Geographic distribution of incident mesothelioma in Connecticut men, 1990-99

Our plain-English summary of Geographic distribution of incident mesothelioma in Connecticut men, 1990-99, by A.P. Polednak (International Journal of Cancer, 2003).

The study

• Author: A.P. Polednak
• Journal: International Journal of Cancer
• Published: 2003;107(3):509-10
• Type of article: Comment, Letter
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This letter to the editor examined where mesothelioma was diagnosed among Connecticut men in 1990–99, using the Connecticut Tumor Registry. The author counted 238 malignant mesotheliomas of the pleura, peritoneum or other sites, plus 13 pleural cancers of unspecified type, and compared observed with expected cases (standardized incidence ratios) for each of 8 counties and 169 towns. Two adjacent counties, New London and Middlesex, had statistically significantly elevated ratios; neither is among the most urban counties. Five towns, four in New London County and one in Middlesex County, also had significantly elevated ratios. A major shipbuilder is located in New London County. Registry records showed that 17 of 54 men (31.5%) in New London County and 2 of 23 men in Middlesex County had worked in shipbuilding. Of the 34 cases in the five towns, 10 had worked in shipbuilding and 11 in another asbestos-linked occupation. The author wrote that this record review suggested the importance of occupational histories, noting there was no control group and occupational information was incomplete.

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: Descriptive population-based cancer registry analysis of geographic distribution (standardized incidence ratios by county and town), published as a letter to the editor
• Who was studied: Connecticut men diagnosed 1990–99 and recorded in the Connecticut Tumor Registry (part of the NCI SEER Program): 238 malignant mesotheliomas of the pleura, peritoneum or other sites, plus 13 pleural cancers of unspecified histologic type, analysed by county and town of residence at diagnosis (8 counties, 169 towns)
• Exposure: Place of residence, and work in shipbuilding or other occupations linked to asbestos exposure or mesothelioma risk, taken from registry records; no fiber types are named
• Main results:
  • Statistically significantly elevated standardized incidence ratios in men were found for 2 adjacent counties, New London and Middlesex (2000 populations 259,088 and 155,071), which are not the most urban counties
  • Five towns had significantly elevated standardized incidence ratios in men: 4 in New London County and 1 in Middlesex County
  • Among men with mesothelioma, 17 of 54 (31.5%) in New London County and 2 of 23 in Middlesex County had worked in shipbuilding. The article prints 13.0% for Middlesex, which does not match 2 of 23 (about 8.7%).
  • Only 1 of the 5 towns with elevated ratios had no cases with a history of working in shipbuilding
  • Of the 34 cases in the 5 towns: 1 reportedly had asbestos exposure during World War II, 10 had worked in shipbuilding, 11 in another occupation linked to asbestos exposure, 7 in an occupation linked to mesothelioma risk, and the other 5 included 'U.S. Navy retired' and 'U.S. Coast Guard'
• The authors' conclusion: The author wrote that the review of registry records suggested the importance of occupational histories and other data sources
• Limitations the authors state:
  • No control group was available
  • Occupational histories reported by hospitals to the registry were incomplete
  • Accurate population estimates for years between censuses were not available, so 1990 and 2000 census figures were used

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Geographic distribution of incidence of pericardial and paratesticular mesotheliomas in the USA — S.J. Lowry, N.S. Weiss (2016)
• Epidemiological patterns of asbestos exposure and spatial clusters of incident cases of malignant mesothelioma from the Italian national registry — M. Corfiati, A. Scarselli, et al. (2015)
• An investigation of the use of asbestos cement pipe for public water supply and the incidence of gastrointestinal cancer in Connecticut, 1935-1973 — J.M. Harrington, G.F. Craun, et al. (1978)
• Geographic Co-Occurrence of Mesothelioma and Ovarian Cancer Incidence — S.J. Henley, L.A. Peipins, et al. (2020)
• Occupational risk factors for laryngeal carcinoma: Connecticut, 1975-1980 — R.T. Zagraniski, J.L. Kelsey, et al. (1986)
• Malignant mesothelioma among employees of a Connecticut factory that manufactured friction materials using chrysotile asbestos — M.M. Finkelstein, C. Meisenkothen (2010)

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