Cohort study on cancer mortality among workers in the pulp and paper industry in Catalonia, Spain.
We examined mortality in a retrospective follow-up study of 3,241 workers employed between 1970-1992, in four pulp and paper mills in Catalonia, Spain. Vital status was determined for 95% of the cohort. Exposure was reconstructed using job histories and a company exposure questionnaire. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were derived using mortality rates of Spain as the reference. For all workers, mortality from all causes (SMR = 76; 95%; confidence intervals [CI] = 65-88; 189 deaths) and all malignant neoplasms (SMR = 93; CI = 72-119; 65 deaths) were less than the expected. Excess risk was observed for mortality from all neoplasms in females (SMR = 168; CI = 84-303; 11 deaths), for large intestine cancer in both sexes (SMR = 250; CI = 115-525; 8 deaths), particularly after 10 years of employment and latency (SMR = 355; CI = 154-701; 8 deaths), and for breast cancer in females (SMR = 286; CI = 77-732; 4 deaths). These findings suggest that workers employed in the pulp and paper industry may have an excess risk of specific cancers.
Sala-Serra
M
M
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
Sunyer
J
J
Kogevinas
M
M
McFarlane
D
D
Antó
J M
JM
D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D007420:Intestine, Large; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010209:Paper; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014934:Wood