Pattern of malignant mesothelioma incidence and occupational exposure to asbestos in Western Australia

Our plain-English summary of Pattern of malignant mesothelioma incidence and occupational exposure to asbestos in Western Australia, by A.W. Musk, N. Olsen, H. Alfonso, et al (The Medical Journal of Australia, 2015).

The study

• Authors: A.W. Musk, N. Olsen, H. Alfonso, S. Peters, P. Franklin
• Journal: The Medical Journal of Australia
• Published: 2015;203(6):251-2e.1
• Cited by: 7 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Summary of the article

This short report described the pattern of malignant mesothelioma (MM) incidence in Western Australia (WA) in relation to occupational asbestos exposure. All incident MM cases are recorded in the WA Cancer Registry, and an expert committee verified each diagnosis. Using available medical and employment records, the authors identified the most significant occupational exposure likely responsible for each case. They expressed each occupational group as a proportion of all cases per decade. Between 1962 and 2009 there were 1263 confirmed cases (97% male) with occupational asbestos exposure and 75 cases (53% male) with no identifiable exposure. Cases rose from 57 in the 1960s and 1970s to 211 in the 1980s, 475 in the 1990s and 595 in the 2000s. Proportions linked to crocidolite production and transport, rail work and plumbing were highest in 1960–1979. Proportions for waterside work, armed forces, lagging and insulation, shipbuilding, asbestos cement production, brake work and non-asbestos mining peaked in the 1990s. Proportions for building and construction, electrical work, boilermaking and welding, and power station work peaked in the 2000s. Construction workers (21.7%) and Wittenoom workers (19.9%) accounted for the largest proportions overall. The proportion with no identifiable exposure (5.6%) did not differ significantly between decades. The authors concluded that the pattern reflected asbestos use in these occupations more than 30 years earlier, that occupational exposure remains the major cause, and that the WA epidemic will be finite.

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 report described malignant mesothelioma cases in Western Australia (WA) by occupational asbestos exposure. Cases came from the WA Cancer Registry, 1962 to 2009. An expert committee verified the diagnoses, and medical and employment records were examined to identify, where possible, the occupational exposure most likely responsible. Of 1338 cases, 1263 (97% male) had occupational asbestos exposure and 75 had no identifiable exposure. Cases rose from 57 in the 1960s and 1970s combined to 595 in the 2000s. Wittenoom workers made up 54.4% of cases in 1960 to 1979 but 13.8% in 2000 to 2009. Building and construction workers rose from 3.5% to 29.4% over the same periods. Overall, building and construction workers (21.7%) and Wittenoom workers (19.9%) were the largest groups. The proportion of cases with no identifiable exposure (5.6% overall) did not differ significantly between decades. The authors concluded that the pattern reflects asbestos use in each occupation more than 30 years earlier and that occupational exposure remains the major cause. They wrote that a shrinking working population at risk and asbestos removal suggest the WA epidemic will be finite.

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 registry cases (short report), with each occupational group expressed as a proportion of all cases per decade
• Who was studied: 1338 confirmed cases of malignant mesothelioma in Western Australia, 1962 to 2009, from the WA Cancer Registry with diagnoses verified by an expert committee: 1263 with occupational asbestos exposure (97% male) and 75 with no identifiable exposure (53% male)
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure. Medical records (often from workers' compensation) and employment records were examined to determine, where possible, the most significant occupational exposure likely responsible. Cases were grouped by occupation (for example Wittenoom workers, rail workers, waterside workers, building and construction workers), and no exposure could be identified for 75 cases. Wittenoom production and asbestos transport are described as crocidolite-related.
• Main results:
  • Total cases rose from 57 (1960s and 1970s combined) to 211 (1980s), 475 (1990s) and 595 (2000s)
  • Wittenoom workers: 31 cases (54.4%) in 1960 to 1979, 70 (33.2%) in the 1980s, 83 (17.5%) in the 1990s, 82 (13.8%) in 2000 to 2009, and 266 (19.9%) in total
  • Building and construction workers: 2 cases (3.5%) in 1960 to 1979, 28 (13.3%) in the 1980s, 84 (17.6%) in the 1990s, 175 (29.4%) in 2000 to 2009, and 289 (21.7%) in total
  • The proportions of cases from crocidolite production and transport, and among rail workers and plumbers, were highest in the 1960s and 1970s
  • The proportions among building and construction workers, electricians, boilermakers and welders, and power station workers were greatest in the 2000s. Several other groups (waterside workers, armed forces, laggers and insulators, shipbuilding, asbestos cement production, automotive brake work, non-asbestos mining) peaked in the 1990s.
  • Overall, the largest proportions of cases were in construction and Wittenoom workers
  • Cases with no identifiable source of asbestos exposure numbered 75 (5.6% overall). This proportion was less than previously reported in another study and did not differ significantly between decades.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the numbers and proportions of cases attributed to occupational asbestos exposure in WA reflect the patterns of asbestos use in each occupation more than 30 years earlier. They wrote that occupational exposure remains the major cause and appears likely to remain so for many more years. They also wrote that the decline in the working population at risk and the removal of asbestos suggest the WA epidemic will be finite.

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: Malignant Mesothelioma, Occupational Exposure, Asbestos Exposure, Cancer Registry, Crocidolite, Asbestos-Cement, Wittenoom.

Related studies

• Incidence of malignant mesothelioma in Aboriginal people in Western Australia — P. Franklin, A. Reid, et al. (2016)
• Plasma vitamin concentrations and incidence of mesothelioma and lung cancer in individuals exposed to crocidolite at Wittenoom, Western Australia — H.S. Alfonso, L. Fritschi, et al. (2006)
• Retinol supplementation and mesothelioma incidence in workers earlier exposed to blue asbestos (Crocidolite) at Wittenoom, Western Australia — H.S. Alfonso, A. Reid, et al. (2010)
• Ultra-low-dose chest computer tomography screening of an asbestos-exposed population in Western Australia — F.J. Brims, C.P. Murray, et al. (2015)
• Cancer incidence among women and girls environmentally and occupationally exposed to blue asbestos at Wittenoom, Western Australia — A. Reid, J. Heyworth, et al. (2008)
• Malignant mesotheliomas in former miners and millers of crocidolite at Wittenoom (Western Australia) after more than 50 years follow-up — G. Berry, A. Reid, et al. (2012)

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