[A meta-analysis of cohort studies on cancer mortality among workers exposure to chrysotile fiber alone].
OBJECTIVE
To determine there was excessive risk of malignant tumors or not among workers exposure to chrysotile fiber alone by applying a meta-analysis technique.


METHODS
All data meeting the criteria of cohort studies on cancer mortality among workers exposed only to chrysotile would incorporate into the meta-analysis. The pooled standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for main cancer sites were calculated using two approaches of unweighted ratio and random effects model. The heterogeneity and its sources of the results were examined with a Q-statistic and Z-score test.


RESULTS
26 chrysotile-exposed alone cohorts were summarized. The significantly elevated meta-SMRs for all deaths (1.28), all cancers (1.26), cancers of respiratory organs (2.24), cancer of lung (2.29) and cancer of stomach (1.27) were observed. The significantly elevated meta-SMRs for lung cancer within occupational strata were observed among textile workers (3.64), asbestos products manufacturers (3.07), miners and millers (2.24), cement products workers (1.22), and for stomach cancer among asbestos products manufacturers (1.48). Meta-SMRs for cancers at other sites were not significant.


CONCLUSIONS
There were excessive risks of lung cancer and mesothelioma among workers exposure to chrysotile fiber alone, and likely no convincing indication of an etiological association between chrysotile exposure and cancers at other sites.
Institute of Social Medicine and Family Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310031, China.
Lu
L
Li
Tong-da
TD
Sun
Xing
X
Zhang
Xiu-yang
XY
Li
Xue-jin
XJ
Fan
Morinaga
M
Kenji
D001194:Asbestos / Q000506:poisoning; D017632:Asbestos, Serpentine / Q000506:poisoning*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012142:Respiratory Tract Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D015996:Survival Rate
D017632:Asbestos, Serpentine; D001194:Asbestos