Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Occupational and Environmental Medicine logoLink to Occupational and Environmental Medicine
. 1999 Sep;56(9):612–617. doi: 10.1136/oem.56.9.612

Non-neoplastic mortality of European workers who produce man made vitreous fibres

D Sali, P Boffetta, A Andersen, J W Cherrie, J C Claude, J Hansen, J H Olsen, A C Pesatori, N Plato, L Teppo, P Westerholm, P Winter, R Saracci
PMCID: PMC1757782  PMID: 10615294

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To study mortality from non-neoplastic diseases among European workers who produce man made vitreous fibres (MMVF). METHODS: 11,373 male workers were studied, who were employed for at least 1 year in the production of rock or slag wool (RSW), glass wool (GW), and continuous filament (CF) in 13 factories from seven European countries. Workers were followed up from the beginning of production, between 1933 and 1950 to 1990-2 and contributed 256,352 person-years of observation. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated with national mortalities for reference; an internal exposure-response analyses based on multivariate Poisson regression models was also conducted. RESULTS: Mortality from bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma was not increased (SMR 1.03, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.82 to 1.28). In RSW workers, there was no overall increase in mortality from non-malignant renal diseases (SMR 0.97, 95% CI 0.36 to 2.11), although there was the suggestion of an increase in risk with duration of employment. Mortality from ischaemic heart disease was not increased overall (SMR 1.03, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.11), but RSW and CF workers with > or = 30 years since first employment had a higher risk. RSW and CF workers showed an increased mortality from external causes, mainly motor vehicle accidents and suicide, which was higher among workers with a short duration of employment. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality from most non-neoplastic diseases does not seem to be related to employment in the MMVF industry. The results on mortality from ischaemic heart disease and non- malignant renal diseases, however, warrant further investigations.

 

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (85.6 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boffetta P., Saracci R., Andersen A., Bertazzi P. A., Chang-Claude J., Cherrie J., Ferro G., Frentzel-Beyme R., Hansen J., Olsen J. Cancer mortality among man-made vitreous fiber production workers. Epidemiology. 1997 May;8(3):259–268. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199705000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Calvert G. M., Steenland K., Palu S. End-stage renal disease among silica-exposed gold miners. A new method for assessing incidence among epidemiologic cohorts. JAMA. 1997 Apr 16;277(15):1219–1223. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chiazze L., Jr, Watkins D. K., Fryar C. Historical cohort mortality study of a continuous filament fiberglass manufacturing plant. I. White men. J Occup Environ Med. 1997 May;39(5):432–441. doi: 10.1097/00043764-199705000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Chiazze L., Jr, Watkins D. K., Fryar C., Kozono J. A case-control study of malignant and non-malignant respiratory disease among employees of a fiberglass manufacturing facility. II. Exposure assessment. Br J Ind Med. 1993 Aug;50(8):717–725. doi: 10.1136/oem.50.8.717. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Coleman M., Douglas A., Hermon C., Peto J. Cohort study analysis with a FORTRAN computer program. Int J Epidemiol. 1986 Mar;15(1):134–137. doi: 10.1093/ije/15.1.134. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dodgson J., Cherrie J., Groat S. Estimates of past exposure to respirable man-made mineral fibres in the European insulation wool industry. Ann Occup Hyg. 1987;31(4B):567–582. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/31.4b.567. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Engholm G., von Schmalensee G. Bronchitis and exposure to man-made mineral fibres in non-smoking construction workers. Eur J Respir Dis Suppl. 1982;118:73–78. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Goldsmith J. R., Goldsmith D. F. Fiberglass or silica exposure and increased nephritis or ESRD (end-stage renal disease). Am J Ind Med. 1993 Jun;23(6):873–881. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700230605. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hunting K. L., Welch L. S. Occupational exposure to dust and lung disease among sheet metal workers. Br J Ind Med. 1993 May;50(5):432–442. doi: 10.1136/oem.50.5.432. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Koskela R. S. Cardiovascular diseases among foundry workers exposed to carbon monoxide. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1994 Aug;20(4):286–293. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.1396. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Marsh G. M., Enterline P. E., Stone R. A., Henderson V. L. Mortality among a cohort of US man-made mineral fiber workers: 1985 follow-up. J Occup Med. 1990 Jul;32(7):594–604. doi: 10.1097/00043764-199007000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Milham S., Jr Using multiple cause of death coding in occupational mortality studies. Am J Ind Med. 1988;14(3):341–344. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700140311. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ng T. P., Lee H. S., Phoon W. H. Further evidence of human silica nephrotoxicity in occupationally exposed workers. Br J Ind Med. 1993 Oct;50(10):907–912. doi: 10.1136/oem.50.10.907. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Pearce N., Checkoway H. A simple computer program for generating person-time data in cohort studies involving time-related factors. Am J Epidemiol. 1987 Jun;125(6):1085–1091. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114624. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Shannon H. S., Jamieson E., Julian J. A., Muir D. C. Mortality of glass filament (textile) workers. Br J Ind Med. 1990 Aug;47(8):533–536. doi: 10.1136/oem.47.8.533. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Shannon H. S., Jamieson E., Julian J. A., Muir D. C., Walsh C. Mortality experience of Ontario glass fibre workers--extended follow-up. Ann Occup Hyg. 1987;31(4B):657–662. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/31.4b.657. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Simonato L., Fletcher A. C., Cherrie J. W., Andersen A., Bertazzi P., Charnay N., Claude J., Dodgson J., Esteve J., Frentzel-Beyme R. The International Agency for Research on Cancer historical cohort study of MMMF production workers in seven European countries: extension of the follow-up. Ann Occup Hyg. 1987;31(4B):603–623. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/31.4b.603. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Steenland K., Brown D. Mortality study of gold miners exposed to silica and nonasbestiform amphibole minerals: an update with 14 more years of follow-up. Am J Ind Med. 1995 Feb;27(2):217–229. doi: 10.1002/ajim.4700270207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Steenland K., Nowlin S., Ryan B., Adams S. Use of multiple-cause mortality data in epidemiologic analyses: US rate and proportion files developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Cancer Institute. Am J Epidemiol. 1992 Oct 1;136(7):855–862. doi: 10.1093/aje/136.7.855. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Steenland N. K., Thun M. J., Ferguson C. W., Port F. K. Occupational and other exposures associated with male end-stage renal disease: a case/control study. Am J Public Health. 1990 Feb;80(2):153–157. doi: 10.2105/ajph.80.2.153. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Wild P., Moulin J. J., Ley F. X., Schaffer P. Mortality from cardiovascular diseases among potash miners exposed to heat. Epidemiology. 1995 May;6(3):243–247. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199505000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wingren G., Englander V. Mortality and cancer morbidity in a cohort of Swedish glassworkers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1990;62(3):253–257. doi: 10.1007/BF00379443. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wong O., Trent L. S., Whorton M. D. An updated cohort mortality study of workers exposed to styrene in the reinforced plastics and composites industry. Occup Environ Med. 1994 Jun;51(6):386–396. doi: 10.1136/oem.51.6.386. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Occupational and Environmental Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES