Asbestos exposure: challenges for Australian clinicians

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos exposure: challenges for Australian clinicians, by A.W. Musk, N.H. de Klerk, A.K. Nowak (The Medical Journal of Australia, 2016).

The study

• Authors: A.W. Musk, N.H. de Klerk, A.K. Nowak
• Journal: The Medical Journal of Australia
• Published: 2016;204(2):48-9
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a commissioned editorial, not an original study. The authors gave their views on asbestos-related disease in Australia and drew on other published work. They wrote that pleural plaques, increasingly found on CT scans, are not as such a risk factor for pleural malignant mesothelioma or bronchogenic cancer, although known exposure causes anxiety. Citing the Australian Mesothelioma Registry, they reported that mesothelioma rates had levelled off at around 50 per million per year in men and tenfold less in women. They also wrote that claimants were increasingly presenting with mesothelioma arising solely from domestic exposure. They noted that asbestosis cannot be told apart from other lung fibrosis except by evidence of asbestos exposure. Citing earlier research, they wrote that mesothelioma risk was doubled in first-degree relatives of cases. They described mesothelioma as universally fatal, with a median survival of 9–12 months. The authors wrote that most people with disabling asbestos-related disease are compensated. They argued that differing general damages awards across jurisdictions made a strong case for a national approach.

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: Editorial (commissioned opinion piece drawing on other published studies; not original research)
• Who was studied: No study population; the editorial discusses people exposed to asbestos in Australia in general
• Exposure: Asbestos in general, including exposure in mining, milling and product manufacture, product use, building repair, renovation and demolition, and domestic exposure
• Main results:
  • The authors stated, citing other work, that the presence of pleural plaques is not as such a risk factor for (pleural) malignant mesothelioma or bronchogenic cancer
  • Citing the Australian Mesothelioma Registry, the authors reported that overall mesothelioma rates in Australia had levelled off at around 50 per million per annum in men and tenfold less in women
  • The authors stated that claimants are increasingly presenting with mesothelioma arising solely from domestic exposure
  • The authors stated that asbestosis cannot be distinguished from diffuse interstitial pulmonary fibrosis of other or unknown cause except by evidence of asbestos exposure
  • Citing earlier epidemiological work, the authors stated that the risk of mesothelioma is doubled in first-degree relatives of index cases
  • The authors described mesothelioma as universally fatal, with a median survival of 9–12 months
  • The authors stated that liability issues in common law damages claims have largely been resolved across Australia and that most people with disabling asbestos-related disease are compensated
• The authors' conclusion: The authors argued that, because awards of general damages differ among jurisdictions, there is a strong case to harmonise the approach to compensation nationally

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

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• Current and future risks of asbestos exposure in the Australian community — C. Gray, R.N. Carey, et al. (2016)
• Asbestos concerns in Australian buildings — T.K. Burki (2016)
• Comparison of an Australian food-frequency questionnaire with diet records: implications for nutrition surveillance — G.L. Ambrosini, D. Mackerras, et al. (2003)
• Effects of asbestos and smoking on gas diffusion in people exposed to crocidolite — H.S. Alfonso, L. Fritschi, et al. (2005)

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