Global trends in mortality from malignant mesothelioma: Analysis of WHO mortality database (1994-2013)

Our plain-English summary of Global trends in mortality from malignant mesothelioma: Analysis of WHO mortality database (1994-2013), by O. Abdel-Rahman (The Clinical Respiratory Journal, 2018).

The study

• Author: O. Abdel-Rahman
• Journal: The Clinical Respiratory Journal
• Published: 2018;12(6):2090-2100
• Cited by: 41 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background And Objective: Little is known about the extent to which asbestos use ban has affected global trends in malignant mesothelioma. This study investigated recent global mortality trends of malignant mesothelioma.

Methods: Data were collected from International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization mortality database to examine age-standardized, gender-specific mortality rates for malignant mesothelioma (ICD10-C45). Cross-sectional mortality rates (2009-2013) as well as trends over time (1994-2013) were also reported. Gender-specific annual percent change (APC) was calculated to examine trends over time for each country.

Results: Among the 30 countries with highest mesothelioma mortality in men, there is almost 10-fold variation in mortality rates during 2009-2013 ranging from 6.25 per 100 000 for United Kingdom to 0.64 per 100 000 in Portugal; whereas, among the 30 countries with highest mesothelioma mortality in women, there is a 4-fold variation in mortality rates during 2009-2013 ranging from 1.08 per 100 000 for United Kingdom to 0.26 per 100 000 in Ireland. Mortality rates were higher in men compared to women in 32 out of 35 evaluable countries. Among males and over the last 10 years of covered years, mesothelioma mortality was significantly declining in 9 countries (United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, United States, Australia, and New Zealand); whereas, it was significantly rising in 5 countries (Poland, Spain, China-Hong Kong, Japan, and Republic of Korea). In the remaining countries, APC was stable. Among females and over the last 10 years of covered years, mesothelioma mortality was significantly declining in 1 country only (Italy); whereas, it was significantly rising in 3 countries (Poland, Argentina, and Republic of Korea). In the remaining countries, APC was stable.

Conclusions: There is a worldwide variability in the burden and trends of mesothelioma mortality; and despite the ban on asbestos in many countries, mesothelioma still represents an important cause of mortality.

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

In plain English

This study used the World Health Organization mortality database to describe deaths from malignant mesothelioma in adults aged 30 to 84. It compared age-standardized death rates for 2009 to 2013. For countries with enough data, it also calculated yearly percentage changes in rates over periods between 1994 and 2013. Among the 30 countries with the highest rates in men, rates ranged from 6.25 per 100,000 in the UK to 0.64 in Portugal. Among the 30 highest for women, they ranged from 1.08 in the UK to 0.26 in Ireland. Men had higher rates than women in 32 of 35 evaluable countries. Over the last ten years covered, rates in men fell significantly in nine countries, including the UK, the United States and Australia. They rose significantly in five, including Poland, Japan and the Republic of Korea. In women, rates fell significantly only in Italy and rose in Poland, Argentina and the Republic of Korea. The author noted that observation periods differed between countries and that data from many developing countries were missing or incomplete. The author concluded that mesothelioma mortality varied worldwide and, despite asbestos bans in many countries, still represented an important cause of mortality.

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 analysis of national death statistics from the IARC/WHO mortality database: cross-sectional rates plus trends over time (annual percent change)
• Who was studied: Deaths from malignant mesothelioma recorded in the WHO mortality database, 1994 to 2013. The total was 97780 deaths at all ages. Rates were restricted to adults aged 30 to 84. Trend analysis covered 41 countries for males and 37 for females.
• Exposure: No individual asbestos exposure was measured. The study counted deaths coded as mesothelioma (ICD-10 C45). The trend tables list each country's approximate date of first asbestos ban.
• Main results:
  • Men, 2009 to 2013, among the 30 countries with the highest mortality: rates ranged from 6.25 per 100,000 in the UK to 0.64 per 100,000 in Portugal.
  • Women, 2009 to 2013, among the 30 countries with the highest mortality: rates ranged from 1.08 per 100,000 in the UK to 0.26 per 100,000 in Ireland.
  • Rates were higher in men than in women in 32 of 35 evaluable countries.
  • The male-to-female ratio ranged from 14.00 in Kazakhstan to 1.66 in Lithuania. It was 1.00 in Brazil, Bulgaria and Ecuador.
  • Males, last ten years covered: mortality was significantly declining in nine countries (UK, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand).
  • Males, last ten years covered: mortality was significantly rising in five countries (Poland, Spain, China-Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea). It was stable in the remaining 27.
  • Polish males had an annual percent change over the last 10 years of 12.15 (95% CI 10.38 to 13.94).
  • Females, last ten years covered: mortality was significantly declining only in Italy and significantly rising in Poland, Argentina and the Republic of Korea. It was stable in the remaining 33.
  • The countries with the highest mortality rates had either declining or stable trends. For men these were the UK, Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland and Belgium. For women they were the UK, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium and France.
  • Of all recorded mesothelioma deaths, 31% were pleural, 5% peritoneal and 55.7% of unspecified site.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the burden and trends of mesothelioma mortality vary worldwide and that, despite asbestos bans in many countries, mesothelioma still represents an important cause of mortality.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Observation periods differed greatly between countries.
  • ICD-10 was introduced in different years in different countries.
  • The quality of death registration varies by country, and in many developing countries it may be incomplete or absent.
  • Many developing countries lack the pathology services needed to diagnose mesothelioma.
  • Most deaths were of unspecified site, so analysis by site of mesothelioma was not feasible.
  • The number of countries was limited by the availability of mortality data of sufficient quality.

Topics

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

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

Related studies

• Management of malignant pleural mesothelioma - part 3 : Data from the Austrian Mesothelioma Interest Group (AMIG) database — T. Klikovits, M.A. Hoda, et al. (2016)
• National Trends in the Epidemiology of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A National Cancer Data Base Study — S.A. Saddoughi, Z.M. Abdelsattar, et al. (2018)
• Retrospective Exposure Assessment for Occupational Disease of an Individual Worker Using an Exposure Database and Trend Analysis — D.A. Chung, R.R. Yang, et al. (2015)
• Assessing the global burden of mesothelioma: trends, socioeconomic influences, and asbestos exposure - a retrospective cohort study — Z. Zhao, J. Li, et al. (2025)
• Global and regional burden of disease and injury in 2016 arising from occupational exposures: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 — GBD 2016 Occupational Risk Factors Collaborators (2020)
• Peritoneal mesothelioma in Italy: Trends and geography of mortality and incidence — S. Conti, G. Minelli, et al. (2015)

Browse more research in The Clinical Respiratory Journal, or return to medical research.