Abstract
A hospital‐based case‐control study was conducted to evaluate occupational risks of lung cancer in an industrialized city of Japan. The lung cancer cases were obtained from 3 major hospitals in the city. The control group consisted of patients with a variety of diseases hospitalized in the same wards of the same hospitals as the cases. After matching on sex, 5–year age category and hospital, 144 cases and 676 controls comprised the study group. A self‐administered questionnaire was used to obtain lifetime job histories and smoking status. The conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate relative risks after controlling for smoking and employment in other jobs. The workers in shipbuilding, ironworks and other plants (mostly chemical plants) showed statistically significant increases in lung cancer risk with relative risks of 6.18, 2.02, and 2.66, respectively. An increase in risk with the duration of employment was also observed in the “other plants” category. Building and road construction workers also showed increased relative risks, 1.95 and 1.79, but they were not significant. When the risk was evaluated on the exposure chemicals, the workers exposed to inorganic acids and bases had significantly increased risk. The workers exposed to asbestos, dust or organic chemicals also showed increased risk but the effects were not significant. The combined effect of smoking and employment in ironworks showed a good fit to an additive model, while that in the “other plants” category was closer to a multiplicative model.
Keywords: Key words, Lung cancer, Epidemiology, Occupation, Chemical exposure
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (403.0 KB).
REFERENCES
- 1. ) Doll , R. and Peto , R.Quantitative estimates of avoidable risks of cancer in the United States today . J. Natl. Cancer Inst , 66 , 1191 – 1308 ( 1981. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2. ) Vineis , P. and Simonato , L.Proportion of lung and bladder cancers in males resulting from occupation: a systematic approach . Arch. Environ. Health , 46 , 6 – 15 ( 1991. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3. ) Tsugane , S. , Watanabe , S. , Sugimura , H. , Arimoto , H. , Shimosato , Y. and Suemasu , K.Smoking, occupation and family history in lung cancer patients under fifty years of age . Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol , 17 , 309 – 317 ( 1987. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4. ) Shimizu , H. , Morishita , M. , Mizuno , K. , Masuda , T. , Ogura , Y. , Santo , M. , Nishimura , M. , Kunishima , K. , Karasawa , K. , Nishiwaki , K. , Yamamoto , M. , Hisamichi , S. and Tominaga , S.A case‐control study of lung cancer in nonsmoking women . Tohoku J. Exp. Med. , 154 , 389 – 397 ( 1988. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5. ) Breslow , N. E. and Day , N. E.“Statistical Methods in Cancer Research, Vol. 1 Analysis of Case‐Control Studies,” I ARC Scientific Publications No. 32 , pp. 248 – 279 ( 1980. ). International Agency for Research on Cancer; , Lyon . [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6. ) Harrell , F. E. , Jr.The PHGLM Procedure . In “ SUGI Supplemental Library User's Guide ,” ed. Hastings R. P. , Joyner S. and Whatley J. K. , pp. 437 – 466 ( 1986. ). SAS Institute Inc. , Cary . [Google Scholar]
- 7. ) Steenland , K. and Thun , M.Interaction between tobacco smoking and occupational exposures in the causation of lung cancer . J. Occup. Med. , 28 , 110 – 118 ( 1986. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8. ) Statistical Bureau, Management and Coordination Agency . “ Population of Japan, Final Report of the 1985 Population Census (Statistical Tables) ” ( 1985. ). The Government of Japan; , Japan . [Google Scholar]
- 9. ) Statistics and Information Department, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Health and Welfare . “ Vital Statistics by Health Center in 1985. Special Report of Vital Statistics ,” pp. 320 – 321 ( 1990. ). Ministry of Health and Welfare; , Tokyo . [Google Scholar]
- 10. ) Kleinbaum , D. G. , Kupper , L. L. and Morgenstern , H. “ Epidemiologic Research. Principles and Quantitative Methods ,” pp. 228 – 236 ( 1982. ). Wadsworth; , Belmont . [Google Scholar]
- 11. ) Dubrow , R. and Wegman , D. H.Setting priorities for occupational cancer research and control: synthesis of the results of occupational disease surveillance studies . J. Natl. Cancer Inst , 71 , 1123 – 1142 ( 1983. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12. ) Vineis , P. , Thomas , T. , Hayes , R. B. , Blot , W. J. , Mason , T. J. , Williams Pickle , L. , Correa , P. , Fontham , E. T. H. and Schoenberg , J.Proportion of lung cancers in males, due to occupation, in different areas of the USA . Int. J. Cancer , 42 , 851 – 856 ( 1988. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 13. ) Hull , C. J. , Doyle , E. , Peters , J. M. , Garabrant , D. H. , Bernstein , L. and Preston‐Martin , S.Case‐control study of lung cancer in Los Angeles County welders . Am. J. Ind. Med. , 16 , 103 – 112 ( 1989. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 14. ) Kolonel , L. N. , Yoshizawa , C. N. , Hirohata , T. and Myers , B. C.Cancer occurrence in shipyard workers exposed to asbestos in Hawaii . Cancer Res. , 45 , 3924 – 3928 ( 1985. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 15. ) Whitewell , F. , Newhouse , M. L. and Bennett , D. R.A study of the histological cell types of lung cancer in workers suffering from asbestosis in the United Kingdom . Br. J. Ind. Med. , 31 , 298 – 303 ( 1974. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 16. ) Kjuus , H. , Skjaerven , R. , Langard , S. , Lien , J. T. and Aamodt , T.A case‐referent study of lung cancer, occupational exposures and smoking. I Comparison of title‐based and exposure‐based occupational information . Scand. J. Work Environ. Health , 12 , 193 – 202 ( 1986. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 17. ) Lerchen , M. L. , Wiggins , C. L. and Samet , J. M.Lung cancer and occupation in New Mexico . J. Natl. Cancer Inst. , 79 , 639 – 645 ( 1987. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 18. ) Ronco , G. , Cicone , G. , Mirabelli , D. , Troia , B. and Vineis , P.Occupation and lung cancer in two industrialized areas of northern Italy . Int. J. Cancer , 41 , 354 – 358 ( 1988. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 19. ) Kvale , G. , Bjelke , E. and Heuch , I.Occupational exposure and lung cancer risk . Int. J. Cancer , 37 , 185 – 193 ( 1986. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 20. ) Bond , G. G. , Flores , G. H. , Shellenberger , R. J. , Cartmill , J. B. , Fishbeck , W. A. and Cook , R. R.Nested case‐ control study of lung cancer among chemical workers . Am. J. Epidemiol , 124 , 53 – 66 ( 1986. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 21. ) Moulin , J. J. , Portefaix , P. , Wild , P. , Mur , J. M. , Smagghe , G. and Mantout , B.Mortality study among workers producing ferroalloys and stainless steel in France . Br. J. Ind. Med. , 47 , 537 – 543 ( 1990. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 22. ) Finkelstein , M. M. and Wilk , N.Investigation of a lung cancer cluster in the melt shop of an Ontario steel producer . Am. J. Ind. Med. , 17 , 483 – 491 ( 1990. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 23. ) Redmond , C. K.Cancer mortality among coke oven workers . Environ. Health Perspect. , 52 , 67 – 73 ( 1983. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 24. ) Minowa , M. , Stone , B. J. and Blot , W. J.Geographical pattern of lung cancer in Japan and its environmental correlations . Jpn. J. Cancer Res. , 79 , 1017 – 1023 ( 1988. ). [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 25. ) Ames , R. G. , Amandus , H. , Attfield , M. , Green , F. , and Vallyathan , V.Does coal mine dust present a risk for lung cancer? A case‐control study of U.S. coal miners . Arch. Environ. Health , 38 , 331 – 333 ( 1983. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 26. ) Meijers , J. M. M. , Swaen , G. M. H. , Slangen , J. J. M. and van Vliet , C.Lung cancer among Dutch coal miners: a case‐control study . Am. J. Ind. Med. , 14 , 597 – 604 ( 1988. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]