Preliminary results on smoking patterns for workers attending an asbestos abatement course

Our plain-English summary of Preliminary results on smoking patterns for workers attending an asbestos abatement course, by J.H. Lange, D.A. Weyel, L.M. Rosato, et al (Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 1987).

The study

• Authors: J.H. Lange, D.A. Weyel, L.M. Rosato, D. Tucker, D.E. Malek, J.A. Mayernik, L.K. Ryan
• Journal: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• Published: 1987;13(5):459
• Type of article: Letter
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 000980).

In plain English

This was a letter to the editor reporting preliminary results of an anonymous smoking survey. The authors' university department in Pittsburgh, working with the Allegheny County Health Department, trained asbestos abatement workers. The county required certification, and even workers trained on other approved courses had to take the department's examination. Of 133 participants in the first two sessions, 120 (114 white males, 4 black males and 2 white females) returned the form, a 90% return rate. The scanned results table is badly garbled, but its total row appears to show 57 current smokers, 25 former smokers and 38 never smokers among the 120 respondents. Compared with published figures for United States white males (41.4% current, 28.7% former, 29.9% never smokers), the authors reported that more attendees were current or never smokers and fewer were former smokers. More than 57% were under 35. Some workers admitted removing respiratory protection in the work area to smoke or eat. The authors concluded that these workers' future lung cancer rate could be substantially increased, and that they should be considered high risk and included in lung cancer screening programs.

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: Letter to the editor reporting preliminary results of an anonymous questionnaire survey of smoking habits (cross-sectional)
• Who was studied: Asbestos abatement workers attending the first two sessions of a training course run by the University of Pittsburgh with the Allegheny County Health Department (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA), 1987. The county required certification, and workers had to take at least the department's examination. Of 133 participants, 120 returned surveys (114 white males, 4 black males, 2 white females), a 90% return rate
• Exposure: Asbestos abatement work, meaning removal of asbestos from buildings in the United States. No fiber types or doses were given. Smoking status was the main item surveyed
• Main results:
  • Among the 120 respondents, the total row of the scanned table appears to show 57 current smokers, 25 former smokers and 38 never smokers, which add up to 120. The percentages next to them are scanned as '47 5' and '317'. These are consistent with 57 of 120 and 38 of 120 (about 47.5% and 31.7%), but the table is garbled
  • Compared with a United States general population figure for white males (41.4% current, 28.7% former, 29.9% never smokers), a higher percentage of attendees were current or never smokers and a lower percentage were former smokers
  • The majority of attendees (more than 57%) were under 35 years of age
  • Most workers reported that departures from the protective equipment standard are common. Some admitted removing respiratory protection in the abatement work area to smoke and/or eat. Workers also reported using respirator filter cartridges for weeks to months
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, given their young age and smoking habits, these workers' future lung cancer rate within the next 10 to 40 years could be substantially increased. They said the group should be considered at high risk and included in lung cancer screening programs
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The results were preliminary and based only on the first two of the planned training sessions

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Abatement.

Related studies

• Combined effect of asbestos and smoking on mortality from lung cancer and mesothelioma in factory workers — G. Berry, M.L. Newhouse, et al. (1985)
• Smoking prevalence of asbestos workers: a comment — J.H. Lange, K.W. Thomulka (2003)
• Smoking rates in asbestos workers — J.H. Lange, J.A. Hoskins, et al. (2006)
• Combined effect of asbestos exposure and smoking on mortality from lung cancer in factory workers — G. Berry, M.L. Newhouse, et al. (1972)
• Lung function and exercise performance in smoking and nonsmoking asbestos-exposed workers — D.Y. Sue, A. Oren, et al. (1985)
• Effect of tobacco smoking on the presence of asbestosis at postmortem and on the reading of irregular opacities on roentgenograms in asbestos-exposed workers — E. Hnizdo, G.K. Sluis-Cremer (1988)

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