Environmental exposure to asbestos in eastern Turkey

Our plain-English summary of Environmental exposure to asbestos in eastern Turkey, by H.C. Hasanoğlu, M. Gokirmak, T. Baysal, et al (Archives of Environmental Health, 2003).

The study

• Authors: H.C. Hasanoğlu, M. Gokirmak, T. Baysal, Z. Yildirim, N. Koksal, Y. Onal
• Journal: Archives of Environmental Health
• Published: 2003;58(3):144-50
• Cited by: 7 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

In this study, the authors investigated the prevalence of asbestos-related disorders among the inhabitants of Güzelyurt, a town in Malatya, located in eastern Turkey. The authors examined river bed, white soil, and stucco samples taken from various locales in Güzelyurt, and they confirmed the presence of tremolite and chrysotile asbestos fibers. Subjects (N = 920; 449 males and 471 females) were examined by photofluoroscopy. Eighty-five patients (9.2%) had asbestos-related radiological findings; risk increased with age. Calcified pleural plaques were seen more frequently in individuals > or = 50 yr of age, compared with younger subjects (p < 0.01). Asbestos-related disorders were prevalent in the inhabitants of Güzelyurt, the population of which is exposed environmentally to asbestos--primarily the result of the stuccoing and whitewashing of houses with soil that contains asbestos.

In plain English

The authors surveyed residents of Güzelyurt, a town of 4,870 people in Malatya, eastern Turkey. Analysis of river bed soil, white soil and wall stucco from the town identified tremolite and chrysotile asbestos fibers. Of 1,200 residents selected, 920 (449 males, 471 females, aged 6 to 85) took part; they were younger than the town overall. Three doctors read one chest photofluorogram per person. Eighty-five people (9.2%) had asbestos-related findings, rising to 20.0% among those aged 20 or older and 64.0% (16 of 25) among those 70 or older, with no statistical difference between males and females. Calcified pleural plaques were most common (48 people, 5.2%) and more frequent at age 50 or older than below 50 (p = 0.006). A 3-year hospital record review found 1 pleural and 4 pulmonary malignancies. The authors calculated a combined incidence of 34.2 per 100,000, which they described as about 6 times a 1994 national figure. They concluded that asbestos-contaminated soil is the likely cause of asbestos-related disorders in the town.

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 radiological (photofluorography) survey of town residents, with mineral analysis of local soil and stucco samples and a 3-year retrospective review of hospital records for pleural and pulmonary malignancies
• Who was studied: 920 residents (449 males and 471 females, aged 6 to 85) of Güzelyurt, a town of 4,870 inhabitants in the Hekimhan district of Malatya, eastern Turkey. Of 1,200 residents selected, these took part. The authors report that participants were younger than the town's general population and that participation was lowest among those aged 70 or older.
• Exposure: Environmental asbestos in local soil. X-ray diffraction identified tremolite and chrysotile asbestos in river bed soil, white soil and house-wall stucco, and electron microscopy showed serpentine and amphibole types. The authors attribute exposure mainly to stuccoing and whitewashing houses with this soil.
• Main results:
  • 85 of the 920 participants (9.2%) had asbestos-related radiological findings.
  • Among participants aged 20 or older, the proportion with asbestos-related findings was 20.0%.
  • Prevalence rose with age, reaching 64.0% (16 of 25) among participants aged 70 or older.
  • Calcified pleural plaques were the most common finding (48 participants, 5.2%).
  • Calcified plaques were more frequent in participants aged 50 or older than in those under 50 (p = 0.006).
  • There was no statistical difference between males and females in the proportion with asbestos-related disorders.
  • Asbestos-related pleural abnormalities were found in 7.3% of participants (n = 67), and diffuse infiltrative changes in 1.9% (n = 18).
  • Among 16 patients with symptoms and highly affected photofluorograms, further imaging found 1 patient with exudative pleural effusion. The authors considered this effusion to result from asbestos exposure. None of the 16 was diagnosed with a malignancy.
  • All 16 inhabitants with massive pleural plaques said they had used asbestos-containing soil as whitewash at some time.
  • From a 3-year hospital record review of Güzelyurt patients, the authors calculated an incidence of malignant pleural mesothelioma of 6.8 per 100,000 inhabitants and of lung cancer of 27.4 per 100,000.
  • The combined incidence of pulmonary and pleural malignancies was 34.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. The authors compared this with a 1994 Health Ministry national figure of 5.9 per 100,000 and described it as approximately 6 times the national figure.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that asbestos-contaminated soil is the likely cause of the asbestos-related disorders seen in Güzelyurt.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis, Pleural plaques and thickening.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Environmental Exposure, Tremolite, Chrysotile, Pleural Plaques.

Related studies

• Pleural calcification associated with exposure to chrysotile asbestos in southeast Turkey — S. Yazicioglu (1976)
• Environmental asbestos-related pleural plaque in southeast of Turkey — G. Ates, T. Yildiz, et al. (2010)
• Lung diseases due to environmental exposures to erionite and asbestos in Turkey — S. Emri, A. Demir, et al. (2002)
• High-resolution computed tomography in cases with environmental exposure to asbestos in Turkey — F. Topçu, H. Bayram, et al. (2000)
• Incidence of malignant pleural mesothelioma due to environmental asbestos fiber exposure in the southeast of Turkey — A. Senyiğit, C. Babayiğit, et al. (2000)
• Malignant pleural mesothelioma caused by environmental exposure to asbestos in the Southeast of Turkey: CT findings in 117 patients — A. Senyiğit, H. Bayram, et al. (2000)

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