An epidemiological study in an Anatolian village environmentally exposed to tremolite asbestos

Our plain-English summary of An epidemiological study in an Anatolian village environmentally exposed to tremolite asbestos, by Y.I. Baris, N. Bilir, M. Artvinli, et al (British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1988).

The study

• Authors: Y.I. Baris, N. Bilir, M. Artvinli, A.A. Sahin, F. Kalyoncu, P. Sebastien
• Journal: British Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1988;45(12):838-40
• Cited by: 55 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000884).

Summary of the article

After four cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma were detected in the small village of Caparkayi, in the Sabanozu area of the Cankiri district of Turkey, about 90 km from Ankara, the authors carried out an epidemiological study there. The village had no asbestos mine nearby, and its main activities were farming and livestock breeding. Of the 425 inhabitants, 215 were aged 20 or over. All those over 20 completed a questionnaire on medical history, smoking, occupational asbestos exposure and respiratory symptoms, and four physicians examined them. Chest x-ray films were taken from 167 adults and evaluated by three chest specialists. Samples of the white stucco that all villagers had used for many years to paint their houses inside and out were analysed at McGill University. Mortality data for 1980 to 1987 came from health centre records. Of the 167 films, 63 (37.7%) showed abnormalities: interlobar fissure thickening 16.8%, diffuse interstitial fibrosis 15.6%, calcified pleural plaques 14.4%, pleural thickening 7.8%, and changes compatible with tuberculosis 4.2%. The stucco was rich in tremolite asbestos, including some very fine fibres. Adult deaths in 1980 to 1987 included two from mesothelioma, one from gastric carcinoma and one from lymphoma. The authors concluded that tremolite fibres were the real cause of the high incidence of mesothelioma and of some of the pleural and parenchymal changes in the village.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

The authors surveyed Caparkayi, a farming village in the Cankiri district of Turkey with no asbestos mine nearby. The study was carried out after four cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma were detected there. Of the village's 425 people, 215 were aged 20 or over. Adults completed a questionnaire and had a physical examination, and chest x rays were taken from 167 of them. Every adult lived in a house painted with a white stucco from a nearby source, and laboratory analysis found the stucco rich in tremolite asbestos, including some very fine fibres. Of the 167 x rays, 63 (37.7%) showed abnormalities: interlobar fissure thickening (16.8%), diffuse interstitial fibrosis (15.6%), calcified pleural plaques (14.4%), pleural thickening (7.8%) and changes compatible with tuberculosis (4.2%). Some people had more than one abnormality. Health centre records for 1980 to 1987 listed two deaths from mesothelioma. The authors stated their belief that tremolite fibres were the real cause of the high incidence of mesothelioma and of some of the pleural and lung changes. They noted that some changes may also have been related to tuberculosis.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Village-wide epidemiological (cross-sectional) survey using questionnaires, physical examinations and chest x rays, with laboratory analysis of a stucco sample and a review of health centre records
• Who was studied: Residents of the village of Caparkayi, Sabanozu area, Cankiri district, Turkey (about 90 km from Ankara). The population was 425, of whom 215 were aged 20 or over. Chest x rays were taken from 167 adults. Health centre records covered 1980 to 1987.
• Exposure: Non-occupational (environmental) exposure to tremolite asbestos, fine and coarse fibres, found in a white stucco used by all villagers for indoor and outdoor painting of houses
• Main results:
  • All villagers aged over 20 lived in houses painted with a white stucco from a nearby source
  • The white stucco sample was rich in tremolite asbestos, including some very fine fibres
  • Of 167 adults (aged 20 and over) x rayed, 63 (37.7%) had radiological abnormalities; some had more than one
  • Interlobar fissure thickening: 17 men and 11 women, a prevalence of 16.8%
  • Diffuse interstitial fibrosis: 15 men and 11 women, a prevalence of 15.6%
  • Calcified pleural plaque, described as typical of calcification with asbestos exposure: 16 men and 8 women, a prevalence of 14.4%
  • Pleural thickening: 8 men and 5 women, a prevalence of 7.8%
  • Changes compatible with tuberculosis: 2 men and 5 women, a prevalence of 4.2%
  • Among adult deaths from malignant disease between 1980 and 1987, there were two from mesothelioma and one each from gastric carcinoma and lymphoma
  • Two patients died from pulmonary tuberculosis, and seven more tuberculosis cases were detected by radiological screening
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated their belief that tremolite fibres are the real cause of the high incidence of mesothelioma and of some of the pleural and parenchymal (lung tissue) changes in the village. They suggested the villagers may inhale fibres from the stucco-painted house walls.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Some of the pleural and parenchymal changes may also have been related to tuberculosis
  • The source of fibre inhalation is not certain: natural erosion of asbestos-containing soil and dust from it may also cause air pollution

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Pleural plaques and thickening, Tremolite.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Tremolite, Pleural Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure, Chest X-Ray, Interstitial Fibrosis, Pleural Plaques, Pleural Thickening, Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Non-occupational asbestos related chest diseases in a small Anatolian village — Y.I. Bariş, M. Artvinli, et al. (1988)
• Radiological survey of past and present vermiculite miners exposed to tremolite — J.C. McDonald, P. Sebastien, et al. (1986)
• Association of Metsovo lung and pleural mesothelioma with exposure to tremolite-containing whitewash — A.M. Langer, R.P. Nolan, et al. (1987)
• Environmental fiber-induced pleuro-pulmonary diseases in an Anatolian village: an epidemiologic study — M. Artvinli, Y.I. Baris (1982)
• Tremolite whitewashing and pleural calcifications — S.H. Constantopoulos, N.A. Saratzis, et al. (1987)
• Pleural effects of tremolite in north-west Greece — T. Bazas (1987)

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