Asbestosis among electricians

Our plain-English summary of Asbestosis among electricians, by M.J. Hodgson, D.K. Parkinson, S. Sabo, et al (Journal of Occupational Medicine., 1988).

The study

• Authors: M.J. Hodgson, D.K. Parkinson, S. Sabo, G.R. Owens, J.H. Feist
• Journal: Journal of Occupational Medicine.
• Published: 1988;30(8):638-40
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000910).

Abstract

In a cross-sectional study of a small group of non-shipyard electricians, the prevalence of asbestosis, defined as irregular opacities of at least 1/0 profusion, was found to be 15% overall and 25% after 20 years of service. Irregular opacities occurred more frequently among smokers. Cost estimates for asbestos-related disease should include construction electricians in the populations at risk.

In plain English

This cross-sectional study examined 38 of 39 eligible union electricians who had worked on renovating a specific building in May 1985, when asbestos exposure was documented. Exact exposure values were unknown, so the authors used years worked as an electrician as an exposure index. The article names no fiber type. Asbestosis was defined on chest X-ray as small irregular opacities with a profusion of 1/0 or greater. Six of the 38 electricians had asbestosis: 1 of 13 (8%) with under 10 years' tenure, 2 of 13 (15%) with 10 to 20 years, and 3 of 12 (25%) with more than 20 years. One other person, with 30 years of exposure, had only bilateral pleural disease. All six with asbestosis were current smokers, and smokers were more likely than nonsmokers to show lung-tissue abnormalities. Age, smoking and tenure were closely linked, and the authors said that with so few subjects their separate effects could not be worked out. The authors concluded that their small survey could only alert readers that construction electrical work involves enough asbestos exposure to cause asbestosis.

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: Cross-sectional survey (medical and occupational history, physical examination, questionnaire, spirometry and chest radiographs)
• Who was studied: 38 of 39 eligible members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 5 (37 men, one woman), all non-shipyard electricians who had worked on renovating a specific building in May 1985
• Exposure: Asbestos exposure was documented during renovation work on a specific building in May 1985. Because exact exposure values were unknown, total years employed as an electrician was used as the exposure index. No fiber type is named.
• Main results:
  • Asbestosis was defined as small irregular opacities with a profusion of 1/0 or greater on chest radiographs (1980 ILO classification)
  • 6 of the 38 electricians had asbestosis
  • Prevalence by tenure: 1 of 13 (8%) with 0 to 10 years, 2 of 13 (15%) with 10 to 20 years, 3 of 12 (25%) with more than 20 years
  • One additional person, with 30 years of exposure, had only bilateral pleural disease
  • All six electricians with asbestosis were current cigarette smokers
  • All six with asbestosis reported usual cough or phlegm for at least three consecutive months, significantly more often than smokers without asbestosis (P = .003)
  • Smokers were more likely than nonsmokers to show parenchymal (lung tissue) abnormalities (P = .049 by Fisher's exact test)
  • Three men with asbestosis complained of dyspnea (Fletcher grade I), compared with none of those without radiologic abnormalities
  • Persons with asbestosis tended to be older than normal subjects in their tenure groups
  • Age, pack-years of smoking and tenure were strongly correlated with each other. None of the three entered the stepwise logistic regression model.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that their small survey could only alert readers that enough asbestos exposure takes place in construction electrical work to cause asbestosis
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Because of the small sample size and the collinearity between age, smoking and tenure, the relative importance of these factors could not be determined
  • Numbers were too small for meaningful statistical comparison of age between people with and without asbestosis
  • Exact exposure values were unknown, so years of tenure was used as a stand-in for exposure duration and intensity

Topics

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

Related studies

• Pleural mesothelioma in a non-shipyard electrician — M. Huncharek, J. Muscat (1990)
• Airways obstruction from asbestos exposure. Effects of asbestosis and smoking — K.H. Kilburn, R.H. Warshaw (1994)
• Cancer in electrical workers: an analysis of cancer registrations in England, 1981-87 — N.T. Fear, E. Roman, et al. (1996)
• Occupational respiratory cancer and exposure to asbestos: a case-control study in a cohort of workers in the electricity and gas industry — E. Imbernon, M. Goldberg, et al. (1995)
• Effects of electrostatic charge on the pathogenicity of chrysotile asbestos — J.M. Davis, R.E. Bolton, et al. (1988)
• Mortality of UK electricity generation and transmission workers, 1973-2002 — L. Nichols, T. Sorahan (2005)

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