 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Ki Moon Bang, PhD, John M. Wood, MS, Girija Syamlal, MBBS, MPH, and Robert M. Castellan, MD, MPH. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505, (304) 285-6114, kmb2@cdc.gov
Malignant mesothelioma (category C45 in the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases) is strongly associated with occupational exposure to asbestos. The purpose of this paper is to describe demographic, geographic, and occupational distributions of mesothelioma mortality and incidence data for1999. Mortality data, restricted to U.S. residents aged 15 years and older, were obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics multiple-cause-of-death data file for 1999. Estimated incidence rates for 1999 were obtained from the National Cancer Institute. Mortality and incidence rates were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) by occupation and industry were adjusted for age, sex, and race. More than one-third of all mesothelioma deaths were residents of California, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. The overall age-adjusted mortality and incidence rates were 11.7 and 11.0 per million, respectively. The age-adjusted mortality rate for males was nearly six times that of females. Occupations with significantly elevated mesothelioma mortality included plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (PMR=4.8), mechanical engineers (PMR=3.0), electricians (PMR=2.4), and elementary school teachers (PMR=2.1). Industries with significantly elevated mesothelioma mortality included ship and boat building and repairing (PMR=6.0), industrial and miscellaneous chemicals (PMR=4.8), petroleum refining (PMR=3.8), electric light and power (PMR=3.1), and construction (PMR=1.6).
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Mortality, Occupational Disease
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.