-
Ugeskrift For Laeger May 2018Asbestosis is interstitial lung fibrosis due to inhalation of asbestos fibres. Up to the ban of import in 1986, 0.7 mil tons had been used in Denmark. The diagnosis of... (Review)
Review
Asbestosis is interstitial lung fibrosis due to inhalation of asbestos fibres. Up to the ban of import in 1986, 0.7 mil tons had been used in Denmark. The diagnosis of asbestosis is a challenge because of long latency time and very few national occupational asbestos measurements. The cornerstone of exposure assessment is a thorough occupational history, investigation of asbestos content in products used, search for possible and relevant measurements of asbestos fibres in the air, and results of lung biopsies, if present. Although no definite lower limit of exposure can be defined, a cumulated exposure of > 10 fibre-years is a relevant measure for exposure defining the disease, as one fibre-year equals one asbestos fibre/cm3 air/occupational year.
Topics: Asbestos; Asbestosis; Construction Materials; Guidelines as Topic; Humans; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure
PubMed: 29808815
DOI: No ID Found -
Cancer Science Oct 2012Asbestos is a proven human carcinogen. Asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) typically comprise lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, thickening... (Review)
Review
Asbestos is a proven human carcinogen. Asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) typically comprise lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural plaques, thickening and effusion. International organizations, notably the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization, have repeatedly declared the need to eliminate ARDs, and have called on countries to stop using asbestos. However, the relevant national-level indicators (e.g., incidence/mortality rates and per capita asbestos use, as well as their interrelationships) indicate that ARDs are increasing and asbestos use is continuing in the world. Lessons learned by industrialized countries in terms of policy and science have led to a growing number of countries adopting bans. In contrast, industrializing countries are faced with a myriad of forces prompting them to continue using asbestos. Full-scale international cooperation will thus be needed, with industrialized countries sharing their experiences and technologies to enable industrializing countries to make smooth transitions to banned states and achieve the goal of eliminating ARDs.
Topics: Asbestos; Asbestosis; Carcinogens; Humans; Neoplasms
PubMed: 22726320
DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2012.02366.x -
Journal of the National Medical... Jun 1979
Topics: Asbestosis; Humans; Lung; Radiography
PubMed: 480400
DOI: No ID Found -
Postgraduate Medical Journal Dec 1949
Topics: Asbestosis; Dust; Humans; Lung
PubMed: 15396262
DOI: 10.1136/pgmj.25.290.631 -
The Western Journal of Medicine Jul 1979
Topics: Asbestosis; Humans
PubMed: 483791
DOI: No ID Found -
Canadian Medical Association Journal Aug 1955
Topics: Asbestosis; Pneumoconiosis
PubMed: 13240589
DOI: No ID Found -
LaeknabladidAsbestos are crystallized silicate minerals that form fibers with different structures and characteristics. Asbestos fibers are very durable and can tolerate very high... (Review)
Review
Asbestos are crystallized silicate minerals that form fibers with different structures and characteristics. Asbestos fibers are very durable and can tolerate very high temperatures. Therefore it was common to use asbestos as a fire retardants, heat insulation and where high temperature is used. Asbestos has been banned in Iceland from 1983 but can still be found in large amounts in buildings, ships and hot water pipes. Large amounts of asbestos were imported in the years before the ban but diminished soon to almost nothing today. Needle or filamentous shaped dust is released when working with asbestos. It is this dust that is dangerous for health. The latent time from exposure to disease can be up to forty years. Asbestos reaches the lungs via inhalation and can cause asbestosis that is a form of lung fibrosis with slow progression. Asbestos can also cause benign pleural effusions, pleural plaques and diffuse pleural thickening. Asbestos is a carcinogen. Lung cancer is most common but asbestos is also a risk factor for cancers of other organs. Mesothelioma is most common in the pleura but can be seen in other membranes. The incidence of these tumors is high in Iceland and is still increasing among males. Of all the European countries mortality is highest in Iceland. It is important for physicians to include asbestos exposure in the differential diagnosis of lung diseases and when lung cancer is diagnosed.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Asbestos; Asbestosis; Construction Materials; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Iceland; Incidence; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Mesothelioma; Middle Aged; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Sex Distribution; Time Factors
PubMed: 31411568
DOI: 10.17992/lbl.2019.0708.241 -
Environmental Health : a Global Access... Jan 2008We discuss the translocation of inhaled asbestos fibers based on pulmonary and pleuro-pulmonary interstitial fluid dynamics. Fibers can pass the alveolar barrier and... (Review)
Review
We discuss the translocation of inhaled asbestos fibers based on pulmonary and pleuro-pulmonary interstitial fluid dynamics. Fibers can pass the alveolar barrier and reach the lung interstitium via the paracellular route down a mass water flow due to combined osmotic (active Na+ absorption) and hydraulic (interstitial pressure is subatmospheric) pressure gradient. Fibers can be dragged from the lung interstitium by pulmonary lymph flow (primary translocation) wherefrom they can reach the blood stream and subsequently distribute to the whole body (secondary translocation). Primary translocation across the visceral pleura and towards pulmonary capillaries may also occur if the asbestos-induced lung inflammation increases pulmonary interstitial pressure so as to reverse the trans-mesothelial and trans-endothelial pressure gradients. Secondary translocation to the pleural space may occur via the physiological route of pleural fluid formation across the parietal pleura; fibers accumulation in parietal pleura stomata (black spots) reflects the role of parietal lymphatics in draining pleural fluid. Asbestos fibers are found in all organs of subjects either occupationally exposed or not exposed to asbestos. Fibers concentration correlates with specific conditions of interstitial fluid dynamics, in line with the notion that in all organs microvascular filtration occurs from capillaries to the extravascular spaces. Concentration is high in the kidney (reflecting high perfusion pressure and flow) and in the liver (reflecting high microvascular permeability) while it is relatively low in the brain (due to low permeability of blood-brain barrier). Ultrafine fibers (length < 5 mum, diameter < 0.25 mum) can travel larger distances due to low steric hindrance (in mesothelioma about 90% of fibers are ultrafine). Fibers translocation is a slow process developing over decades of life: it is aided by high biopersistence, by inflammation-induced increase in permeability, by low steric hindrance and by fibers motion pattern at low Reynolds numbers; it is hindered by fibrosis that increases interstitial flow resistances.
Topics: Asbestos; Asbestosis; Biological Transport; Extracellular Space; Humans; Lung; Lymphatic System; Mineral Fibers; Permeability; Pleura; Time Factors
PubMed: 18218073
DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-7-4 -
Nagoya Journal of Medical Science Feb 2009Respiratory exposure to asbestos fibers has been associated with diffuse malignant mesothelioma (DMM) in humans. Despite advancements in the molecular analyses of human... (Review)
Review
Respiratory exposure to asbestos fibers has been associated with diffuse malignant mesothelioma (DMM) in humans. Despite advancements in the molecular analyses of human DMM and the development of animal models, the carcinogenic mechanisms of the disease remain unclear. There are basically three hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of asbestos-induced DMM, which may be summarized as follows: (1) the "oxidative stress theory" is based on the fact that phagocytic cells that engulf asbestos fibers produce large amounts of free radicals due to their inability to digest the fibers, and epidemiological studies indicating that iron-containing asbestos fibers appear more carcinogenic; (2) the "chromosome tangling theory" postulates that asbestos fibers damage chromosomes when cells divide; and (3) the "theory of adsorption of many specific proteins as well as carcinogenic molecules" states that asbestos fibers in vivo concentrate proteins or chemicals including the components of cigarette smoke. Elucidation of the major mechanisms underlying DMM would be helpful for the development of novel strategies to prevent DMM induction in people who have already been exposed to asbestos.
Topics: Animals; Asbestos; Asbestosis; Carcinogens; Chromosome Aberrations; Humans; Iron; Lung Neoplasms; Mesothelioma; Oxidative Stress
PubMed: 19358470
DOI: No ID Found -
Occupational Medicine (Oxford, England) Oct 2012Analysis of occupational mortality in England and Wales during 1991-2000 showed no decline in work-attributable deaths from asbestosis.
BACKGROUND
Analysis of occupational mortality in England and Wales during 1991-2000 showed no decline in work-attributable deaths from asbestosis.
AIMS
To explore why there was no decline in mortality from asbestosis despite stricter controls on asbestos exposure over recent decades.
METHODS
Using data from registers of all deaths in Great Britain with mention of mesothelioma or asbestosis on the death certificate, we plotted death rates by 5 year age group within 5 year birth cohorts for(a) mesothelioma and (b) asbestosis without mention of mesothelioma.
RESULTS
Analysis was based on a total of 33,751 deaths from mesothelioma and 5396 deaths from asbestosis. For both diseases, mortality showed a clear cohort effect; within birth cohorts, death rates increased progressively with age through to 85 years and older. However, highest mortality from mesothelioma was in men born during 1939-43, whereas, mortality from asbestosis peaked in men born during 1924-38.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that mortality, in Britain, from asbestosis has been determined mainly by cumulative exposure to asbestos before 45 years of age and that the effect of such exposure continues through to old age. That mortality from asbestosis peaked in earlier birth cohorts than mortality from mesothelioma may reflect a difference in exposure-response relationships for the two diseases. The discrepancy could be explained if risk of asbestosis increased more steeply than that of mesothelioma at higher levels of exposure to asbestos and if the highest prevalence of heavy exposure occurred in earlier birth cohorts than the highest prevalence of less intense exposures.
Topics: Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Asbestos; Asbestosis; Carcinogens; Construction Materials; Death Certificates; Disease Progression; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Mesothelioma; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure; Prevalence; Registries; United Kingdom
PubMed: 23034792
DOI: 10.1093/occmed/kqs119