Abstract
Objectives: To assess the risk of lung cancer mortality related to occupational exposure to titanium dioxide (TiO 2). Methods: A mortality follow-up study of 15,017 workers (14,331 men) employed in 11 factories producing TiO 2 in Europe. Exposure to TiO 2 dust was reconstructed for each occupational title; exposure estimates were linked with the occupational history. Observed mortality was compared with national rates, and internal comparisons were based on multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results: The cohort contributed 371,067 person-years of observation (3.3% were lost to follow-up and 0.7% emigrated). 2652 cohort members died during the follow-up, yielding standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83-0.90) among men and 0.58 (95% CI 0.40-0.82) among women. Among men, the SMR of lung cancer was significantly increased (1.23, 95% CI 1.10-1.38); however, mortality from lung cancer did not increase with duration of employment or estimated cumulative exposure to TiO 2 dust. Data on smoking were available for over one third of cohort members. In three countries, the prevalence of smokers was higher among cohort members compared to the national populations. Conclusions: The results of the study do not suggest a carcinogenic effect of TiO 2 dust on the human lung.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 697-706 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Cancer Causes and Control |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2004 |
Keywords
- lung cancer
- mortality
- occupation
- titanium dioxide
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Epidemiology
- Cancer Research