RESUMO
During an investigation of a novel interstitial lung disease in a cohort of nylon flock workers, a former worker was found to have developed bilateral synchronous pulmonary adenocarcinomas three decades after he quit smoking, suggesting that exposures in this industry might pose excessive risk of lung cancer. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of lung cancer incidence in the original study cohort (n=162) from August 15, 1998, to August 14, 2008. The Rhode Island Cancer Registry identified cohort members with lung cancer and provided age-gender-era-specific rates of lung cancer in Rhode Island. Five cases of lung cancer occurred among cohort members versus 1.61 cases expected for a standardized incidence ratio of 3.1 (95% CI, 1.01-7.23). The observed threefold increase in lung cancer incidence could not be readily ascribed to chance, study bias, or uncontrolled confounding. Workers in this industry should be notified of their potentially increased risk of lung cancer.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Pulmonares/epidemiologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/etiologia , Nylons/efeitos adversos , Doenças Profissionais/epidemiologia , Doenças Profissionais/etiologia , Exposição Ocupacional/efeitos adversos , Adenocarcinoma/patologia , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Carcinoma de Células Pequenas/patologia , Humanos , Incidência , Neoplasias Pulmonares/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Distribuição de Poisson , Sistema de Registros , Estudos Retrospectivos , Rhode Island/epidemiologia , Indústria Têxtil , Adulto JovemRESUMO
The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) has received support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Office (ILO) to publish the African Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety. The African Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety should not be a medium for industry propaganda, or the source of misinformation among the workers of Africa. Instead, FIOH should provide the same level of scientific information in Africa that it does in Finland and other developed countries.
Assuntos
Amianto/efeitos adversos , Comunicação , Políticas Editoriais , Exposição Ocupacional/efeitos adversos , Saúde Ocupacional , Publicações Periódicas como Assunto/ética , Indústria Química/normas , Conflito de Interesses , Finlândia , Humanos , Exposição Ocupacional/normas , Propaganda , Organização Mundial da Saúde , ZimbábueRESUMO
PURPOSE: To characterize the thin-section computed tomographic (CT) features of flock worker's lung (FWL) and to determine whether these features may be used to distinguish workers with FWL from flock workers who do not fulfill diagnostic criteria for FWL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thin-section CT images obtained in 43 flock workers (including 11 with FWL) were reviewed independently by radiologists blinded to occupational and clinical details. CT features recorded included ground-glass opacities, consolidation, micronodules, reticular abnormality, and septal thickening. Thirty-five of the CT scans (including nine obtained in patients with FWL) were also studied by using quantitative image analysis. The Student t test was used to compare mean lung attenuation between the workers with FWL and those without it. RESULTS: Every patient with FWL and 19 (59%) of the 32 exposed flock workers who did not meet criteria for the disease had an abnormal thin-section CT scan. The most common findings in FWL were ground-glass opacities and micronodules. Quantitative analysis showed a mean lung attenuation of -736.4 HU in patients with FWL, compared with -775.0 HU in workers without the disease (P <.05). CONCLUSION: While ground-glass opacities, micronodules, or both were found in all cases of FWL, these abnormalities were also present in a substantial proportion of symptomatic flock workers who did not satisfy current criteria for FWL. Although nonspecific, these findings should suggest the diagnosis of FWL in exposed individuals.