Mortality patterns among electrical workers employed in the U.S. construction industry, 1982-1987

Our plain-English summary of Mortality patterns among electrical workers employed in the U.S. construction industry, 1982-1987, by C.F. Robinson, M. Petersen, S. Palu (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1999).

The study

• Authors: C.F. Robinson, M. Petersen, S. Palu
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1999;36(6):630-7
• Cited by: 43 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background: Studies of electrical workers in the utility and manufacturing industries have reported excess site-specific cancer. No previous studies of electrical workers in the construction industry have been conducted.

Methods: Our study evaluated the mortality patterns of 31,068 U.S. members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who primarily worked in the construction industry and died 1982-1987.

Results: Comparison to the U.S. population by using the NIOSH life table showed significantly elevated proportionate mortality for many causes. Excess mortality for leukemia (proportionate mortality ratio (PMR)=115) and brain tumors (PMR=136) is similar to reports of electrical workers with occupational exposure to electric and magnetic fields in the electric utility or manufacturing industry. Excess deaths due to melanoma skin cancer (PMR=123) are consistent with findings of other PCB-exposed workers. A significantly elevated PMR was observed for the diseases caused by asbestos: lung cancer (PMR=117), asbestosis (PMR=247), and malignant mesothelioma (PMR=356) and from fatal injuries, particularly electrocutions (PMR=1180). The findings of statistically significant excess deaths for prostate cancer (PMR=107), musculoskeletal disease (PMR=130), suicide (PMR=113), and disorders of the blood-forming organs (PMR=141) were unexpected.

Conclusions: Results suggest that more detailed investigations of occupational risk factors and evaluation of preventive practices are needed to prevent excess mortality in this hazardous occupation. Am. J. Ind. Med. 36:630-637, 1999. Published 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

In plain English

This study examined deaths of 31,068 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers members, mainly construction electricians, who died in the United States in 1982 to 1987. It used union death benefit records and death certificates. Records of members dropped for unpaid dues were not kept, so the authors used proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs). A PMR compares each cause's share of deaths with the share expected in the U.S. employed population; 100 means as expected. Cancer of the pleura (mesothelioma) had a PMR of 356 (19 deaths; 95% confidence interval 214 to 555), asbestosis 247 (13 deaths; 131 to 422) and lung cancer 117 (2,977 deaths; 112 to 121). Mesothelioma and asbestosis PMRs were higher in indoor-work locals than outdoor ones. Electrocutions had a PMR of 1,180 (127 deaths; 984 to 1,404). The study did not measure asbestos exposure or name fiber types. The authors concluded many excesses were consistent with an occupational cause and called for further study. They noted possible death certificate errors, missing exposure data and missing short-term members. They said smoking may explain part of the lung cancer excess.

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: Proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) study of union death records, compared with the U.S. employed population using the NIOSH life table program
• Who was studied: 31,068 deceased U.S. members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) who worked mainly in construction and died 1982 to 1987: 30,686 white males, 114 white females, 266 non-white males and 2 non-white females
• Exposure: Work as an electrical worker in the construction industry, with subgroups based on whether the member's union local was classified as outdoor (high-voltage line) or indoor (interior wiring) work. Asbestos exposure was not measured and no fiber type was named.
• Main results:
  • All electrical workers: cancer of the pleura (mesothelioma), 19 deaths, PMR 356 (95% confidence interval 214 to 555)
  • All electrical workers: asbestosis, 13 deaths, PMR 247 (95% confidence interval 131 to 422)
  • All electrical workers: lung cancer, 2,977 deaths, PMR 117 (95% confidence interval 112 to 121)
  • The mesothelioma PMR was statistically significant only after 30 or more years (of union membership, called years of exposure in the article)
  • Indoor-work locals: mesothelioma, 14 deaths, PMR 437 (95% confidence interval 239 to 734)
  • Indoor-work locals: asbestosis, 11 deaths, PMR 361 (95% confidence interval 180 to 647)
  • Outdoor-work locals: mesothelioma, 5 deaths, PMR 239 (95% confidence interval 77 to 559)
  • Outdoor-work locals: asbestosis, 5 deaths, PMR 247 (95% confidence interval 80 to 576)
  • The authors reported that asbestos-related disease and cancer mortality was higher in indoor-work locals
  • All electrical workers: electrocutions, 127 deaths, PMR 1,180 (95% confidence interval 984 to 1,404)
  • All electrical workers: leukemia, 312 deaths, PMR 115 (95% confidence interval 102 to 128)
  • All electrical workers: benign or unspecified tumors of the eye, brain and central nervous system (mostly brain tumors), 118 deaths, PMR 136 (95% confidence interval 112 to 163)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that construction electrical workers had modest excesses of brain tumors, leukemia, melanoma, prostate cancer and asbestos-related illnesses (lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis). They also found unexpected moderate excesses of suicide, musculoskeletal disease and blood-forming organ disorders, and said many excesses suggest or are consistent with an occupational cause.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Possible inaccuracies in cause of death on death certificates, lack of data on occupational exposure, and loss of short-term members from the study
  • Lack of data on whether each individual did indoor or outdoor work may have caused exposure misclassification, which would lower the PMRs
  • Members dropped from the union were not included
  • Indoor and outdoor subgroups were not mutually exclusive
  • Cigarette smoking may explain part of the lung cancer excess

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: NIOSH, Occupational Exposure, Lung Cancer, Malignant Mesothelioma.

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