Table 5.
Lung cancer deaths attributable to asbestos exposure
| Lung cancer | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleural Cancer SMR a | Observed | SMR | RRb (95% CI) | Attributable Fraction within exposure stratum | Attributable Deathsc (% of total cases) |
| < 265 | 28 | 119 | reference | – | – |
| 266–519 | 124 | 150 | 1.26 (0.83–1.98) | 20.7% | 25.7 (6.4%) |
| 520–615 | 132 | 148 | 1.24 (0.82–1.94) | 19.6% | 25.9 (6.5%) |
| 616–821 | 68 | 154 | 1.29 (0.82–2.09) | 22.7% | 15.4 (3.9%) |
| 822–1703 | 47 | 235 | 1.97 (1.21–3.27) | 49.3% | 23.2 (5.8%) |
| Total | 399 | 154 | – | – | 90.2 (22.6%) |
a)trade-specific SMR for pleural cancer used as a surrogate of the level of exposure to asbestos
b)RR = ratio between lung cancer SMR relative to the lowest quintile
c)number of lung cancer deaths attributable to each level of pleural cancer SMR