[Mortality and morbidity cohort study of residents in the neighbourhood of Milazzo industrial area (Sicily)].
OBJECTIVE
The municipality of Pace del Mela, together with Milazzo and San Filippo del Mela, has been recognized as a contaminated site of national concern. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the health status of subjects resident in the Gabbia district, which is close to the industrial areas of both, Pace del Mela and Milazzo.


METHODS
All streets and addresses of the area of interest have been identified, taking into account their changes in name over time. The cohort of subjects who lived in the area for any period of time from September 1st, 1984, through December 31st, 2007 has been reconstructed by manual consultation of the Registrar Office files. Standardized mortality ratios, specific for cause, age class, gender and calendar period, have been computed using as reference the Sicilian population. Standardised incidence ratios, based on regional hospital discharge files, have been computed for the years 2001-2007. The cohort is constituted by 457 subjects, 230 men and 227 women. Ascertainment of vital status has not been possible for 39 subjects, corresponding to 8.5% of the cohort.


RESULTS
Observed mortality for all causes and for all cancers is consistent with expected figures (62 observed vs 63 expected and 14 observed vs 15 expected, respectively). Observed cancer morbidity is inferior to the corresponding expected figure (SIR=0.49, CI 95%: 0.31-0.79).


CONCLUSIONS
The health profile of the Gabbia district population, as estimated from mortality and hospital discharge records, does not show major departures from expected figures.
Fazzo
Lucia
L
Dipartimento di ambiente e connessa prevenzione primaria, Istituto superiore di sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Roma. lucia.fazzo@iss.it
Puglisi
Francesca
F
Pellegrino
Angela
A
Fiumanò
Giovanna
G
Mudu
Pierpaolo
P
Bruno
Caterina
C
Andaloro
Pasquale
P
Cernigliaro
Achille
A
Comba
Pietro
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D002617:Chemical Industry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019652:Extraction and Processing Industry; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D012802:Sicily; D055815:Young Adult