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A nested case control study of lung cancer among New York talc workers.

Gamble JF

Int Arch Occup Environ Health 1993 Feb; 64(6):449-456

https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00517952

00227804

A nested case/control study on the relationship of lung cancer and exposure to talc (14807966) in workers at the Gouverneur Talc Company (GTC) in New York investigated the confounding potential of risk factors not associated with working at GTC. The primary reason for the study was to determine whether talc exposure was the cause of the elevated standardized mortality ratios for lung cancer which had been noted in earlier cohort studies and which remained through 8 years of follow up. The cases and controls for the study were taken from the cohort of 710 white male GTC talc workers employed between 1947 and 1978 with follow up through 1983. All of the 22 cases of lung cancer identified were among either current smokers (91%) or former smokers (9%). Three potentially confounding risk factors were of primary concern: nontalc exposure, smoking, and non GTC talc employment. No trend was observed for the risk of lung cancer to increase with nontalc exposure. Smoking cigarettes increased the OR for lung cancer almost six fold compared to combined nonsmokers and exsmokers, and 1.4 times compared to exsmokers. The author concludes that nontalc exposure is not a confounding risk factor while smoking is, and that temporal and exposure response relationships are consistent with a smoking etiology but not an occupational etiology for lung cancer among these workers.

NIOSH-Author; Risk-factors; Epidemiology; Mineral-dusts; Respiratory-system-disorders; Cigarette-smoking; Occupational-exposure; Mine-workers; Lung-cancer; Mortality-data; Author Keywords: Talc; Lung cancer; Amphiboles; Case control study; Tremolite

IAEHDW

14807-96-6

19930201

Journal Article

1993

6

0340-0131

DRDS

Respiratory-system-disorders

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health

ME; NY; WV