Consequences of long-lasting asbestos-exposure: peripheral blood parameters in shipyard workers with and without asbestosis

Our plain-English summary of Consequences of long-lasting asbestos-exposure: peripheral blood parameters in shipyard workers with and without asbestosis, by I. Trosić, Z. Pisl (Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology, 1995).

The study

• Authors: I. Trosić, Z. Pisl
• Journal: Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology
• Published: 1995;47(2-3):212-6
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This retrospective study, by authors in Zagreb, Croatia, reviewed preventive medical records of 560 male shipyard workers. They had been exposed to asbestos dust for an average of 22.5 years; mean age was 46.0 years. Using the ILO chest X-ray classification, 390 workers had asbestosis and 170 did not. 89 measures were compared between the groups. Cough, dyspnoea, weariness, perspiration and chest pains were significantly more frequent in workers with asbestosis (p less than 0.05). Smokers made up 51.8% of the asbestosis group and 38.3% of the other group. The authors reported greater asbestosis risk in smokers than non-smokers (p less than 0.001). Workers with asbestosis had a significantly higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate, a lower percentage of segmented leukocytes, a higher percentage of monocytes (though median monocyte percentages were equal), and higher IgM, IgA and IgE levels than those without (each p less than 0.01). The article describes the gamma-globulin findings inconsistently. The asbestos fiber type was not stated. The authors concluded that haemato-immunological findings are useful for screening selected populations at risk of developing disabling asbestosis in uncertain situations.

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: Retrospective study of medical records, comparing exposed workers with and without asbestosis (Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test)
• Who was studied: 560 male shipyard workers, mean age 46.0 years, examined in preventive medical investigations. The authors' institute is in Zagreb, Croatia. The shipyard and study dates are not named. 390 had asbestosis (group G2) and 170 did not (group G1).
• Exposure: Occupational exposure to asbestos dust in a shipyard, average 22.5 years. No fiber type or measured dose is given.
• Main results:
  • Asbestosis was found in 390 of the 560 workers (70%). It was not detected in the other 170.
  • The two groups differed by two years in age and three years in duration of exposure. The authors did not consider these differences biologically significant.
  • In the asbestosis group, 40% complained of cough, dyspnoea and tiredness, and about 50% complained of perspiration and chest pains.
  • In the group without asbestosis, 29% complained of cough and about 20% complained of dyspnea, weariness, perspiration and chest pains.
  • These symptoms were significantly (p less than 0.05) more frequent in the asbestosis group.
  • Group without asbestosis (G1): 45.5% non-smokers, 16.2% ex-smokers, 38.3% smokers.
  • Asbestosis group (G2): 38.4% non-smokers, 9.8% ex-smokers, 51.8% smokers.
  • By the authors' analysis, the risk of asbestosis was greater in smokers than in non-smokers (p less than 0.001).
  • The asbestosis group had a significantly increased (p less than 0.01) erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the first and second hour.
  • Median second-hour sedimentation rate was 19 mm/h in the group without asbestosis and 22 mm/h in the asbestosis group. Both groups were described as raised compared with normal physiological values.
  • The percentage of segmented leukocytes in peripheral blood was significantly decreased (p less than 0.01) in the asbestosis group compared with the group without asbestosis.
  • The percentage of peripheral blood monocytes was significantly increased (p less than 0.01) in the asbestosis group. Median values did not differ between the groups.
  • Serum IgM, IgA and IgE levels were significantly elevated (p less than 0.01) in the asbestosis group compared with exposed workers without asbestosis.
  • The Results section reports a decreased gamma-globulin level in the asbestosis group compared with the group without asbestosis. It also reports that gamma-globulin in both groups was raised above normal physiological values.
  • No patient had clinical evidence of active pulmonary infection at the time of examination.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that haemato-immunological findings are useful for screening selected populations at risk of developing disabling asbestosis in uncertain situations.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis, Shipyards and maritime work.

Related studies

• Airway obstruction in asbestos-exposed shipyard workers: with and without irregular opacities — K.H. Kilburn, R.H. Warshaw (1990)
• Asbestosis, pulmonary symptoms and functional impairment in shipyard workers — K.H. Kilburn, R. Warshaw, et al. (1985)
• Long-lasting production of TGF-beta1 by alveolar macrophages exposed to low doses of asbestos without apoptosis — Y. Nishimura, T. Nishiike-Wada, et al. (2007)
• Mortality among shipyard Coast Guard workers: a retrospective cohort study — S. Krstev, P. Stewart, et al. (2007)
• Incidence of bronchial carcinoma in shipyard workers with pleural plaques — J.R. Edge (1979)
• Lung cancer prevalence among shipyard workers — W.J. Nicholson, R. Lilis, et al. (1980)

Browse more research in Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology, or return to medical research.