TY - JOUR
T1 - Mortality from obstructive lung diseases and exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons among asphalt workers
AU - Burstyn, Igor
AU - Boffetta, Paolo
AU - Heederik, Dick
AU - Partanen, Timo
AU - Kromhout, Hans
AU - Svane, Ole
AU - Langård, Sverre
AU - Frentzel-Beyme, Rainer
AU - Kauppinen, Timo
AU - Stücker, Isabelle
AU - Shaham, Judith
AU - Ahrens, Wolfgang
AU - Cenée, Sylvie
AU - Ferro, Gilles
AU - Heikkilä, Pirjo
AU - Hooiveld, Mariëtte
AU - Johansen, Christoffer
AU - Randem, Britt G.
AU - Schill, Walter
N1 - Funding Information:
The international component of the study was supported by cost-sharing contracts from the European Commission (grant BMH4-CT95-1100) and the European Asphalt Paving Association (EAPA), Eurobitume, and Conservation of Clean Air and Water in Europe (CONCAWE). A Special Training Award of the International Agency for Research on Cancer supported Igor Burstyn. The Dutch component of the study was supported by the Dutch Asphalt Pavement Association (VBW-Asfalt) and the Organization for Occupational Health and Safety in the Building and Construction Industry (Stichting Arbouw). Statistics Netherlands provided information on the causes of death for the Dutch cohort. The German component of the study was supported by the Association of the German Bitumen Industry (Arbeitsgemein-schaft Bitumen), the German Asphalt Association (Deutscher Asphaltverband), the institution for statutory accident insurance and prevention in the quarrying industry (Steinbruchs-Berufsgenossenschaft), and the institution for statutory accident insurance and prevention in the ground construction industry (Tiefbau-Berufsgenossenschaft). The Israeli component of the study was funded by the Committee for Preventive Action and Research on Occupational Health, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. The Finnish component of the study was funded by the Finnish Work Environment Fund. The Norwegian component of the study was financed by the following organizations: the Norwegian Asphalt Entrepreneur Association, the Oslo Road Maintenance Service, the Public Roads Administration, the
PY - 2003/9/1
Y1 - 2003/9/1
N2 - Work in the asphalt industry has been associated with nonmalignant respiratory morbidity and mortality, but the evidence is not consistent. A historical cohort of asphalt workers included 58,862 men (911,209 person-years) first employed between 1913 and 1999 in companies applying and mixing asphalt in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, and Norway. The relations between mortality from nonmalignant respiratory diseases (including the obstructive lung diseases: chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma) and specific chemical agents and mixtures were evaluated using a study-specific exposure matrix. Mortality from obstructive lung diseases was associated with the estimated cumulative and average exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and coal tar (p values of the test for linear trend = 0.06 and 0.01, respectively). The positive association between bitumen fume exposure and mortality from obstructive lung diseases was weak and not statistically significant; confounding by simultaneous exposure to coal tar could not be excluded. The authors lacked data on smoking and full occupational histories. In conclusion, exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, originating from coal tar and possibly from bitumen fume, may have contributed to mortality from obstructive lung diseases among asphalt workers, but confounding and bias cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the observed associations.
AB - Work in the asphalt industry has been associated with nonmalignant respiratory morbidity and mortality, but the evidence is not consistent. A historical cohort of asphalt workers included 58,862 men (911,209 person-years) first employed between 1913 and 1999 in companies applying and mixing asphalt in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, and Norway. The relations between mortality from nonmalignant respiratory diseases (including the obstructive lung diseases: chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma) and specific chemical agents and mixtures were evaluated using a study-specific exposure matrix. Mortality from obstructive lung diseases was associated with the estimated cumulative and average exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and coal tar (p values of the test for linear trend = 0.06 and 0.01, respectively). The positive association between bitumen fume exposure and mortality from obstructive lung diseases was weak and not statistically significant; confounding by simultaneous exposure to coal tar could not be excluded. The authors lacked data on smoking and full occupational histories. In conclusion, exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, originating from coal tar and possibly from bitumen fume, may have contributed to mortality from obstructive lung diseases among asphalt workers, but confounding and bias cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the observed associations.
KW - Asthma
KW - Benzo(a)pyrene
KW - Bronchitis
KW - Coal tar
KW - Cohort studies
KW - Emphysema
KW - Polycyclic hydrocarbons, aromatic
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0043011848&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/aje/kwg180
DO - 10.1093/aje/kwg180
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AN - SCOPUS:0043011848
SN - 0002-9262
VL - 158
SP - 468
EP - 478
JO - American Journal of Epidemiology
JF - American Journal of Epidemiology
IS - 5
ER -
