Mortality study in an asbestos cement factory in Naples, Italy

• Main Authors: Simona Menegozzo, Pietro Comba, Daniela Ferrante, Marco De Santis, Giuseppe Gorini, Francesco Izzo, Corrado Magnani, Roberta Pirastu, Andrea Simonetti, Sara Tùnesi, Massimo Menegozzo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Istituto Superiore di Sanità 2011-01-01
• Series: Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanità
• Subjects: lavoratori del cemento amianto; tumore della pleura; tumore del polmone; tumore del peritoneo; studio di mortalità
• Online Access: http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0021-25712011000300010&lng=en&tlng=en

The objective of this paper is to investigate mortality among 1247 male asbestos-cement workers employed in an asbestos-cement plant located in Naples. The cohort included 1247 men hired between 1950 and 1986. The follow-up began on January 1st 1965. The vital status and causes of death were ascertained up to December 31 2005. Cause-specific mortality rates of the Campania Region population were used as reference. Relative risks were estimated using Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs), and the confidence intervals were calculated at a 95% level (95% CI). A significant increase in mortality was observed for respiratory disease (81 deaths; SMR = 187; 95% CI = 149-233), particularly for pneumoconiosis (42 deaths; SMR = 13 313; 95% CI = 9595-17 996) of which 41 deaths for asbestosis (SMR = 43 385; 95% CI = 31 134-58 857), for pleural cancer (24 deaths; SMR = 2617; 95% CI = 1677-3893), for lung cancer (84 deaths; SMR=153; 95% CI = 122-189) and for peritoneal cancer (9 deaths; SMR = 1985; 95% CI = 908-3769). Non-significant increases were also observed for rectum cancer (6 deaths; SMR = 157; 95% CI = 58-342). In conclusion, consistently with other mortality studies on asbestos-cement workers performed in different countries, an increased mortality from asbestosis, lung cancer, pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma was detected in the present cohort.