Asbestosis: Past voices from the Mumbai factory floor

Our plain-English summary of Asbestosis: Past voices from the Mumbai factory floor, by A.V. Jadhav, N. Roy (Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2012).

The study

• Authors: A.V. Jadhav, N. Roy
• Journal: Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Published: 2012;16(3):131-6
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background: Asbestos's production, processing, and consumption is on very high scale in India and it is increasing, and so do the related diseases. Asbestosis is such a disease which causes progressive respiratory disability.

Aim: To find out perceptions and thinking about this disease and its risk among the patients which will help in constructing an effective community-based prevention and rehabilitation program.

Materials And Methods: It was a community-based, qualitative study using a semi-structured interview schedule with 17 asbestosis patients from Mumbai, disgnosed by specialist with pulmonary function test and X-rays as per International Labour Organisation's recommandations.

Results: The risk percived by the patients is very less and attitude toward the illness is bengine as there is no clear understanding about the causation. The prolong latent period appears to be the main cause. It suggests a need of very strong program for prevention of asbestosis with the incorporation of worker awareness and eduaction for safety. The socio-economical status and educational levels of the workers make this floating population more vulnarable for manipulation by the corporates.

Conclusion: Apart from the radical step of ban on asbestos, there is a need of community-based sustainable, affordable, and accessible rehabilitation program with a component of palliative care which will consider the different needs of this marginalized group. The need for such a program is intense as the number of asbestisis patients will keep on increasing till 30 to 40 years of asbestos ban.

In plain English

This qualitative study interviewed 17 men in Mumbai who had asbestosis, all retired from the same asbestos sheet and cement factory, which closed in 1983. The researchers used open-ended, semi-structured interviews. The men's mean age was 65, and they had worked a mean of 31 years. The article does not name the type of asbestos fiber. Most knew little about workplace hazards and called asbestos "fiber." None knew the name of their disease. Only two knew their breathing illness came from their past work. The other 15 did not know about their illness until their union began a screening program. Only 3 of the 17 said they had used masks regularly for all their years and all hours of the day. Workers said the factory took X-rays but gave them no reports. Eleven said they would take the same job again. On a breathlessness scale, two had grade IV, four grade III, seven grade II and the rest grade I. Most were forgiving about their illness. The authors concluded that, because the disease is not curable, palliative and rehabilitative care designed for it is the best available option.

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: Qualitative study using open-ended semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample
• Who was studied: 17 male asbestosis patients in Mumbai, India, all retired from the same factory; mean age 65 years (range 59 to 71). Interview dates not stated.
• Exposure: Past work in an asbestos sheet and cement factory that closed in 1983; fiber type not specified. Workers also described other exposures (chemicals, heat, dust, furnace smoke).
• Main results:
  • Mean work experience among the 17 participants was 31 years (range 22 to 38)
  • Most workers did not know about asbestos and called it "fiber"
  • None of the participants knew the name of their disease; only two knew their respiratory illness was caused by their past working conditions
  • The other 15 participants did not know about their illness until their union started a screening program
  • Only 3 of 17 workers said they used masks regularly for all their working years and for all hours of the day
  • The factory took X-rays of workers, probably twice a year, but workers received no reports
  • Asked if they would take the job again, 5 said no, 1 could not say, and 11 said yes
  • On the modified MRC breathlessness scale, 2 patients had grade IV, 4 had grade III, 7 had grade II and the rest had grade I
  • Most participants were forgiving about their illness after learning its cause
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, because asbestosis is not curable, palliative and rehabilitative care designed for this illness is the best available option

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pulmonary Function Test (PFT), Causation, Palliative Care.

Related studies

• Asbestosis in an asbestos composite mill at Mumbai: a prevalence study — V. Murlidhar, V. Kanhere (2005)
• Past occupational dust exposure, depressive symptoms and anxiety in retired Chinese factory workers: the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study — Q.H. Lin, C.Q. Jiang, et al. (2014)
• Techniques for tracing past employees. An example from an asbestos factory — M.L. Newhouse, J.M. Williams (1967)
• Asbestosis among household contacts of asbestos factory workers — H.A. Anderson, R. Lilis, et al. (1979)
• Asbestosis in long-term employees of an Ontario asbestos-cement factory — M.M. Finkelstein (1982)
• Secular changes in asbestosis in an asbestos factory — W.J. Smither (1965)

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