High risk of pleural plaques and parenchymal abnormalities in women living in Biancavilla (Italy)

Our plain-English summary of High risk of pleural plaques and parenchymal abnormalities in women living in Biancavilla (Italy), by C. Ledda, C. Loreto, M. Bracci, et al (Future Oncology, 2016).

The study

• Authors: C. Ledda, C. Loreto, M. Bracci, D. Mangano, M. Migliore, V. Ricceri, A. Musumeci, C. Costa, C. Pomara, V. Rapisarda
• Journal: Future Oncology
• Published: 2016;12(23s):63-65
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Fluoro-edenite is a natural mineral species first isolated in Biancavilla, Sicily, used for construction of houses and roads, with health effects allegedly the same as those of asbestos. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the risks of pleural plaques and parenchymal abnormalities in women living in Biancavilla through a retrospective cross-sectional study. The evaluation pointed out a relative risk of pleural plaques of 39.67 (95% CI: 11.33-138.82) and 27.67 (95% CI: 5.43-141.00) for parenchymal abnormalities as well. These findings have prompted urge to extend the screening on the possible abnormalities of the respiratory tract to all Biancavilla's population, particularly in those aged more than 30 years.

In plain English

This retrospective cross-sectional study looked at women in Biancavilla, Sicily, Italy. Stone from a nearby quarry, used there for decades as building material, contains fluoro-edenite, a naturally occurring amphibole fiber. The authors reviewed high-resolution CT chest scans done from June 2009 to June 2015 on 553 women born in and living in Biancavilla. They compared these with 553 age-matched unexposed people scanned at a hospital 30 km away. Pleural plaques were found in 79 Biancavilla women versus 2 in the comparison group, a relative risk of 39.67 (95% CI 11.33 to 138.82). Among the Biancavilla women there were 33 cases of pulmonary fibrosis (seven with calcifications) and one case of bronchiectasis. One person in the comparison group had pulmonary fibrosis. The relative risk for these lung tissue (parenchymal) abnormalities was 27.67 (95% CI 5.43 to 141.00). The authors concluded that screening for respiratory abnormalities should be extended to all of Biancavilla's population, particularly people over 30.

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: Retrospective cross-sectional study reviewing existing high-resolution CT (HRCT) chest scans, with exposed women matched 1:1 by age distribution to unexposed subjects
• Who was studied: Women who had HRCT chest scans at the Biancavilla municipality hospital (Sicily, Italy) between June 2009 and June 2015, compared with age-matched unexposed subjects randomly selected from HRCT scans at a hospital 30 km away
• Exposure: Being born in and currently living in Biancavilla, where fluoro-edenite (amphibolic) fibers occur naturally in stones from a nearby quarry used for decades as construction material. The unexposed group was born in and living at least 30 km away. No individual exposure measurements are reported.
• Main results:
  • 553 women were included in the exposed group, with an equal 553 unexposed subjects as the control group
  • Pleural plaques were present in 79 exposed women versus 2 in the control group
  • Relative risk for pleural plaques in the exposed population was 39.67 (95% CI: 11.33–138.82), p < 0.0001
  • Parenchymal abnormalities among the exposed were 33 cases of pulmonary fibrosis (7 with calcifications) and 1 case of bronchiectasis; only 1 person with pulmonary fibrosis was found in the unexposed group
  • Relative risk for parenchymal abnormalities was 27.67 (95% CI: 5.43–141.00), p < 0.0001
  • Agreement between radiologists was kappa 0.81 for pleural plaques and 0.92 for parenchymal abnormalities
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the findings prompted the need to extend screening for respiratory tract abnormalities to all of Biancavilla's population, particularly those aged over 30 years. They also suggested a monitoring plan for Biancavilla's indoor spaces.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Plaques, Biancavilla, fluoro-edenite, Relative Risk.

Related studies

• Early effects of fluoro-edenite: correlation between IL-18 serum levels and pleural and parenchymal abnormalities — C. Ledda, C. Loreto, et al. (2016)
• Prevalence of anti-nuclear autoantibodies in subjects exposed to natural asbestiform fibers: a cross-sectional study — C. Ledda, R. Caltabiano, et al. (2018)
• FBLN-3 as a biomarker of pleural plaques in workers occupationally exposed to carcinogenic fibers: a pilot study — V. Rapisarda, C. Ledda, et al. (2015)
• Relationships (I) of International Classification of High-resolution Computed Tomography for Occupational and Environmental Respiratory Diseases with the ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses for parenchymal abnormalities — T. Tamura, N. Suganuma, et al. (2015)
• Asbestos-related disease: progression of parenchymal abnormalities on high-resolution CT — C.I. Silva, N.L. Müller, et al. (2008)
• 3-Dimensional Quantification of Composite Pleural Plaque Volume in Patients Exposed to Asbestos Using High-resolution Computed Tomography: A Validation Study — G. Dournes, A. Dubois, et al. (2019)

Browse more research in Future Oncology, or return to medical research.