Radiographic progression of asbestosis

Our plain-English summary of Radiographic progression of asbestosis, by H. Suoranta, M.S. Huuskonen, A. Zitting, et al (American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1982).

The study

• Authors: H. Suoranta, M.S. Huuskonen, A. Zitting, J. Juntunen
• Journal: American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Published: 1982;3(1):67-74
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 12 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. 001761).

In plain English

This Finnish follow-up study took chest X-rays of 85 patients with asbestosis (77 men and 8 women) on two occasions three to four years apart: first in 1976-1977 and again in 1979-1981. Of 133 patients first examined, 48 were not re-examined, including 25 who had died. Two radiologists read the films using the ILO classification. Lung fibrosis had progressed in 26 of the 85 patients (31%). Patients whose fibrosis was moderate or advanced at the start progressed more often than those with slight fibrosis (p less than 0.001). Duration of exposure and time since first exposure did not differ significantly between those who progressed and those who did not. Those who progressed were younger on average (54 vs 59 years) and were more often smokers and asbestos sprayers. Pleural thickening progressed in 24 patients (28%). This was more common among patients whose lung fibrosis progressed (13 of 26) than among those whose fibrosis did not (11 of 59). The authors concluded that workers with severe and progressive lung changes were typically cigarette smokers who worked as sprayers, were exposed to crocidolite, and showed more signs of lung fibrosis.

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: Follow-up study comparing chest X-rays of asbestosis patients taken on two occasions, read independently by two radiologists using the ILO classification
• Who was studied: 85 asbestosis patients (77 men, 8 women) examined at the Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland, in November 1976 to March 1977 and again in November 1979 to March 1981. They were the survivors and participants from 133 patients first examined in 1976-1977.
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure. Table I lists insulators, quarry workers, plant workers, sprayers and other workers. The authors described the sprayers as heavily exposed to crocidolite. Fiber types are not given for the other workers.
• Main results:
  • Lung fibrosis progressed on X-ray in 26 of the 85 patients (31%) over the 3-4 years of follow-up.
  • Among the 26 who progressed, 18 progressed by one grade, 6 by two grades and 2 by three grades.
  • In the progression group, 73% were initially in category 1/2 or higher. In the non-progression group, 83% were in categories 0/1, 1/0 or 1/1 (p less than 0.001). Initially moderate and advanced fibrosis progressed more often than initially slight fibrosis (p less than 0.001).
  • Duration of exposure and time since onset of exposure did not differ significantly between the progression and non-progression groups.
  • Patients whose lung fibrosis progressed were younger on average than those whose fibrosis did not (54 vs 59 years). They were also more often smokers and asbestos sprayers.
  • Pleural thickening progressed in 24 patients (28%). This was more common among patients with progressive lung fibrosis (13/26) than among those without (11/59), p less than 0.01. Twelve of the 24 with pleural progression were smokers.
  • 27 patients (32%) had bilateral pleural calcifications, and 8 of these 27 (30%) showed progression of the calcifications. This occurred in 3 of 9 (33%) patients with progressive lung fibrosis and 5 of 18 (28%) with non-progressive lung fibrosis. Six of the 8 were smokers.
  • Of the 25 originally examined patients who died before follow-up, the underlying cause of death was lung cancer in 9 (36%), bladder cancer in 1 (4%), asbestosis in 4 (16%) and other causes unrelated to asbestosis in 11 (44%).
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the asbestos-exposed worker with severe and progressive lung changes is typically a cigarette smoker, works as a sprayer, is exposed to crocidolite, and shows more signs of pulmonary fibrosis.

Topics

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

Related studies

• Follow-up of asbestosis patients and predictors for radiographic progression — P. Oksa, M.S. Huuskonen, et al. (1998)
• Radiographic progression of asbestosis: preliminary report — A. Gregor, R.W. Parkes, et al. (1979)
• Late progression of radiographic changes in Canari chrysotile mine and mill exworkers — J.R. Viallat, C. Boutin, et al. (1983)
• Absence of radiographic asbestosis and the risk of lung cancer among asbestos-cement workers: Extended follow-up of a cohort — M.M. Finkelstein (2010)
• Clinical presentation of asbestosis with intractable pleural pain in the adult child of a taconite miner and radiographic demonstration of the probable pathology causing the pain — M.R. Harbut, C. Endress, et al. (2009)
• Workers with Libby amphibole exposure: retrospective identification and progression of radiographic changes — T.C. Larson, C.A. Meyer, et al. (2010)

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