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Med. Pr. 2003;54(3)

ASSESSMENT OF DEATH RISK DUE TO MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS INDUCED BY EXPOSURES IN A RUBBER FOOTWEAR PLANT (p. 221-228)

OCENA RYZYKA ZGONU Z POWODU NOWOTWORÓW ZŁOśLIWYCH WYWOŁANYCH NARAŻENIEM W ZAKŁADZIE OBUWIA GUMOWEGO (ss. 221-228

Wiesław Szymczak, Wojciech Sobala, Urszula Wilczyńska, Neonila Szeszenia-Dąbrowska Z Zakładu Epidemiologii środowiskowej Instytutu Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera w Łodzi

Abstract

The main goal of the study was to analyze thoroughly the results of a cohort study. Such an analysis renders it possible to eliminate certain neoplasms as those not related to the observed exposure. The cohort study was carried out in a group of workers, covering 11 342 persons (5472 men and 5870 women), employed for at least one year during the years 1945-1985 in a rubber footwear plant. The cohort study was continued until the end of December 1997.
Of all the sites of malignant neoplasms observed in the cohort,significant,exposure-related excess mortality was found to be due to malignant neoplasms of larynx and lung in men, and malignant neoplasms of gallbladder and lung in women. For these neoplasms,the values of observed risk among those exposed were significantly higher than among non-exposed. Moreover,in a certain interval of employment duration, an increase in risk rates with increasing duration of employment under exposure was observed, which suggests the presence of dose-response relationship. For all these sites,a relevant trend was shown by the RR values calculated in relation to the group of persons non-exposed but employed in the same plant. The internal reference group used to calculate RR values allowed to eliminate the effect ofconfounding variables, which is not always possible when the general population is used as the reference group.

Key words

cancer risk, rubber industry, risk assessment, causality, cohort study