Pulmonary disease caused by the inhalation of cosmetic talcum powder

Our plain-English summary of Pulmonary disease caused by the inhalation of cosmetic talcum powder, by I.P. Wells, P.A. Dubbins, W.F. Whimster (The British Journal of Radiology, 1979).

The study

• Authors: I.P. Wells, P.A. Dubbins, W.F. Whimster
• Journal: The British Journal of Radiology
• Published: 1979;52(619):586-8
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 20 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. 002107).

In plain English

This case report from King's College Hospital, London, described one woman whose chronic lung disease the authors called "apparently the result" of excessive use of domestic talcum powder. A 41-year-old housewife, first seen in March 1973 with breathlessness on exercise, was treated for presumed tuberculosis although sputum tests were repeatedly negative. By September 1974 her chest X-ray showed ill-defined nodules throughout the lungs. An open lung biopsy showed numerous granulomas and extensive fibrosis; electron microscopy found particles consistent with talc, confirmed by X-ray diffraction. On questioning she admitted dusting her whole body with talc at least once daily for many years, in a small unventilated room. After she stopped, her condition remained unchanged, with continued breathlessness and a virtually unchanged X-ray over four years. The authors concluded that very rarely cosmetic talc may be implicated in lung disease. The report does not mention asbestos in this patient; its introduction cites earlier work that industrial-grade talc, unlike domestic talc, can contain asbestos.

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 report (single patient)
• Who was studied: one 41-year-old housewife seen at King's College Hospital, London, first seen in March 1973 and followed for about four years after stopping talc use
• Exposure: very heavy domestic use of cosmetic talcum powder over many years, dusting the whole body at least once daily in a small unventilated room; no asbestos exposure or asbestos finding is reported for this patient
• Main results:
  • The patient was first treated with rifampicin and isoniazid for a presumed diagnosis of tuberculosis, although sputum staining and culture for tubercle bacilli were repeatedly negative
  • In September 1974 her chest X-ray showed ill-defined medium-sized nodules throughout the lungs
  • The open lung biopsy showed numerous granulomas and extensive fibrosis, with no necrosis and negative tests for acid-fast bacilli
  • Electron microscopy of the biopsy residue showed particles consistent with talc, and X-ray diffraction confirmed this
  • After talc use stopped, the patient's condition remained unchanged; she remained short of breath and her chest X-ray stayed virtually unchanged over four years
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, very rarely, cosmetic talc may be implicated in causing lung disease. They suggested that a careful history of talc use be taken in patients with resistant lung infiltrates of unknown cause.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Talc and vermiculite.

Related studies

• Potential Airborne Asbestos Exposure and Risk Associated with the Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder Products — A.M. Burns, C.A. Barlow, et al. (2019)
• Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women — R. Lee, D. Van Orden (2015)
• Response to RE: Gordon R, Fitzgerald S, and Millette J. Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2014;20(4):318-332 — R.E. Gordon (2015)
• Letter concerning: Burns AM, Barlow CA, Banducci AM, Unice KM, Sahmel J. Potential Airborne Asbestos Exposure and Risk Associated with the Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder Products — M.M. Finkelstein (2019)
• Serous Ovarian Cancer Caused by Exposure to Asbestos and Fibrous Talc in Cosmetic Talc Powders-A Case Series — J.E. Steffen, T. Tran, et al. (2020)
• Particle size for differentiation between inhalation and injection pulmonary talcosis — J.L. Abraham, C. Brambilla (1980)

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