Mesothelioma mortality in Greece from 1983 to 2003

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma mortality in Greece from 1983 to 2003, by E. Gogou, T. Kerenidi, V. Chamos, et al (International Journal of Clinical Practice, 2009).

The study

• Authors: E. Gogou, T. Kerenidi, V. Chamos, E. Zintzaras, K.I. Gourgoulianis
• Journal: International Journal of Clinical Practice
• Published: 2009;63(6):944-8
• Cited by: 13 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Objective: To present summary statistics of the Greek mesothelioma epidemic including summaries by occupation and geographical area.

Methods: The National Statistics Service provides our data, which contain all deaths from 1983 to 2003 where mesothelioma was mentioned on the death certificate.

Results: The annual number of mesothelioma deaths has increased from 9 in the 3-year period of time 1983-1985 to 53 in 2001-2003. Current deaths in males account for about 72% of the cases. The area of Epirus in Greece has the highest cause-specific mortality rate over the period 1983-2003. The occupational group which is related to the higher number of mesothelioma deaths was clerks and those occupied in business; following farmers, workers-technicians and drivers.

Conclusion: Our data suggest a change in the balance of risk away from traditional asbestos exposure industries to industries where one could describe the exposure as secondary such as plumbers, technicians, drivers, farmers. Also, we found out that the higher cause-specific mortality rate was 0.38/100,000 population in Epirus, the lower was 0.025/100,000 in Thessalia and the national average rate was 0.10/100,000 population.

In plain English

This study used death-certificate data from the National Statistics Service of Greece covering all deaths from 1983 to 2003 in which mesothelioma was mentioned, 223 deaths in total. Deaths rose from nine in 1983–1985 to 53 in 2001–2003, and males accounted for about 72% of current deaths. The average yearly mortality rate was 0.047 per 100,000 population for 1983–1993 and 0.156 per 100,000 for 1994–2003. The authors said greater awareness and changes in diagnosis may have contributed to this increase. Averaged over the 21 years, the national rate was 0.10 per 100,000 population per year. Epirus had the highest rate (0.38) and Thessalia the lowest (0.025). Of 28 deaths in Epirus, 12 were farmers (four male, eight female). The authors could not safely exclude asbestos-contaminated local soil as the cause of deaths in women farmers there. Workers-technicians made up a smaller share of deaths in 1999–2003 (9 of 110) than in 1983–1998 (15 of 113), while drivers and business-clerks made up larger shares. The authors concluded this suggests a shift in risk away from traditional asbestos-exposure occupations.

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 study of national death-certificate (mortality statistics) data
• Who was studied: All 223 deaths in Greece from 1983 to 2003 where mesothelioma was mentioned on the death certificate, from National Statistics Service of Greece data
• Exposure: No direct asbestos exposure measurement. The study analysed the occupation, age and sex recorded in the death statistics, along with geographical area.
• Main results:
  • Total mesothelioma deaths in Greece rose from nine in 1983–1985 to 53 in 2001–2003
  • Males currently accounted for about 72% of mesothelioma deaths
  • The average yearly cause-specific mortality rate in Greece was 0.047/100,000 population for 1983–1993 and 0.156/100,000 population for 1994–2003, described as an approximately threefold increase
  • Averaged per year over 1983–2003 (21 years), the national rate was 0.10/100,000 population. The highest rate was 0.38/100,000 in Epirus and the lowest was 0.025/100,000 in Thessalia
  • In Epirus, 28 mesothelioma deaths were recorded, 23 of them in County Ioanninon. 12 of the 28 were farmers (four males and eight females)
  • Table 2 compared two periods with roughly equal numbers of deaths: 113 deaths in 1983–1998 and 110 in 1999–2003. Workers-technicians accounted for 15 of the 113 and 9 of the 110, a reduced proportion in the later period
  • The proportion of deaths rose for two groups between 1983–1998 and 1999–2003. Drivers went from 6 of 113 to 15 of 110, and business-clerks from 16 of 113 to 24 of 110. Occupation was not recorded in 50 deaths
  • The authors could not detect a clear association between occupational groups and asbestos exposure
  • The highest number of mesothelioma deaths occurred at ages 60 to 69 years
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that their data suggest a change in the balance of risk away from traditional asbestos-exposure occupations toward occupations with secondary exposure, such as drivers and clerks. They also stated they could not safely exclude asbestos-contaminated soil as the cause of the increased mesothelioma deaths in women farmers in Epirus.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Increased awareness and changes in diagnosis over time may have contributed to the rise in deaths
  • Only the county of each death was available, not the exact area, so the link of Epirus cases to the 'Metsovo lung' area was presumed
  • Case numbers for the Epirus farmer analysis were limited

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Death Certificate, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Mesothelioma Mortality Rates in Greece for the Period 2005-2015 Is Increased Compared to Previous Decades — E. Gogou, C. Hatzoglou, et al. (2019)
• Asbestos ban policies and mesothelioma mortality in Greece — E. Gogou, C. Hatzoglou, et al. (2024)
• Malignant pleural mesothelioma from nonoccupational asbestos exposure in Metsovo (north-west Greece): slow end of an epidemic? — K. Sakellariou, V. Malamou-Mitsi, et al. (1996)
• Metsovo lung outside Metsovo. Endemic pleural calcifications in the ophiolite belts of Greece — S.H. Constantopoulos, P. Theodoracopoulos, et al. (1991)
• Malignant mesothelioma in Metsovo, Greece, from domestic use of asbestos: 30 years later — A. Gogali, C. Manda-Stachouli, et al. (2012)
• Mortality among shipbreaking workers in Taiwan--a retrospective cohort study from 1985 to 2008 — W.T. Wu, Y.H. Lu, et al. (2013)

Browse return to medical research.