Mortality study of employees at a chemical manufacturing plant using administrative databases.
This study investigated mortality in a cohort of 1,988 male workers at a chemical manufacturing plant (1981-2011) and evaluated the quality of the results obtained using administrative databases.



Information about the workers was obtained from the archives of the Italian National Institute for Social Insurance. Vital status and causes of death were ascertained through record linkage with electronic archives and follow-up mailing. Regional reference rates were used to calculate standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 90% confidence intervals (CI).



The analysis showed increased SMR for selected cancers of a priori interest: respiratory system (SMR: 126.8; 90%CI: 105-152), pleura (330.5; 90%CI 164-596), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (196.1; 90%CI 102-342).



The results indicate an effect of hazardous exposures among workers in this chemical manufacturing plant. Using administrative databases to construct historical cohorts is an efficient method in time and resources, for estimating the risk of mortality and generating hypotheses. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:866-876, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Department of Epidemiology, ASL TO3, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
Antonella
A
Bena
Department of Epidemiology, ASL TO3, Grugliasco, Torino, Italy. elena.farina@epi.piemonte.it.
Elena
E
Farina
Environmental Epidemiologic Unit, Regional Agency for Environmental Protection, Piedmont Region, Italy.
Moreno
M
Demaria
Environmental Epidemiologic Unit, Regional Agency for Environmental Protection, Piedmont Region, Italy.
Ennio
E
Cadum
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death; D002617:Chemical Industry; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000401:mortality*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D000072499:Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D015386:Hazardous Substances
chemical industry; cohort studies; mortality; neoplasms; occupational health