Mesothelioma in household members of asbestos-exposed workers: 32 United States cases since 1990

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma in household members of asbestos-exposed workers: 32 United States cases since 1990, by A. Miller (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2005).

The study

• Author: A. Miller
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 2005;47(5):458-62
• Cited by: 45 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background: Mesothelioma is significant as an indicator of asbestos exposure, as a continuing major cause of death in those exposed, and as a risk following lesser exposures. One such exposure is living in the household of an asbestos worker, and coming into contact with fibers brought home on his/her body, clothing, etc.

Methods: Law firms throughout the US known for their pursuit of asbestos claims were polled for mesothelioma claims brought on behalf of family members of identifiable asbestos-exposed workers. Cases with any occupational, environmental, or other possible exposure were not included.

Results: This study reports 32 household-exposure mesothelioma cases, diagnosed since 1990. Relationships were wife (15), daughter (11), son (3), sister-in law (1), niece (1), and boarder (1). Occupations of the workers included shipyard (13), insulator (7), and other (12). Of the 27 pleural cases, 13 were epithelial, 5 fibrous, 3 biphasic, and 6 not specified; of the 5 peritoneal cases, 4 were epithelial and 1 fibrous. Latency was greater than 40 years in 27 cases; 6 cases were 40-49 years of age and 17 were 60 or older.

Conclusions: Records from law firms were a useful source of information. Mesothelioma resulting from household exposure is a continuing problem. It is more likely to present in the elderly, after latencies of >40 years.

(c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

In plain English

This brief report described 32 United States mesothelioma cases, diagnosed since 1990, whose only identified asbestos exposure was living with a worker exposed to asbestos on the job. The author polled law firms handling asbestos claims. Of 25 firms, 15 sent information, and cases from nine met the criteria. People with occupational, environmental or other possible exposure, or exposure in buildings other than the home shared with the worker, were excluded. The cases were 15 wives, 11 daughters, 3 sons, a sister-in-law, a niece and a boarder. The workers most often worked in shipyards (13) or as insulators (7). Twenty-seven cases were pleural and 5 peritoneal. Average latency (time from first exposure to symptoms or diagnosis) was 49.0 years, and it was over 40 years in 27 cases. Seventeen people were 60 or older. At least 10 had pleural plaques, 4 of them also asbestosis. The author concluded that household-exposure mesothelioma is a continuing problem, more likely to appear in older people after latencies over 40 years. The author noted that the firms' total number of mesothelioma cases could not be obtained.

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: Case series (brief report) of mesothelioma claims gathered from the files of plaintiff law firms
• Who was studied: 32 people with mesothelioma (29 women, 3 men) whose disease appeared no earlier than 1990. The abstract says diagnosed since 1990, and the table lists diagnoses from 1990 onward. The cases came from the files of nine of 25 US law firms, polled on three occasions over 5 years; 15 firms submitted information. People with any occupational, environmental or other possible exposure were excluded, as were people with exposure in a building other than the dwelling shared with the exposed worker.
• Exposure: Asbestos brought home by a household member with occupational exposure. The workers' jobs were shipyard (13), insulator other than shipyard (7), railroad (2), manufacture of asbestos materials (2), boilermaker (2), steel mill (2), refinery (1), pipe fitter (1), refractory bricklayer (1) and construction (1). Exposure in buildings other than the dwelling shared with the worker led to exclusion. Fiber types were not reported.
• Main results:
  • Relationship to the exposed worker among the 32 cases: wives 15, daughters 11 (one stepdaughter), sons 3 (one stepson), sister-in-law 1, niece 1, boarder 1
  • Of the 32 cases, 27 were pleural (13 epithelial, 5 fibrous, 3 biphasic, 6 not specified) and 5 were peritoneal (4 epithelial, 1 fibrous)
  • Of the 29 female cases, 24 were pleural and 5 peritoneal. All 3 male cases were pleural.
  • Age at first exposure: under 10 years in 13 cases, 10 to 19 years in 5, 20 to 29 years in 9, 30 to 39 years in 2, unavailable in 3
  • Mean latency for all cases was 49.0 years
  • Latency was greater than 40 years in 27 of the 32 cases
  • Mean latency was 52.9 years for offspring and 45.4 years for wives. The author reported that this difference approached significance (0.07).
  • Mean age at presentation was 62.3 years
  • 6 cases were aged 40 to 49, and 17 were aged 60 or older
  • Pleural plaques were present in at least 10 cases, 4 of whom also had asbestosis
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that mesothelioma resulting from household exposure is a continuing problem, more likely to present in the elderly after latencies of more than 40 years, and that law firm records were a useful source of information.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Many firms had closed, split or merged, so the total number of mesothelioma cases at the firms, and the outcomes of those cases, could not be obtained
  • Information about other asbestos-related disease in the cases was incomplete
  • Latency was skewed toward longer periods because cases had to appear no earlier than 1990

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: Mesothelioma, Asbestos Exposure, Insulator, Biphasic Mesothelioma, Latency.

Related studies

• Pleural mesothelioma and household asbestos exposure — J. Schneider, K. Straif, et al. (1996)
• Asbestos-related radiographic findings among household contacts of workers exposed to Libby vermiculite: impact of workers' personal hygiene practices — T.J. Hilbert, A. Franzblau, et al. (2013)
• North-south gradient of mesothelioma and asbestos consumption-production in the United States-Progresses since the 1st asbestos partial ban in 1973 — H. Sun (2019)
• Mesothelioma: you do not have to work for it — E.J. Ampleford, J. Ohar (2007)
• Mesothelioma trends in the United States: an update based on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program data for 1973 through 2003 — B. Price, A. Ware (2004)
• Mortality experience of insulation workers in the United States and Canada, 1943--1976 — I.J. Selikoff, E.C. Hammond, et al. (1979)

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