Asbestosis in West Virginia and Eastern Ohio - West Virginia Medical Journal 1976 December

Our plain-English summary of Asbestosis in West Virginia and Eastern Ohio - West Virginia Medical Journal 1976 December, by J.A. Bellotte, D.J. Gasiano (1976).

The study

• Authors: J.A. Bellotte, D.J. Gasiano
• Published: The West Virginia Medical Journal 72(12):341-344 December (1976)
• Type of article: Journal article
• 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 study examined 60 members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers in West Virginia and eastern Ohio. The materials they had worked with over the past 20 to 30 years included amosite blanket, asbestos cement, cloth and paper, and fiberglass and kaolin. Each worker was questioned about occupation, smoking and health, examined, and given breathing tests and chest X-rays. Asbestosis was diagnosed when three of five criteria were present, along with a history of asbestos exposure. Eight of the 60 (13 per cent) met the criteria. All eight had more than 20 years of exposure, and six of the eight smoked. Nine of the remaining 52 had two criteria and were classed as possible mild asbestosis. The authors reported a prevalence of asbestosis of 47 per cent among those with over 20 years of exposure. They noted that smoking tended to go with more criteria and more severe disease. The authors concluded that asbestosis in this area resembled earlier United States reports in prevalence, clinical features and prognosis. They said the group was too small to estimate cancer risk.

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: Clinical survey of a group of workers: questionnaire, physical examination, spirometry and chest X-rays at one examination
• Who was studied: 60 workers from the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers, West Virginia and eastern Ohio area. The study dates are not given.
• Exposure: Insulation work over the past 20 to 30 years. Materials included amosite blanket, calcium salicate (as printed), asbestos cement, cloth and paper, and fiberglass and kaolin.
• Main results:
  • 8 of the 60 workers (13 per cent) met the diagnostic criteria for asbestosis
  • Of the 8 with asbestosis, 4 were in a severe category (four or all five criteria) and 4 in a moderate category (three of five criteria)
  • Of the 8 workers with definite asbestosis, 6 (75 per cent) were smokers
  • All 8 workers with asbestosis had more than 20 years of exposure; their average exposure was 30 years
  • 9 (17 per cent) of the remaining 52 workers had two criteria, so that asbestosis was a strong consideration (possible mild asbestosis). 3 of these 9 had over 20 years of exposure.
  • 17 workers (28 per cent) had definite or possible asbestosis; 11 of them had more than 20 years of exposure
  • The authors reported the prevalence of asbestosis among those with over 20 years of exposure as 47 per cent
  • From reviewing the tables, smoking tended to be associated with more diagnostic criteria and more severe disease
  • Dyspnea on exertion, which the authors called the initial symptom of asbestosis, correlated with duration of exposure and was strongly associated with a positive smoking history
  • Among the 43 workers classed as normal, an attempt to link a mild decrease in FEV with duration of exposure was non-revealing
  • No other clinically apparent malignancies were found in the group. The study had been prompted by the death from bronchial carcinoma of an insulation worker in the union.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that asbestosis in West Virginia and eastern Ohio has a prevalence, clinical features and prognosis similar to previously reported United States studies. They also wrote that the cigarette seems to have formed a firm alliance with asbestosis.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The small number of workers precludes any estimate of malignancy risk for this group
  • The three-of-five diagnostic criteria may be too restrictive for epidemiologic purposes

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Insulator, Amosite, Asbestos-Cement, Chest X-Ray, Asbestos Exposure, Prognosis.

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