Asbestos disease in sheet metal workers: II. Radiologic signs of asbestosis among active workers.
A review of chest x-rays of 707 currently employed New York metropolitan area sheet metal workers found that 29.3% of the workers with 20 years or more of union membership (a surrogate for years of exposure) had radiologic abnormalities characteristic of parenchymal and/or pleural asbestosis, with 18.6% having abnormalities characteristic of parenchymal asbestosis (International Labor Organization [ILO] classification 1/0 or higher) and 17.4% of pleural asbestosis. The prevalence of abnormalities characteristic of either parenchymal and/or pleural asbestosis in the group as a whole was 16.4%, with 10.9% exhibiting signs of parenchymal asbestosis and 9.2% of pleural asbestosis. There was a strong, statistically significant relationship between years in the trade and the prevalence of radiologic abnormalities. These findings underscore the need for medical surveillance of all asbestos-exposed construction workers, including retirees and workers who have had past exposure but who are no longer exposed.
Michaels
D
D
Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY.
Zoloth
S
S
Lacher
M
M
Holstein
E
E
Lilis
R
R
Drucker
E
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001195:Asbestosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D012307:Risk Factors