) An assessment of the possible extent of confounding in epidemiological studies of lung cancer risk among roofers. J Occup Environ Hyg 4(Suppl 1):163–174
Partanen T, Boffetta P (1994) Cancer risk in asphalt workers and roofers: review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies. Am J Ind Med 26(6):721–740
Rappaport SM, Lyles RH, Kupper LL (1995) An exposure-assessment strategy for within- and between-worker sources of variability. Ann Occup Hyg 39(4):469–495
Rothman KJ (1981) Induction and latent periods. Am J Epidemiol 114:253–259
Salvan A, Stayner L, Steenland K, Smith R (1995) Selecting an exposure lag period. Epidemiology 6:387–390
Schulte PA (2007) Gaps in scientific knowledge about the carcinogenic potential of asphalt/bitumen fumes. J Occup Environ Hyg 4(Suppl 1):3–5
Straif K, Baan R, Grosse Y, Secretan B, El Ghissassi F, Cogliano D (2005) Carcinogenicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Lancet 6:931–932
Zou G (2004) A modified poisson regression approach to prospective studies with binary data. Am J Epidemiol 59(7):702–706
Acknowledgments
This study was sponsored by a training fellowship grant from the European Union Sixth Framework Programme Network of Excellence on Environmental Cancer risk, Nutrition and Individual Susceptibility (ECNIS) (FOOD-CT-2005-513 943). The international component of the study was supported by share cost contracts from the European Commission (grant No. BMH4-CT95-1100) and EAPA, Eurobitume, and CONCAWE.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
de Vocht, F., Burstyn, I., Ferro, G. et al. Sensitivity of the association between increased lung cancer risk and bitumen fume exposure to the assumptions in the assessment of exposure. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 82, 723–733 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-008-0373-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-008-0373-6