The characteristics of asbestos-related disease claims made to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (KCOMWEL) from 2011 to 2015

Our plain-English summary of The characteristics of asbestos-related disease claims made to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (KCOMWEL) from 2011 to 2015, by Y.S. An, H.D. Kim, H.C. Kim, et al (Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2018).

The study

• Authors: Y.S. An, H.D. Kim, H.C. Kim, K.S. Jeong, Y.S. Ahn
• Journal: Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Published: 2018;30:45
• Cited by: 7 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to enhance understanding of the epidemiologic characteristics of asbestos-related diseases, and to provide information that could inform policy-making aimed at prevention and compensation for occupational asbestos exposure, through analyzing asbestos-related occupational disease claims to Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service from 2011 to 2015.

Methods: We analyzed 113 workers who filed medical care claims or survivor benefits for asbestos exposure and occupational-related disease from 2011 to 2015. Among these claims, we selected approved workers' compensation claims relating to malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer, and analyzed the general characteristics, exposure characteristics, pathological characteristics, and occupation and industry distribution.

Results: Malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer occurred predominantly in males at 89.7 and 94%, respectively. The mean age at the time of diagnosis for malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer was 59.5 and 59.7 years, respectively, while the latency period for malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer was 34.1 and 33.1 years, respectively. The companies involving exposed workers were most commonly situated within the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region. Histology results for lung cancer indicated adenocarcinoma as the most common form, accounting for approximately one half of all claims, followed by squamous cell carcinoma, and small cell lung cancer. The most common occupation type was construction in respect of malignant mesothelioma, and shipbuilding in respect of lung cancer.

Conclusions: Considering the long latency period of asbestos and that the peak period of asbestos use in Korea was throughout the mid-1990s, damage due to asbestos-related diseases is expected to show a continued long-term increase. Few studies providing an epidemiologic analysis of asbestos-related diseases are available; therefore, this study may provide baseline data to assist in predicting and preparing for future harm due to asbestos exposure.

Trial Registration: DUIH 2018-02-004-001. Registered 28 Februrary 2018.

In plain English

This study reviewed records of asbestos-related occupational disease claims filed with Korea's workers' compensation agency (KCOMWEL) for medical care or survivor benefits between 2011 and 2015. After removing duplicates, incomplete records and claims for diseases unrelated to asbestos, 113 claims were analyzed. Among approved claims, 39 were for malignant mesothelioma and 38 for lung cancer. Most of these workers were men: 89.7% of the mesothelioma cases and 94.7% of the lung cancer cases. Mean age at diagnosis was 59.5 and 59.7 years. The mean time from first exposure to disease was 34.1 years for mesothelioma and 33.1 years for lung cancer. Mesothelioma most often arose in the pleura (23 cases), followed by the peritoneum (11). Half of the lung cancers (19) were adenocarcinoma. Construction was the most common industry for mesothelioma (12 cases) and shipbuilding for lung cancer (8). The authors concluded that, given the long latency and peak asbestos use in Korea in the mid-1990s, asbestos-related disease is expected to keep increasing over the long term. They noted they could not analyze people compensated under the separate Asbestos Injury Relief Act.

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 analysis of workers' compensation claim records and epidemiologic survey reports
• Who was studied: 113 claims for medical treatment or survivor benefits for asbestos-related occupational disease filed with the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, 2011 to 2015. These were drawn from 142 claims received, after excluding duplicates, claims with missing survey information, and claims for diseases unrelated to asbestos.
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure, with fiber type not specified. Industries were grouped as: manufacture of products using asbestos as a raw material; use of asbestos-containing products in manufacturing; handling of asbestos-containing products during work; and miscellaneous.
• Main results:
  • Among approved claims, malignant mesothelioma (n = 39, 43.3%) and lung cancer (n = 38, 42.2%) were most common, followed by asbestosis (n = 5, 5.6%) and other respiratory diseases (n = 8, 8.9%).
  • Among unapproved claims, lung cancer was the most common disease (n = 15, 65.2%).
  • Mean duration of exposure was 20.5 years for approved claims and 11.7 years for unapproved claims; the authors described this as a significant difference.
  • Men made up 89.7% (n = 35) of approved malignant mesothelioma claims and 94.7% (n = 36) of approved lung cancer claims.
  • Mean age at diagnosis was 59.5 years for malignant mesothelioma and 59.7 years for lung cancer (approved claims).
  • For approved claims, mean duration of exposure was 19.9 years (mesothelioma) and 21.7 years (lung cancer); mean latency was 34.1 and 33.1 years respectively.
  • Among approved mesothelioma claims, 46.2% (n = 18) had a smoking history (mean 17.4 pack-years). Among approved lung cancer claims, 60.5% (n = 23) had a smoking history (mean 26.3 pack-years).
  • The Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region had the highest share of workers' companies: 17 (43.6%) for mesothelioma and 19 (50%) for lung cancer.
  • Approved malignant mesothelioma arose most often in the pleura (n = 23, 59.0%), followed by the peritoneum (n = 11, 28.2%).
  • Approved lung cancers were adenocarcinoma in 19 (half), squamous cell carcinoma in 12 (31.6%), and small cell lung cancer in 3 (7.9%).
  • The construction industry had the most approved mesothelioma claims (n = 12). Shipbuilding had the most approved lung cancer claims (n = 8), followed by slate manufacturing (n = 5).
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, because of asbestos's long latency and peak asbestos use in Korea in the mid-1990s, damage from asbestos-related diseases is expected to keep increasing over the long term. They said their findings provide baseline data for predicting future asbestos-related disease.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The study could not analyze people with a history of asbestos-related work who were compensated under the Asbestos Injury Relief Act, so the authors could not accurately identify all disease due to occupational asbestos exposure.
  • The authors noted that the actual number of people with occupational asbestos-related disease may be much higher than reported here, and that no accurate statistics exist.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Occupational Disease, Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Latency, Histology, Adenocarcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Related studies

• Asbestos, asbestos-related diseases, and compensation claims in The Netherlands — P. Swuste, A. Burdorf, et al. (2004)
• Disease Latency according to Asbestos Exposure Characteristics among Malignant Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer Cases in South Korea — D.A. Huh, W.R. Chae, et al. (2022)
• Asbestos-related occupational cancers compensated under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance in Korea — Y.S. Ahn, S.K. Kang (2009)
• Mesothelioma incidence surveillance systems and claims for workers' compensation. Epidemiological evidence and prospects for an integrated framework — A. Marinaccio, A. Scarselli, et al. (2012)
• Costs of productivity loss due to occupational cancer in Canada: estimation using claims data from Workers' Compensation Boards — W.D. Wranik, A. Muir, et al. (2017)
• Workers' compensation for nonmalignant asbestos-related lung disease — C. Nevitt, W. Daniell, et al. (1994)

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