Lung function profiles in the chrysotile asbestos mines and mills of Quebec

Our plain-English summary of Lung function profiles in the chrysotile asbestos mines and mills of Quebec, by M.R. Becklake, G. Fournier-Massey, R. Black (Chest, 1976).

The study

• Authors: M.R. Becklake, G. Fournier-Massey, R. Black
• Journal: Chest
• Published: 1976;69(2 Suppl):303
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 002260).

Summary of the article

This short conference report described lung function profiles in Quebec chrysotile asbestos mine and mill workers. The authors began from a clinical impression that profiles other than the classic restrictive pattern associated with asbestos exposure were not uncommon. They defined lung function profiles in a sample of over 1,000 men examined in 1967-68 as part of a comprehensive study of the effects of asbestos exposure in the chrysotile mines and mills of Quebec. Profiles were based on five standard tests, each expressed as a percent of predicted: total lung capacity, residual volume, forced expiratory volume in 0.75 second, FEV1/FVC, and maximal mid-expiratory flow rate. Results were related to dust exposure, measured as million particles per cubic foot years, and to smoking. Prevalences were age-standardized to the total working population as of October 31, 1966. Of the men, 44.3 percent had normal profiles and 26.5 percent had minor changes only. Restrictive and obstructive profiles occurred with comparable frequency (12.8 and 12.2 percent). Both were associated with radiologic features of asbestosis, and both occurred infrequently in non-smokers. The authors stated that these findings suggest an association between smoking and the development of asbestos-related fibrosis, insofar as this is reflected in a restrictive profile. A principal component analysis gave indirect evidence that, in workers who smoke, dust-associated impairment might be either obstructive or restrictive. The authors called for further studies on whether these findings apply to secondary industries that process chrysotile.

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 short conference report described lung function patterns in a sample of over 1,000 men working in Quebec's chrysotile asbestos mines and mills. The men were examined in 1967-68 as part of a larger study. The authors used five standard breathing tests, each expressed as a percent of the predicted value, to sort each man's results into a lung function profile. They then related the profiles to dust exposure and smoking. Full results were published elsewhere. Of the men, 44.3 percent had normal profiles and a further 26.5 percent had only minor changes. Restrictive profiles (12.8 percent) and obstructive profiles (12.2 percent) occurred about equally often. Both were associated with chest X-ray features of asbestosis, and both were uncommon in men who did not smoke. The authors concluded that the findings suggest an association between smoking and asbestos-related fibrosis, insofar as this is reflected in a restrictive profile. They added that further studies are needed to see whether these mining and milling findings apply to industries that further process chrysotile.

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: Brief conference report of a cross-sectional analysis of lung function profiles, related to dust exposure and smoking; full results reported elsewhere
• Who was studied: Over 1,000 Quebec chrysotile asbestos mine and mill workers (men), examined in 1967-68 as part of a larger study; the table refers to 1,015 current workers
• Exposure: Chrysotile asbestos dust in Quebec mines and mills, measured as a dust index in million particles per cubic foot years; smoking was also considered
• Main results:
  • 44.3 percent of the men had normal lung function profiles
  • A further 26.5 percent had only minor function changes
  • Among the remainder, restrictive profiles occurred in 12.8 percent and obstructive profiles in 12.2 percent
  • Both restrictive and obstructive profiles were associated with radiologic features of asbestosis, and both occurred infrequently in non-smokers
  • A principal component analysis gave indirect evidence that, in workers who smoke, dust-associated impairment might be either obstructive or restrictive
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the findings suggest an association between smoking and the development of asbestos-related fibrosis, insofar as this is reflected in a restrictive function profile
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that further studies are required to establish how far findings from primary mining and milling of chrysotile apply to secondary industries that further process the fiber

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chrysotile, Quebec Chrysotile, Asbestos Exposure, Total Lung Capacity (TLC), FEV1/FVC Ratio, Million Particles per Cubic Foot (mppcf), Fibrosis.

Related studies

• The health of chrysotile asbestos mine and mill workers of Quebec — J.C. McDonald, M.R. Becklake, et al. (1974)
• Mortality in the chrysotile asbestos mines and mills of Quebec — J.C. McDonald, A.D. McDonald, et al. (1971)
• Non-malignant consequences of decreasing asbestos exposure in the Brazil chrysotile mines and mills — E. Bagatin, J.A. Neder, et al. (2005)
• Rheumatic complaints and pulmonary response to chrysotile dust inhalation in the mines and mills of Quebec — F.M. White, J. Swift, et al. (1974)
• Long-term mortality experience of chrysotile miners and millers in Thetford Mines, Quebec — W.J. Nicholson, I.J. Selikoff, et al. (1979)
• Temporal patterns of exposure and nonmalignant pulmonary abnormality in Quebec chrysotile workers — R. Copes, D. Thomas, et al. (1985)

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