Asbestos-related mortality among Italian migrants to Western Australia

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos-related mortality among Italian migrants to Western Australia, by E. Merler, D. Balzi, E. Buiatti, et al (Epidemiology, 1996).

The study

• Authors: E. Merler, D. Balzi, E. Buiatti, P. Boffetta
• Journal: Epidemiology
• Published: 1996;7(5):556-7
• Type of article: Letter
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This short letter to the editor reported a case-control analysis using a dataset of all deaths registered in Australia, 1969 to 1985. The authors noted that studies of the Wittenoom crocidolite mine in Western Australia lacked vital-status information for more than 25% of workers, particularly those who returned home. Each death record gave state of residence, country of birth and cause of death. Australian-born and Italian-born residents of Western Australia were each compared with Australian-born residents of New South Wales. Cases were deaths from asbestosis, primary pleural cancer and lung cancer. Other cancer deaths served as controls, with adjustment for age and period of death. Both Western Australian groups showed increased mortality from all three causes, much greater among the Italian-born. For asbestosis, the odds ratio was 9.7 (95% CI 3.4 to 27.4, 4 deaths) for Italian-born residents and 1.7 (0.9 to 3.5, 10 deaths) for Australian-born residents. For primary pleural cancer the figures were 4.5 (2.2 to 9.1, 8 deaths) and 1.9 (1.3 to 2.5, 50 deaths). The authors concluded that Italian migrants may have experienced higher exposures than Australian-born residents.

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: Case-control analysis of national death registrations (asbestos-related causes of death as cases, other cancer deaths as controls), reported as a letter to the editor; odds ratios from logistic regression
• Who was studied: Deaths drawn from all deaths registered in Australia, 1969-1985 (Australian Bureau of Statistics), with each record giving state of residence, country of birth and cause of death. Compared groups: Australian-born and Italian-born residents of Western Australia (6,621 and 455 controls). Reference group: Australian-born residents of New South Wales (39,640 controls).
• Exposure: No individual exposure data. Residence in Western Australia and Italian birth were used as indicators, in the context of the Wittenoom mine (1938-1966), where workers were exposed only to crocidolite and 12% of about 7,000 miners were Italians.
• Main results:
  • Mortality from asbestosis, primary pleural cancer and lung cancer was increased in both Australian-born and Italian-born residents of Western Australia, with a much greater increase among Italian-born residents.
  • Asbestosis: Italian-born residents of Western Australia, 4 cases, OR 9.7, 95% CI 3.4-27.4. Australian-born residents of Western Australia, 10 cases, OR 1.7, 95% CI 0.9-3.5. Reference group (Australian-born, New South Wales): 35 cases.
  • Primary pleural cancer: Italian-born residents of Western Australia, 8 cases, OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.2-9.1. Australian-born residents of Western Australia, 50 cases, OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-2.5. Reference group: 193 cases.
  • Odds ratios were adjusted for age (eight strata) and period of death (three 5-year periods).
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that Italian migrants may have experienced higher exposures than Australian-born residents. They said migrant miners should be identified and followed up to validate earlier estimates of crocidolite-related cancer risk.

Mines named here

Asbestos mines this study is about. Each mine's page says who ran it, when it worked, and what it produced.

• Wittenoom, Western Australia

All asbestos mines

Topics

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

Related studies

• Perceptions of health hazards in the narratives of Italian migrant workers at an Australian asbestos mine (1943-1966) — F. Cappelletto, E. Merler (2003)
• Migration and work in postwar Australia: mortality profile comparisons between Australian and Italian workers exposed to blue asbestos at Wittenoom — A. Reid, E. Merler, et al. (2018)
• Autoimmune antibodies and asbestos exposure: Evidence from Wittenoom, Western Australia — A. Reid, P. Franklin, et al. (2018)
• Malignant pleural and peritoneal mesotheliomas in former miners and millers of crocidolite at Wittenoom, Western Australia — G. Berry, N.H. de Klerk, et al. (2004)
• Malignant mesotheliomas in former miners and millers of crocidolite at Wittenoom (Western Australia) after more than 50 years follow-up — G. Berry, A. Reid, et al. (2012)
• Cancer incidence among women and girls environmentally and occupationally exposed to blue asbestos at Wittenoom, Western Australia — A. Reid, J. Heyworth, et al. (2008)

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