Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases in Turkey Still Has a Long Way to Go

Our plain-English summary of Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases in Turkey Still Has a Long Way to Go, by M. Akgün (Turkish Thoracic Journal, 2015).

The study

• Author: M. Akgün
• Journal: Turkish Thoracic Journal
• Published: 2015;16(3):105-106
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This is a two-page editorial, not an original study. The author commented on a report by Metintaş and colleagues, the "Turkey Asbestos Control Strategic Plan," published in a supplement to the same journal. The figures below are that report's, as the editorial describes them. The plan identified mesothelioma patients from hospital records in 30 provinces for 2008 to 2012. Exposure was counted as environmental if a patient was born in a village with asbestos exposure, and otherwise as probably occupational. It found 5,617 patients. By June 2014, 3,445 (62.2%) had died, and the death rate was higher in men than in women (64.7% versus 58.8%, p less than 0.001). Mean survival after diagnosis was reported as 11.4 plus or minus 0.2 months. Of 1251 soil samples, 514 from 379 villages contained fibers the editorial calls chrysolite, tremolite, or both. Those villages had 158,068 residents in 2013. The plan estimated that 2511 mesothelioma and 1322 lung cancer cases, among others, would be prevented. The author concluded that the project is by no means sufficient.

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: Editorial commenting on a separate report (the Turkey Asbestos Control Strategic Plan by Metintaş et al.). It is not an original study
• Who was studied: As described from the Metintaş et al. report: 5,617 patients diagnosed with mesothelioma in 30 provinces of Turkey between 2008 and 2012 (57.7% male, mean age 62), plus soil samples from villages
• Exposure: Mainly environmental exposure in rural Turkey to asbestos-containing local soil ("white soil"), used for whitewash and plaster of houses and for insulation. Exposure was classed as environmental if the patient was born in a village with asbestos exposure, and otherwise as probably occupational
• Main results:
  • Of the 5,617 mesothelioma patients in the report, 3,445 (62.2%) had died by June 2014
  • The death rate was higher among men than among women (64.7% versus 58.8%, p less than 0.001)
  • Mean survival after diagnosis was reported as 11.4 plus or minus 0.2 months. The editorial does not say what the 0.2 represents
  • Cases occurred mostly in rural areas. In urban areas there was male dominance, which the report took as suggesting possible occupational exposure
  • Of 1251 soil samples, 514 samples from 379 villages contained fibers named as chrysolite, tremolite, or both
  • The 379 villages had a total population of 158,068 in 2013
  • The plan was expected to prevent 3,833 cancer cases (2511 mesothelioma and 1322 lung cancer), as well as cases of pleural plaque, diffuse pleural fibrosis, asbestosis and respiratory insufficiency. These are projections, not observed results
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the project, though valuable for prevention, is by no means sufficient, and that the battle against asbestos-related diseases in Turkey still has a long way to go

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