Shattered lives: asbestos-related diseases

Our plain-English summary of Shattered lives: asbestos-related diseases, by S. Sharma (Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, 2012).

The study

• Author: S. Sharma
• Journal: Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine
• Published: 2012;18(4):375-6
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This two-page piece was an editorial, not a research study. It reported no new data and instead gave a general overview of asbestos and asbestos-related diseases, drawing on other sources. The editorial described chrysotile, or white asbestos, as the most widespread type. It said asbestos-related diseases are a group of 10 conditions, divided into malignant ones (pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma, asbestos-related bronchopulmonary carcinoma and other neoplasms) and nonmalignant ones (including asbestosis, isolated pleural plaques, diffuse pleural fibrosis, benign pleural effusion and round atelectasis). It outlined some history, such as the first diagnosis of asbestosis in the United Kingdom in 1924. It cited a World Health Organization estimate that about 125 million people worldwide remain exposed to asbestos at work, and stated that more than 107 000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis resulting from occupational exposures. The author described Canada as a major exporter of chrysotile, shipping about 150 000 tonnes per year, and noted that asbestos campaigners worldwide had condemned the Canadian Government. The editorial closed by listing the WHO's strategic directions, the first being to stop the use of all types of 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: Editorial (opinion and overview piece; no original research)
• Exposure: Asbestos in general, with particular mention of chrysotile (white asbestos), including Canada's export of chrysotile
• Main results:
  • The editorial described asbestos-related diseases as a group of 10 conditions, divided into malignant and nonmalignant
  • The editorial stated that the first diagnosis of asbestosis was made in the United Kingdom in 1924
  • The editorial cited a WHO estimate that about 125 million people worldwide remain exposed to asbestos in the workplace
  • The editorial stated that more than 107 000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis resulting from occupational exposures
  • The editorial described Canada as the world's fourth biggest exporter of chrysotile (behind Russia, Kazakhstan, and Brazil), shipping about 150 000 tonnes per year to developing countries
  • The editorial reported that asbestos campaigners worldwide had condemned the Canadian Government
• The authors' conclusion: The editorial closed by setting out the WHO's strategic directions for eliminating asbestos-related diseases. The first is recognizing that the most efficient way to eliminate these diseases is to stop the use of all types of asbestos.

Related studies

• Asbestos use and asbestos-related diseases in Asia: past, present and future — G.V. le, K. Takahashi, et al. (2011)
• How conflicted authors undermine the World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to stop all use of asbestos: spotlight on studies showing that chrysotile is carcinogenic and facilitates other non-cancer asbestos-related diseases — X. Baur, C.L. Soskolne, et al. (2015)
• Barriers and Facilitators to the Elimination of Asbestos Related Diseases-Stakeholders' Perspectives — J. Vincenten, F. George, et al. (2017)
• Asbestos-related disease among sheet-metal workers. Preliminary results of the National Sheet Metal Worker Asbestos Disease Screening Program — L.S. Welch, D. Michaels, et al. (1991)
• Asbestos related diseases from environmental exposure to crocidolite in Da-yao, China. I. Review of exposure and epidemiological data — S. Luo, X. Liu, et al. (2003)
• SWORD '94: surveillance of work-related and occupational respiratory disease in the UK — D.J. Ross, B.A. Sallie, et al. (1995)

Browse more research in Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, or return to medical research.