TY - JOUR
T1 - Mortality among Hardmetal Production Workers
T2 - US Cohort and Nested Case-Control Studies
AU - Marsh, Gary M.
AU - Buchanich, Jeanine M.
AU - Zimmerman, Sarah
AU - Liu, Yimeng
AU - Balmert, Lauren C.
AU - Esmen, Nurtan A.
AU - Kennedy, Kathleen J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Sponsorship: This project was sponsored by grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH) and by a sponsored research contract between the University of Pittsburgh (UPitt) and the International Tungsten Industry Association (ITIA). The design, conduct, analysis, and conclusions of the study are exclusively those of the authors.
Funding Information:
In 2006, ITIA sponsored a Phase 1 feasibility study conducted by an independent contractor to determine the availability and accessibility of company records needed for an international WCCo epidemiology study. University of Pittsburgh (UPitt) and University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) conducted an extended and enhanced Phase 2 feasibility study under support from the ITIA. In Phase 2, conducted from October 2007 through October 2008, we developed and applied several criteria for a candidate site to be included in the international study, including a minimum size of 100 or more employees, producing WCCo or WC products since at least 1982 to allow an adequate latency period for disease development, and having detailed work history (WH) information available for all employees who ever worked at the facility. We identified nine US sites using these criteria. Subsequently, one company chose to withdraw its two facilities from the study. To maintain study size and statistical power, investigators assessed the possibility of including additional US sites with slightly relaxed criteria. The early data collection stages of the final Phase 3 component of the epidemiology study were funded by two grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The remaining components of the study were performed under contract with ITIA.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017 American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Objectives: To evaluate total and cause-specific mortality among hardmetal production workers with emphasis on lung cancer. Methods: Subjects were 7304 workers ever employed in one of eight US plants from 1952 to 2008. Vital status through 2012 was determined for 97% of subjects and cause of death for 98.3% of 1087 deaths. We computed standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and evaluated exposure-response via relative risk regression analysis. Results: We observed overall deficits in deaths for total mortality, all cancers, and lung cancer and found no evidence of any exposure-response relationships for lung cancer. Conclusions: We found no evidence that exposure to tungsten, cobalt, or nickel, at levels experienced by the workers examined, increases lung cancer mortality risks. We also found no evidence that work in the US hardmetal industry increases mortality risks from any other causes of death.
AB - Objectives: To evaluate total and cause-specific mortality among hardmetal production workers with emphasis on lung cancer. Methods: Subjects were 7304 workers ever employed in one of eight US plants from 1952 to 2008. Vital status through 2012 was determined for 97% of subjects and cause of death for 98.3% of 1087 deaths. We computed standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and evaluated exposure-response via relative risk regression analysis. Results: We observed overall deficits in deaths for total mortality, all cancers, and lung cancer and found no evidence of any exposure-response relationships for lung cancer. Conclusions: We found no evidence that exposure to tungsten, cobalt, or nickel, at levels experienced by the workers examined, increases lung cancer mortality risks. We also found no evidence that work in the US hardmetal industry increases mortality risks from any other causes of death.
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U2 - 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001075
DO - 10.1097/JOM.0000000000001075
M3 - Article
C2 - 29215485
AN - SCOPUS:85036662553
SN - 1076-2752
VL - 59
SP - e306-e326
JO - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JF - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
IS - 12
ER -
