Abnormal Pulmonary Function Among Asbestos Miners and Millers with Normal Chest X-Rays

Our plain-English summary of Abnormal Pulmonary Function Among Asbestos Miners and Millers with Normal Chest X-Rays, by H. Anderson, R. Lilis, W.J. Nicholson, et al.

The study

• Authors: H. Anderson, R. Lilis, W.J. Nicholson, A. Fischnein, I.J. Selikoff
• Published: Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health Newsletter NO.49
• Type of article: Report
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This newsletter article described a 1974 medical survey by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of 1,163 chrysotile asbestos miners and millers. All had more than 20 years of exposure in two chrysotile mines and mills. The report looked only at workers whose chest x-rays were read as normal. Three independent readers who did not know the workers' job histories read the x-rays. These workers' breathing-test results were compared with those of a group of industrial workers examined by the same team with the same equipment. The comparison workers had no known asbestos exposure but had been exposed to styrene. The authors reported that restrictive and "combined" patterns of reduced lung function were significantly more common among the miners and millers than in the comparison group. The "combined" pattern stayed significantly more common among non-smoking miners and millers. The authors attributed obstructive dysfunction in the comparison group to styrene. They concluded that both chest x-rays and lung function tests are needed to assess the health effects of asbestos exposure. The scanned text gives no prevalence figures and is cut off.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Cross-sectional medical survey (examination, chest x-ray and lung function testing) with an unexposed comparison group
• Who was studied: 1,163 chrysotile asbestos miners and millers examined in 1974 (Quebec), analysed here for those with normal chest x-rays. Compared with industrial workers examined by the same survey team who had no known asbestos exposure. The number with normal x-rays is not given in the text.
• Exposure: More than 20 years of employment and exposure in two chrysotile asbestos mines and mills
• Main results:
  • Among asbestos miners and millers with normal chest x-rays, restrictive and "combined" respiratory dysfunction were significantly more prevalent than in the comparison work force (figures not given in the text)
  • The authors noted a high prevalence of the "combined" pattern among the asbestos workers
  • To assess the role of cigarette smoking, the authors looked at non-smokers. Non-smoking asbestos miners and millers still had a significantly higher prevalence of the "combined" pattern.
  • The authors attributed the obstructive dysfunction seen in the comparison group to its exposure to styrene, which they described as a known irritant
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the study emphasizes the need to perform both chest x-rays and pulmonary function tests to assess the health effects of asbestos exposure

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Chest X-Ray, Chrysotile, Asbestos Exposure.

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