International scientific cooperation on asbestos-related disease prevention in Latin America

Our plain-English summary of International scientific cooperation on asbestos-related disease prevention in Latin America, by D. Marsili, P. Comba, R. Pasetto, et al (Annals of Global Health, 2014).

The study

• Authors: D. Marsili, P. Comba, R. Pasetto, B. Terracini
• Journal: Annals of Global Health
• Published: 2014;80(4):247-50
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 12 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Summary of the article

In this commentary, written within the Italian National Asbestos project, the authors reviewed asbestos consumption and epidemiologic research in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Using U.S. Geological Survey data, they reported that consumption in Latin America peaked in 1980, when about half was used by Brazil, and that the region's share of world consumption rose from 4% to 6% between 1970 and 2003. Argentina banned asbestos in 2000 (amphiboles) and 2001 (chrysotile). Brazil had no national ban, and consumption in Brazil and Colombia had increased in recent years. Between 1980 and 2003 the four countries imported amphiboles, mainly from South Africa. A Medline search in April 2014 found 9 entries for Mexico, 12 for Brazil, 4 for Argentina and 1 for Colombia, compared with 394 for Italy and 211 for the United Kingdom. The authors judged that only two studies gave valuable information: a Mexican case-control study of mesothelioma and a follow-up of former asbestos cement workers in São Paulo. They found that other studies had limited statistical power or selection bias. They considered that case series and cancer registry data suggested reported cases were the tip of an iceberg. The authors proposed international cooperation to support asbestos bans, environmental cleanup, better exposure assessment, improved mortality and cancer data, and health surveillance following international guidelines.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This article was a commentary, not an original study. Three authors were at Italy's Istituto Superiore di Sanità; the fourth was retired from the University of Turin. It examined asbestos use and health research in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Using U.S. Geological Survey figures, the authors reported that Latin American asbestos use peaked in 1980, about half of it in Brazil. They described use in Brazil and Colombia as increasing in the latest years with data. Argentina banned amphiboles in 2000 and chrysotile in 2001; Brazil had no national ban. A Medline search on April 18, 2014 found few entries for these countries (9 Mexico, 12 Brazil, 4 Argentina, 1 Colombia), against 394 for Italy and 211 for the United Kingdom. The authors judged that only 2 of the studies they found gave some valuable information. They suggested that reported clusters of asbestos-related disease were likely "the tip of an iceberg". The authors concluded that international scientific cooperation could help prevent asbestos-related disease through sharing valid scientific information, asbestos bans with environmental cleanup and better exposure assessment, and better epidemiologic data.

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: Commentary (viewpoint) summarizing asbestos consumption data and a Medline literature search; not an original study
• Who was studied: Four Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico): national asbestos consumption figures from 1960 to 2011 and published epidemiologic studies identified through a Medline search on April 18, 2014
• Exposure: Asbestos consumption in general, including asbestos cement production and imported amphiboles (crocidolite and amosite) from South Africa
• Main results:
  • Latin American asbestos consumption peaked in 1980, and half of it was consumed by Brazil. The text gives 356,033 tons; Table 1 gives 355,933 tons for Latin America in 1980.
  • Between 1970 and 2003, the ratio of asbestos consumption in Latin America rose from 4% to 6%, despite national bans and a drastic reduction in Mexico. The authors described increased consumption in Brazil and Colombia in the most recent years for which data were available.
  • Argentina adopted an asbestos ban in 2000 for amphiboles and in 2001 for chrysotile. Brazil did not adopt a national ban; bans in five Brazilian states were under evaluation by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
  • Over 1980 to 2003, the authors reported these imports of amphiboles, mostly from South Africa: Mexico more than 30,000 tons; Colombia more than 8000 tons (described as almost exclusively crocidolite); Argentina 7000 tons of crocidolite and 4000 tons of amosite; Brazil 2000 tons of crocidolite and 1000 tons of amosite.
  • The Medline search found few entries for the four countries (9 Mexico, 12 Brazil, 4 Argentina, 1 Colombia), compared with 394 for Italy and 211 for the United Kingdom.
  • Of the analytical studies identified, the authors judged that only 2 gave some valuable information: a case-control study of mesothelioma in Mexico and studies of former asbestos cement workers in São Paulo. Three other case-control studies in Brazil and Argentina had limited statistical power and did not detect an association with asbestos.
  • The authors cited case series and reports from other researchers. One Brazilian study found pleural plaques in 57 of 752 chrysotile mining workers and former mining employees. On this basis, the authors suggested that reported foci of asbestos-related disease most likely represent the tip of an iceberg.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that international scientific cooperation could make three main sets of contributions to preventing asbestos-related disease. These were: a common frame for public health decisions based on valid scientific information; primary prevention through an asbestos ban and environmental cleanup, together with better exposure assessment; and epidemiologic estimates of local disease impact, supported by better mortality and cancer incidence data.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Amphibole Group, Chrysotile, Case-Control Study, Mesothelioma, Asbestos-Cement, Selection Bias, Cancer Registry.

Related studies

• Prevention of Asbestos Exposure in Latin America within a Global Public Health Perspective — E. Algranti, J.P. Ramos-Bonilla, et al. (2019)
• Prevention of Asbestos-Related Disease in Countries Currently Using Asbestos — D. Marsili, B. Terracini, et al. (2016)
• Children's health in Latin America: the influence of environmental exposures — A. Laborde, F. Tomasina, et al. (2015)
• Towards elimination of asbestos-related diseases: a theoretical basis for international cooperation — K. Takahashi, S.K. Kang (2010)
• Characteristics and long-term outcomes of advanced pleural mesothelioma in Latin America (MeSO-CLICaP) — L. Rojas, A.F. Cardona, et al. (2019)
• Status of the ban on asbestos use in Spain and Latin America — R.A. Accinelli Tanaka, L.M. López Oropeza (2015)

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