Table 3. Adjusted time ratios for mesothelioma latency among British asbestos workers (1978–2005), estimated using generalised gamma accelerated failure-time models (N=614).

	Adjusted for age and year of first exposure			Full model (all variables included)
Characteristic	Time ratio	(95% CI)	LR test	Time ratio	(95% CI)	LR test
Sex			P<0.001			P<0.001
Male	1.00	(ref)		1.00	(ref)
Female	1.21	(1.11–1.31)		1.29	(1.18–1.42)
Main smoking status			P=0.761			P=0.201
Current	1.00	(ref)		1.00	(ref)
Former	1.01	(0.97–1.04)		1.03	(1.00–1.06)
Never	0.99	(0.95–1.03)		1.00	(0.97–1.04)
Main occupation			P=0.339			P=0.332
Manufacturing	1.03	(0.99–1.07)		0.98	(0.95–1.02)
Removal	1.00	(0.96–1.04)		0.98	(0.94–1.01)
Other	1.01	(0.96–1.06)		1.01	(0.97–1.06)
Insulation	1.00	(ref)		1.00	(ref)
Year of first exposure			P<0.001			P<0.001
<1940	1.00	(ref)		1.00	(ref)
1940−1949	0.95	(0.89–1.02)		1.02	(0.96–1.08)
1950−1959	0.84	(0.79–0.90)		0.91	(0.85–0.97)
1960−1969	0.72	(0.67–0.78)		0.78	(0.72–0.84)
1970−1979	0.58	(0.54–0.63)		0.65	(0.59–0.72)
1980+	0.39	(0.35–0.42)		0.44	(0.40–0.49)
Age at first exposure (years)			P<0.001			P<0.001
<20	1.00	(ref)		1.00	(ref)
20−29	0.95	(0.92–0.98)		0.94	(0.91–0.97)
30−39	0.94	(0.90–0.99)		0.93	(0.89–0.98)
40−49	0.82	(0.77–0.87)		0.79	(0.74–0.84)
50+	0.82	(0.76–0.88)		0.84	(0.78–0.90)
Duration of exposure (years)			P=0.057			P=0.009
<10	1.00	(ref)		1.00	(ref)
10−19	1.09	(1.03–1.15)		1.09	(1.04–1.16)
20−29	1.06	(0.99–1.14)		1.05	(0.98–1.13)
30−39	1.08	(1.00–1.17)		1.08	(1.00–1.18)
40+	1.06	(0.97–1.16)		1.07	(0.98–1.18)
Mesothelioma type			P=0.076			P=0.073
Pleural	1.00	(ref)		1.00	(ref)
Peritoneal	1.00	(0.96–1.04)		0.99	(0.96–1.03)
Pleural+peritoneal	0.83	(0.74–0.92)		0.84	(0.77–0.93)
Not specified	0.99	(0.96–1.03)		1.00	(0.97–1.03)
Died with asbestosis			P=0.904			P=0.025
No	1.00	(ref)		1.00	(ref)
Yes	1.00	(0.95–1.05)		0.95	(0.91–0.99)

Abbreviations: CI=confidence interval; LR test=likelihood-ratio test; ref=reference category.