Occupational exposure to asbestos and mortality among asbestos removal workers: a Poisson regression analysis

Correction to: British Journal of Cancer (2008) 99, 822–829, doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6604564

Owing to an error during typesetting, there were some mistakes introduced into the layouts of Tables 2 and 3 in the above paper when first published in the British Journal of Cancer in September 2008. The presentation of the tables as such may have led to misinterpretation of data; indeed, some data were presented incorrectly in Table 3.

Table 2. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) for all asbestos removal workers in the survey and for those included in the analysis (1971–2005).

	All removal workers		Analysed workers
Cause of death	Deaths	SMR (95% CI)	Deaths	SMR (95% CI)
All causes	3165	122.9**	985	111.3**
		(118.7–127.3)		(104.4–118.4)
All MN	1274	173.1**	384	169.2**
		(163.7–182.9)		(152.7–187.0)
MN of lip, oral cavity and pharynx	19	94.0	6	83.7
		(56.6–146.9)		(30.7–182.2)
MN of oesophagus	42	88.2	16	104.2
		(63.5–119.2)		(59.6–169.2)
MN of stomach	49	133.7	18	176.4*
		(98.9–176.8)		(104.5–278.8)
MN of colon	62	127.9	17	119.2
		(98.1–163.9)		(69.4–190.9)
MN of rectum	43	169.0**	15	207.1*
		(122.3–227.6)		(115.9–341.5)
MN of liver (primary)	20	126.6	9	167.8
		(77.3–195.5)		(76.7–318.6)
MN of larynx	17	212.3**	8	322.9**
		(123.6–339.8)		(139.4–636.1)
MN trachea, bronchus and lung	393	200.5**	115	215.6**
		(181.2–221.4)		(178.0–258.7)
MN of peritoneum	38	4568.9**	12	4367.8**
		(3233.2–6271.2)		(2257.0–7629.8)
MN of pleura	35	1149.3**	10	1332.8**
		(800.5–1598.4)		(639.1–2451.1)
Mesotheliomaa	69	808.2**	23	808.2**
		(628.8–1022.8)		(512.3–1212.7)
MN of ovary	0	—	0	—
		(0.0–533.0)		(0.0–7092.9)
MN of kidney	29	160.1*	13	229.0*
		(107.2–229.9)		(121.9–391.6)
MN of bladder	18	94.2	3	61.6
		(55.8–148.8)		(12.7–180.2)
MN of lymphatic and haematopoietic tissue	80	103.9	24	86.2
		(82.4–129.3)		(55.2–128.2)
Circulatory disease	981	114.0**	258	102.0
		(107.0–121.4)		(89.9–115.2)
Ischaemic heart disease	665	113.3**	171	102.4
		(104.9–122.3)		(87.7–119.0)
Cerebrovascular disease	147	125.0*	41	118.3
		(105.6–146.9)		(84.9–160.5)
Respiratory disease	222	128.0**	44	88.8
		(111.7–146.0)		(64.5–119.2)
Asbestosisb	22	5753.4**	3	3849.6**
		(3605.6–8710.7)		(794.3–11249.8)

CI=confidence interval.

^*Significant at P⩽0.05; ^**significant at P⩽0.01.

^aICD-10, after 2001.

^bAsbestosis determined by underlying cause of death.

Table 3. Relative risks (RRs) of mortality for stripping/removal workers, using Poisson regression analyses.

	All causes			All MN			MN trachea, bronchus and lung
	Cases	RRa (95% CI)	LR test (d.f.)	Cases	RRa (95% CI)	LR test (d.f.)	Cases	RRa (95% CI)	LR test (d.f.)
Main stripping method			4.03 (2)			2.35 (2)			2.71 (2)
Wetc	397	1.0		141	1.0		48	1.0
Dry	409	1.1 (0.9–1.2)		169	1.2 (0.9–1.5)		39	0.8 (0.5–1.2)
Both	48	0.8 (0.6–1.1)		21	1.0 (0.6–1.6)		13	1.3 (0.7–2.7)
Main respirator type			2.82 (6)			10.20 (6)			6.28 (6)
Positive pressure maskc	664	1.0		245	1.0		70	1.0
Airstream helmet	4	—		1	—		1	—
Full face unpowered mask	127	1.0 (0.8–1.2)		55	1.1 (0.8–1.5)		16	1.1 (0.6–1.8)
Half face mask	18	0.8 (0.5–1.3)		4	—		1	—
Minimal	14	0.7 (0.4–1.3)		5	—		2	—
None	2	—		2	—		1	—
Mixed	51	1.1 (0.8–1.5)		25	1.4 (0.9–2.2)		11	1.7 (0.9–3.5)
Weekly hours spent stripping			14.97 (4)**			1.00 (4)			0.87 (4)
<10c	483	1.0		222	1.0		66	1.0
10−	74	1.0 (0.8–1.2)		32	1.0 (0.7–1.5)		8	0.9 (0.4–1.8)
20−	125	1.1 (0.9–1.4)		48	1.1 (0.8–1.5)		12	1.0 (0.5–1.8)
30−	124	1.3 (1.0–1.5)*		33	0.9 (0.6–1.3)		9	0.9 (0.4–1.7)
40+	163	1.4 (1.2–1.7)**		44	1.0 (0.7–1.4)		15	1.2 (0.7–2.1)
Smoking status			112.42 (2)**			41.07 (2)**			67.66 (2)**
Never smokersc	118	1.0		38	1.0		1	1.0
Current smokers	622	2.5 (2.0–3.0)**		216	2.8 (1.9–3.9)**		86	43.0 (6.0–305.8)**
Former smokers	225	1.5 (1.2–1.9)**		125	2.2 (1.5–3.1)**		26	16.0 (2.2–118.4)**
Age at first exposure (years)			14.80 (4)**			13.41 (4)**			3.22 (4)
<20c	184	1.0		91	1.0		21	1.0
20−	278	1.1 (0.9–1.3)		81	0.9 (0.7–1.2)		18	1.0 (0.5–1.8)
30−	193	0.9 (0.8–1.1)		70	0.8 (0.6–1.1)		23	1.2 (0.7–2.1)
40−	211	1.1 (0.9–1.3)		84	0.7 (0.5–1.0)*		33	1.2 (0.7–2.0)
50+	119	0.7 (0.6–0.9)**		58	0.6 (0.4–0.8)**		20	0.7 (0.4–1.3)
Length of time in the survey			0.01 (1)			14.81 (1)**			5.13 (1)*
Short termc	419	1.0		116	1.0		33	1.0
Long term	599	1.0 (0.9–1.1)		268	1.5 (1.2–1.9)**		82	1.6 (1.1–2.4)*
Length of exposure (years)			16.29 (4)**			18.61 (4)**			6.88 (4)
<10c	553	1.0		166	1.0		49	1.0
10−	161	1.0 (0.8–1.2)		60	1.1 (0.8–1.5)		26	1.6 (1.0–2.5)
20−	88	0.8 (0.7–1.0)		45	1.1 (0.8–1.5)		11	0.8 (0.4–1.6)
30−	94	1.0 (0.8–1.2)		61	1.4 (1.1–1.9)*		14	1.0 (0.5–1.8)
40+	89	1.5 (1.2–2.0)**		52	2.1 (1.5–2.9)**		15	1.7 (0.9–3.2)
Time of first exposure			0.00 (1)			4.02 (1)*			1.43 (1)
Pre-ALRc	430	1.0		217	1.0		66	1.0
Post-ALR	555	1.0 (0.9–1.1)		167	0.8 (0.7–1.0)*		49	0.8 (0.5–1.2)
	Mesotheliomab			Circulatory disease			Ischaemic heart disease
	Cases	RRa (95% CI)	LR test (d.f.)	Cases	RRa (95% CI)	LR test (d.f.)	Cases	RRa (95% CI)	LR test (d.f.)
Main stripping method			3.25 (2)			6.81 (2)*			8.61 (2)*
Wetc	12	1.0		109	1.0		77	1.0
Dry	10	0.9 (0.4–2.1)		107	1.0 (0.7–1.3)		66	0.9 (0.6–1.2)
Both	0	—		7	0.4 (0.2–0.9)*		3	—
Main respirator type			10.14 (6)			1.54 (6)			2.24 (6)
Positive pressure maskc	20	1.0		172	1.0		110	1.0
Airstream helmet	0	—		1	—		1	—
Full face unpowered mask	1	—		34	1.0 (0.7–1.4)		24	1.1 (0.7–1.7)
Half face mask	0	—		7	1.1 (0.5–2.5)		5	—
Minimal	0	—		4	—		2	—
None	1	—		0	—		0	—
Mixed	1	—		12	1.0 (0.5–1.7)		9	1.2 (0.6–2.3)
Weekly hours spent stripping			2.29 (1)			12.34 (4)*			11.42 (4)*
<10c	17	1.0		133	1.0		86	1.0
10−	6	0.5 (0.2–1.3)		16	0.8 (0.5–1.4)		12	1.0 (0.5–1.8)
20−	—			28	1.1 (0.7–1.6)		16	0.9 (0.6–1.6)
30−	—			32	1.4 (0.9–2.1)		24	1.6 (1.0–2.6)*
40+	—			47	1.7 (1.2–2.4)**		32	1.9 (1.2–2.8)**
Smoking status			2.27 (2)			33.41 (2)**			35.14 (2)**
Never smokersc	5	1.0		38	1.0		19	1.0
Current smokers	7	0.7 (0.2–2.3)		161	2.1 (1.4–2.9)**		114	2.9 (1.8–4.7)**
Former smokers	11	1.5 (0.5–4.4)		53	0.9 (0.6–1.4)		34	1.2 (0.7–2.1)
Age at first exposure (years)			22.12 (1)**			12.38 (4)*			12.71 (4)*
<20c	14	1.0		44	1.0		33	1.0
20−	9	0.1 (0.1–0.3)**		41	0.8 (0.5–1.2)		19	0.5 (0.3–0.9)*
30−	—			51	1.0 (0.7–1.6)		34	0.9 (0.6–1.5)
40−	—			78	1.5 (1.0–2.2)*		54	1.3 (0.9–2.1)
50+	—			44	0.9 (0.6–1.4)		31	0.9 (0.5–1.5)
Length of time in the survey			8.23 (1)**			0.00 (1)			0.60 (1)
Short termc	3	1.0		102	1.0		72	1.0
Long term	20	4.5 (1.3–16.0)*		156	1.0 (0.8–1.3)		99	0.9 (0.6–1.2)
Length of exposure (years)			18.59 (1)**			7.19 (4)			10.39 (4)*
<10c	—			141	1.0		92	1.0
10−	—			48	1.0 (0.7–1.4)		36	1.2 (0.8–1.7)
20−	9d	1.0		27	0.8 (0.5–1.2)		14	0.6 (0.3–1.0)
30−	14	7.3 (2.5–21.6)**		20	0.6 (0.4–0.9)*		13	0.6 (0.3–1.0)*
40+	—			22	0.9 (0.6–1.5)		16	1.1 (0.6–1.9)
Time of first exposure			13.15 (1)**			0.46 (1)			0.84 (1)
Pre-ALRc	19	1.0		123	1.0		81	1.0
Post-ALR	4	—		135	1.1 (0.8–1.4)		90	1.2 (0.8–1.6)
	Cerebrovascular disease			Respiratory disease
	Cases	RRa (95% CI)	LR test (d.f.)	Cases	RRa (95% CI)	LR test (d.f.)
Main stripping method			0.62 (2)			2.46 (2)
Wetc	18	1.0		23	1.0
Dry	14	0.8 (0.4–1.5)		13	0.6 (0.3–1.2)
Both	2	—		4	—
Main respirator type			7.12 (6)			4.02 (6)
Positive pressure maskc	31	1.0		33	1.0
Airstream helmet	0	—		0	—
Full face unpowered mask	4	—		4	—
Half face mask	0	—		0	—
Minimal	1	—		1	—
None	0	—		0	—
Mixed	0	—		3	—
Weekly hours spent stripping			0.68 (2)			3.46 (3)
<10c	21	1.0		21	1.0
10−	10	1.4 (0.6–2.9)		8	1.1 (0.5–2.5)
30−	10	1.2 (0.6–2.7)		7	2.0 (0.8–4.6)
40+	—			8	1.9 (0.9–4.1)
Smoking status			5.96 (2)			14.18 (2)**
Never smokersc	12	1.0		2	1.0
Current smokers	22	0.9 (0.4–1.8)		30	7.4 (1.8–30.6)**
Former smokers	6	0.3 (0.1–0.9)*		11	3.8 (0.8–17.2)
Age at first exposure (years)			3.04 (4)			4.35 (3)
<20c	6	1.0		6	1.0
20−	8	1.1 (0.4–3.2)		12	1.7 (0.7–4.8)
30−	8	1.5 (0.5–4.7)		12	2.1 (0.8–5.3)
40−	12	2.2 (0.8–6.6)		14	1.0 (0.4–2.6)
50+	7	1.3 (0.4–4.4)		—
Length of time in the survey			0.45 (1)			0.46 (1)
Short termc	15	1.0		20	1.0
Long term	26	1.2 (0.7–2.3)		24	0.8 (0.5–1.5)
Length of exposure (years)			0.94 (2)			7.14 (3)
<10c	24	1.0		25	1.0
10−	6	0.8 (0.3–1.9)		6	0.4 (0.2–1.1)
20−	11	0.7 (0.3–1.5)		—
30−	—			6	1.1 (0.4–2.7)
40+	—			7	1.9 (0.8–4.4)
Time of first exposure			1.16 (1)			0.01 (1)
Pre-ALRc	18	1.0		22	1.0
Post-ALR	23	1.4 (0.7–2.8)		22	1.0 (0.5–1.8)

CI=confidence interval; d.f.=degrees of freedom; LR test=likelihood ratio test of goodness-of-fit.

^*significant at P⩽0.05; ^**significant at P⩽0.01.

^aRelative risk adjusted with Poisson regression for age, calendar period and sex.

^bICD-10, after 2001.

^cReference category.

^dCategories: <30, 30+.

The tables are now reproduced, as the author intended, on the following pages.

The publishers would like to apologise for these errors.