Evaluation of New Cases of Asbestosis in 1996
M. Posgay, É. Galambos, L. Németh
National Institute of Occupational Health, Budapest, Hungary
CEJOEM 1997, Vol.3. No.4.:331
12 new cases of asbestosis and/or asbestos-related lung diseases were registered
in 1996. Compared to previous years this number shows a slight but steady
decrease.
10 persons worked in asbestos production and another
2 were asbestos product users. Mean age of the workers at the onset of
the exposure was 20.6 ys, average duration of exposure to asbestos was
22.8 ys. The latency period for development of asbestosis was 33 ys, the
mean age of the patients at the diagnosis was 54.6 ys. These data are similar
to those cited in the literature.
Diagnosis is based primarily on radiography, findings
of physical examination and lung function tests are taken into consideration
as well. An early stage of asbestosis has been diagnosed in 9 patients,
5 of them had been controlled by our institute for some years because of
minimal radiological signs, 4 patients were transferred for examination
by other diagnostical units.
In 3 additional cases (1 woman and 2 men) asbestos-related
lung cancer and/or mesothelioma could be verified, one of them with radiological
signs of advanced-stage asbestosis. Retrospective reading of screening
films prove that cancer may develop within 1 year. Smoking increases the
risk. Though the number of new cases of asbestosis is decreasing we have
to expect an increasing incidence of malignant tumors among the population
formerly exposed to asbestos.
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