Recent geographic patterns of lung cancer and mesothelioma mortality rates in 49 shipyard counties in the United States, 1970–94
✍ Scribed by A. Jemal; D. Grauman; S. Devesa
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 704 KB
- Volume
- 37
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0271-3586
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Background Lung cancer mortality rates among white males in the United States were observed to be elevated during 1950±69 in counties with shipbuilding industries during World War II; risk was found to be associated with asbestos exposure. We evaluated the geographic patterns in more recent years, 1970±94, for whites and compared them with the 1950±69 patterns. Methods We calculated age-adjusted rates and estimated rate ratios between comparison groups. Results Rates generally were higher in shipyard counties than in all nonshipyard counties and in coastal nonshipyard counties for both sexes and time periods. Rates increased markedly from 1950±69 to 1970±94 in all groups, with the changes more pronounced in females than males. Pleural mesothelioma mortality rates were also signi®cantly higher in shipyard counties than coastal nonshipyard counties in all regions among males but not among females.
Conclusion
The more pronounced changes in lung cancer mortality rates among females in shipyard counties may be attributed to the combined effects of low asbestos exposures and changes in smoking behavior. Am.