title: A cohort study of workers employed in a refractory brick plant.
abstract: A mortality study was carried out on a cohort of workers who were exposed to silica dust in a refractory brick plant. The cohort was divided into two groups: workers with and without silicosis, and their mortality was contrasted with the death rate of Genova from 1960 to 1979. Results show an increased risk for laryngeal tumors (3 obs., 0.44 exp., SMR = 682), nonmalignant respiratory disease (16 obs., 3.2 exp., SMR = 500), and cardiovascular diseases (19 obs., 11 exp., SMR = 173) among silicotics. The mortality rate for lung cancer showed an increase for the cohort of workers as a whole (11 obs., 6 exp., SMR = 183). The almost double overall mortality observed in silicotic subjects raises some doubts about the validity of other proportional mortality studies that showed no excesses for workers in these industries.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Puntoni
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Valerio
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vercelli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonassi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Giorgio
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ceppi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stagnaro
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Filiberti
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D003252:Construction Materials; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D009790:Occupations; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D012142:Respiratory Tract Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012829:Silicosis / Q000150:complications*; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide