title: Preliminary study of lung cancer mortality among Western Australian gold miners exposed to silica.
abstract: Gold miners from Western Australia were surveyed in 1961. Data were collected on respiratory symptoms, smoking habits, employment history, and chest X-ray signs. Eighty-four percent of the men had smoked at some time, and 66% were current smokers. The prevalence of chronic bronchitis was over 20% at the time of the survey. A follow-up to the end of 1991 has been started which showed that, from 1969 to 1991, 999 miners died. Because vital status has not been ascertained for the whole cohort, a proportional mortality analysis was undertaken as a case-referent study. A strong effect of smoking on the risk of lung cancer was found, along with a slight, but nonsignificant increase in the lung cancer risk for the subjects employed underground for > or = 40 years after adjustment for smoking. A complete follow-up and a full cohort analysis will enable these effects to be estimated more precisely.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Western Australia, Nedlands.
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: de Klerk
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Musk
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tetlow
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Eccles
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004391:Dust; D006046:Gold / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008906:Mining; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D006046:Gold; D012822:Silicon Dioxide