Asbestos-related disease

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos-related disease, by N. al Jarad (Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London, 1999).

The study

• Author: N. al Jarad
• Journal: Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London
• Published: 1999;33(6):532-6
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Free full text

In plain English

This 1999 article by a consultant physician at Bristol Royal Infirmary was a narrative clinical review, not a new study, and it reported no data of its own. It described asbestos fibre types (chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite), industries with significant exposure, and the main asbestos-related diseases: pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening, rounded atelectasis, asbestosis, benign pleural effusion, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Citing a follow-up study by other authors, the article stated that 10% of patients with pleural plaques developed radiological evidence of asbestosis, particularly those exposed to a high level of asbestos. It also stated that high-resolution CT showed lung fibrosis in 30% of patients with a normal chest X-ray, and that pleural disease was seen in over 85% of patients with asbestosis. Citing work on insulation workers, the article stated that the effects of smoking and asbestos on lung cancer are multiplicative. It described mesothelioma incidence as dose-related and rising, with most patients dying within 18 months. It also outlined UK compensation routes. The author stressed that physicians should be aware of the rising incidence of mesothelioma.

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: Narrative clinical review (educational overview); no original data
• Who was studied: No study population. A general clinical overview of people exposed to asbestos, written in a UK context.
• Exposure: Chrysotile (serpentine) and the amphiboles amosite, crocidolite and anthophyllite. Industries listed: asbestos mining, textiles, lagging, building trade, shipyards, lorry driving, shipping (boiler-room insulation), and car industries (clutches and brake linings).
• Main results:
  • Citing a follow-up study by other authors, the article stated that 10% of patients with pleural plaques developed radiological evidence of asbestosis, particularly those exposed to a high level of asbestos.
  • In diffuse pleural thickening, the degree of lung function impairment was described as correlating with the extent of thickening (citing the author's earlier study).
  • Citing other studies, high-resolution CT was said to show lung fibrosis in 30% of patients with a normal chest X-ray.
  • Pleural disease was described as seen in over 85% of patients with asbestosis but seldom in fibrosing alveolitis (citing the author's earlier study).
  • Citing earlier work, the article stated that the effects of cigarette smoking and asbestos on lung cancer incidence are multiplicative.
  • A table drawn from earlier work on insulation workers gave rounded lung cancer mortality ratios: 1 for non-smokers not exposed to asbestos, 5 for non-smokers exposed, 11 for smokers not exposed, and 53 for smokers exposed.
  • Mesothelioma was described as having a poor prognosis, with most patients dying within 18 months.
  • The article listed UK compensation routes: the DSS scheme for specified conditions, and civil claims, including for pleural plaques.
• The authors' conclusion: The author advised that physicians should be particularly aware of the rising incidence of mesothelioma.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

Related studies

• Secondary renal amyloidosis associated with asbestos-related pleuropulmonary diseases — R. Shibata, T. Ozaki, et al. (2020)
• Asbestos-related diseases of the lung and other organs: their epidemiology and implications for clinical practice — M.R. Becklake (1976)
• High-resolution computed tomography of asbestos-related diseases — D.R. Aberle (1991)
• Asbestos-related benign pleural disease — C. Peacock, S.J. Copley, et al. (2000)
• Asbestos: when the dust settles an imaging review of asbestos-related disease — H.D. Roach, G.J. Davies, et al. (2002)
• Asbestos-related pleural disease: value of dedicated magnetic resonance imaging techniques — M.A. Weber, M. Bock, et al. (2004)

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