Global perspectives of emerging occupational and environmental lung diseases

Our plain-English summary of Global perspectives of emerging occupational and environmental lung diseases, by S. Moitra, R. Puri, D. Paul, et al (Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, 2015).

The study

• Authors: S. Moitra, R. Puri, D. Paul, Y.C. Huang
• Journal: Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine
• Published: 2015;21(2):114-20
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 35 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Purpose Of Review: New technologies continue to be introduced into the workplace and the environment. These novel technologies also bring in new hazards leading to evolving patterns of established occupational and environmental diseases, as well as novel conditions never before encountered.

Recent Findings: Many of these emerging conditions have appeared in media outlets or in the literature as case reports. These sentinel cases often serve as a warning sign for subsequent outbreaks. This review will discuss environmental and occupational lung diseases and exposures from a global perspective. These diseases and exposures include environmental exposure to asbestos and lung diseases, accelerated silicosis in sandblasting jean workers, coal worker's pneumoconiosis in surface coal miners, health effects of indoor air pollution from burning of biomass fuels and exposures to heavy metals and potential health effects from hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Other emerging conditions are also discussed, including smog in developing countries, sand storms in Asia and the Middle East and respiratory illnesses from nanoparticles and man-made fibres.

Summary: Clinicians must remain vigilant for potential occupational and environmental exposures, especially when evaluating patients with unusual and unique presentation, so that occupational and environmental risk factors may be identified, and monitoring and preventive measures can be implemented early.

In plain English

This article was a narrative review, not a new study. The authors discussed lung diseases they described as emerging worldwide, drawing on studies published by others. On asbestos, the review stated that approximately 125 million people continue to work with asbestos worldwide, with use growing in developing countries. It cited large studies showing an increased risk of lung cancer in chrysotile asbestos textile workers in the United States and China. It also cited an increased risk of asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer among town residents of Libby, Montana, where a nearby vermiculite mine was contaminated with tremolite and other amphibole fibres. From Turkey, it cited 219 malignant mesothelioma cases reported in residents of Sivas Province. It also cited evidence of asbestos-related pleural diseases, including pleural plaque and thickening, in 11% of residents of Buyuktatlar. The authors said that exposure was most likely from plaster containing tremolite used in most houses. The review also covered silicosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis, biomass smoke, heavy metals and fracking. The authors concluded that clinicians must remain vigilant for occupational and environmental exposures, especially in patients with unusual presentations.

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: Narrative review of emerging occupational and environmental lung diseases, based on studies published by others
• Who was studied: No study population of its own. The review covered published reports from many countries, including a table of novel diseases reported over the past 5 years. For asbestos, these included asbestos textile workers in the United States and China, residents of Libby, Montana, and residents of Sivas Province and Buyuktatlar, Turkey.
• Exposure: Occupational and environmental asbestos: amphibole fibres (amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, actinolite) and chrysotile; tremolite-contaminated vermiculite (Libby); tremolite-containing plaster in houses (Turkey). Also silica, coal dust, biomass smoke, heavy metals, fracking emissions, nanoparticles and man-made fibres.
• Main results:
  • The review stated, citing another review, that approximately 125 million people continue to work with asbestos worldwide, with use growing in developing countries.
  • Citing other studies, the review reported an increased risk of lung cancer in chrysotile asbestos textile workers in the United States and China.
  • Citing other studies, the review reported that town residents of Libby, Montana, had an increased risk for asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. The source was a nearby vermiculite mine contaminated with tremolite and other amphibole fibres.
  • Citing another study, the review reported 219 malignant mesothelioma cases in residents of Sivas Province, Turkey.
  • Citing another study, the review reported that 11% of residents of Buyuktatlar, Turkey, had evidence of asbestos-related pleural diseases, including pleural plaque and thickening. The exposure was most likely from tremolite-containing plaster used in most houses.
  • Citing a CDC study, the review reported coal worker's pneumoconiosis in 46 (2.0%) of 2257 surface coal miners with more than 1 year of surface mining experience, including 37 who had never worked underground.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that clinicians must remain vigilant for potential occupational and environmental exposures, especially in patients with unusual and unique presentations, so that risk factors can be identified and monitoring and prevention started early.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Lung Disease, Environmental Exposure, Silicosis, Pneumoconiosis.

Related studies

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• Occupational lung diseases and global occupational health on the Net — K. Takahashi, A. Sekikawa, et al. (1998)
• Relationships of Lower Lung Fibrosis, Pleural Disease, and Lung Mass with Occupational, Household, Neighborhood, and Slate Roof-Dense Area Residential Asbestos Exposure — D. Kang, Y.Y. Kim, et al. (2018)
• The role of oxygen free radicals in occupational and environmental lung diseases — V. Vallyathan, X. Shi (1997)
• Asbestos related diseases from environmental exposure to crocidolite in Da-yao, China. I. Review of exposure and epidemiological data — S. Luo, X. Liu, et al. (2003)

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