Biomedical subjects

E Delzell

Publications and source records attributed to E Delzell.

70 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1985

Mortality among white and nonwhite farmers in North Carolina, 1976-1978.

Death certificate information identified 9,245 white and 3,508 nonwhite men who died in North Carolina during 1976-1978 and who had been farmers. The distribution of deaths from various causes among these men was compared to that of other male decedents in the state. For both white and nonwhite farmers, proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) were elevated for tuberculosis (whites, 1.6; nonwhites, 1.7), diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (whites, 2.5; nonwhites, 1.5), and external causes (whites, 1.2; nonwhites, 1.1) and were decreased for cancers of the esophagus (whites and nonwhites, 0.5) and large intestine and rectum (whites and nonwhites, 0.7). White farmers had an increased relative frequency of melanoma (PMR = 1.2) and other skin cancer (PMR = 1.8), while nonwhite farmers had an increased relative frequency of melanoma (PMR = 6.3), brain cancer (PMR = 2.3), and leukemia (PMR = 1.9). In addition, among decedents under 65 years of age, both white and nonwhite farmers had an elevated proportional mortality ratio for prostate cancer (whites, 1.6; nonwhites, 1.3). Many of these results are consistent with observations from other studies. Some of these findings, particularly those for nonwhites, warrant further evaluation, including detailed investigation of possibly related farming practices.

Aged↗

PubMed1985

Decreased risk of subsequent primary noncutaneous malignancies among patients with primary cutaneous malignant melanoma.

It is established in the clinical literature that patients who develop specific types of malignancies are at an increased statistical risk for the development of a second primary malignancy. Previous studies have supported the theory that patients who develop primary cutaneous malignant melanoma (PCMM) have a greater risk for the development of a secondary primary noncutaneous malignancy (SPNM). Taken from the tumor registry of a community hospital, data for 504 consecutive patients (254 men and 250 women) with a diagnosis of PCMM were evaluated for the incidence of subsequent SPNM by comparing this series of patients to the general population of Connecticut. It was demonstrated that patients with PCMM had a significantly reduced incidence of SPNM (p = 0.002). Consideration should be given to possible biological and behavioral mechanisms which could explain the observed deficit.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Socioeconomic status and risk of multiple myeloma.

A case control study was conducted to test the hypothesis that socioeconomic status is positively associated with multiple myeloma incidence. One hundred and fifty-three myeloma cases and 459 controls were identified at the Duke University Medical Center at Durham, North Carolina. Study members were interviewed regarding indicators of socioeconomic status. The association of myeloma with family income (current and highest), education, occupation, home ownership, dwelling size, and an index of crowding in the home was examined by estimating relative risks. Among these indicators, only home ownership showed any association with multiple myeloma incidence (RR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.0-2.6). The association of multiple myeloma with socioeconomic status that has been seen in earlier studies may have been due to underascertainment of disease in less advantaged groups. This association is disappearing as access to health care becomes more uniform across socioeconomic groups.

Aged↗

PubMed1984

Mortality among rubber workers: VII. Aerospace workers.

This study evaluated cause-specific mortality among 3,161 men who were employed in the aerospace division of a rubber manufacturing company. Compared to other production workers at the plant, aerospace workers in deicer and fuel cell manufacturing jobs experienced a 60% excess of deaths from lung cancer. Deicer and fuel cell workers who were under 65 years of age had lung cancer rates that were approximately twice those of other rubber workers of comparable age. Aerospace division employees also had elevated rates of bladder cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. However, detailed analyses suggested that, with the exception of lung cancer, these cancer excesses were not likely to be attributable to employment in the aerospace division.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Mortality among rubber workers: VIII. Industrial products workers.

This report compares the mortality experience of 6,533 men employed in the industrial products division of a rubber manufacturing company with that of U.S. males and of other rubber workers. For most causes of death the mortality rates of industrial products workers were lower than those of U.S. males and similar to those of other rubber workers. Relative to other rubber workers, men in the industrial products division had a 50% excess of deaths from lymphoma, a 90% excess of deaths from multiple myeloma, and a 20% excess of deaths from bladder cancer during the study period. The excesses of lymphoma and multiple myeloma were strongest during recent follow-up in 1970-78 (observed/expected deaths: 10/4.3 for lymphoma; 10/4.4 for multiple myeloma), whereas bladder cancer mortality was not excessive during this calendar period.

Aged↗

PubMed1984

Second malignancies in cutaneous T cell lymphoma.

Among sixty-three cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) patients seen over a 15-year period at the Duke University Medical Center (DUMC), 15.9% had a second malignancy. This is a higher frequency of second malignancies than has been documented previously in any series of CTCL patients. We evaluated the incidence of subsequent primary malignancies in these CTCL patients by comparing our series of patients to a general population. The overall cancer incidence rate in the CTCL patients was 2.4 times, and in white male patients 3.3 times, greater than expected. We also compared various characteristics of CTCL patients with and without a second malignancy to evaluate potential predisposing factors. A history of prior chemotherapy and a family history of malignancy among first order relatives were more common among CTCL patients who developed a second malignancy.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Epidemiology of Hodgkin's disease.

Hodgkin's disease displays an intriguing variation in incidence with age. For adult disease, there is striking bimodality in incidence with peaks in young adulthood and in older adulthood. On epidemiologic grounds, there appear to be three different diseases: childhood (0-14 years), young adult (15-34 years), and older adult Hodgkin's disease (55+ years). There are marked geographic variations in Hodgkin's disease incidence, but the variations are different for the three age groups. There are also interesting associations between Hodgkin's disease and markers of social class. For the young adult disease, the higher the socioeconomic status of a person, the greater the Hodgkin's disease risk. Additionally, Hodgkin's disease patients appear to have had fewer of the childhood infectious diseases or to have had these diseases at older ages than controls. These factors suggest an analogy between young adult Hodgkin's disease and Epstein-Barr virus, poliomyelitis, and tuberculosis infections. Thus, the descriptive epidemiology of Hodgkin's disease suggests an infectious disease process underlying its etiology in young adulthood and perhaps in childhood. There is a curious relationship between Hodgkin's disease and Epstein-Barr virus infection. Persons with Epstein-Barr virus infection have an increased risk of developing Hodgkin's disease, and the Epstein-Barr virus infection precedes the development of Hodgkin's disease. The virus has never been isolated from or identified in Hodgkin's disease tissue. The mechanisms underlying this association are unknown and may provide important clues to the etiology of Hodgkin's disease and other lymphomas. It is likely that there is no direct person-to-person spread of Hodgkin's disease. This is suggested by several negative studies of linkages between cases, time-space clustering, and aggregation of exposures at schools. Studies have shown that neither physicians nor nurses, groups with greater likelihood of encountering Hodgkin's disease patients than the general public, have an increased risk. There appears to be familial aggregation of Hodgkin's disease. Siblings of young adult cases are at increased risk, whereas siblings of older adult cases have no increase in risk. Among sibling pairs with Hodgkin's disease, there is a marked excess of like-sex pairs. Like-sex siblings have almost twice the risk of discordant-sex siblings, suggesting an interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Thus, it would be of interest to known the risk to spouses of cases who share environments but who do not share genes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

An approach to conducting epidemiologic research within cooperative clinical trials groups.

Cooperative clinical trials groups offer exciting opportunities for conducting epidemiologic research for several reasons: they facilitate accrual of sufficient numbers of subjects in a short period of time, even for studies of rare diseases; they provide uniform pathologic review and uniform collection of subjects' entry data; and they provide a more representative sample of cases than a single-institution study. Despite these advantages, few epidemiologic studies of etiologic factors have been done through these groups because methods for selecting appropriate control subjects and for obtaining information from geographically scattered subjects have not been available. An approach that can serve as a model for this type of research has been developed. A collaborative case-control study of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) with the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study (IRS) was recently begun. The study, which is independently funded, evaluates the role of environmental factors in the etiology of RMS. Parents of subjects were interviewed by telephone and control subjects were selected from the same communities as patients by random digit dialing . Interview data are supplemented by information from birth certificates and, for patients, by IRS data. This new methodology permits a large study of a rare tumor in a relatively short period of time.

Child↗

PubMed1983

Cancer and other causes of death among female textile workers, 1976-78.

Information on usual industry and occupation on North Carolina death certificates indicated that 4,462 white women who died during 1976-78 were former textile industry employees. The relative frequency of cancer and other diseases among decreased textile workers was compared with the cause of death distribution among other white female decedents. Elevated proportional mortality ratios (PMR) were found for the following malignant neoplasms: larynx, PMR=2.8; connective tissue, PMR=2.6; uterine cervix, PMR=2.1; other and unspecified genital organs, PMR=2.7; thyroid, PMR=2.2; and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, PMR=1.7. The increased PMR for cervical cancer and for cancer of other and unspecified genital organs may be related to socioeconomic correlates of employment in the textile industry. More research is needed to determine whether work in the textile industry is associated with the other malignant neoplasms for which an elevated PMR was found in this study.

Aged↗

PubMed1982

A case-control study of employment experience and lung cancer among rubber workers.

In this case-control study the detailed employment histories of 121 rubber plant employees who died of lung cancer from 1964 through 1973 were compared to those of 448 plant employees (controls) who died of other causes during the same calendar period. All subjects were white male hourly employees. Lung cancer cases and controls were matched individually on year of birth and year of first hire at the plant. Results of matched analyses indicated that there was no association between lung cancer mortality and employment in either rubber compounding and mixing jobs or curing jobs. Men who had worked for at least five years in rubber reclaim operations, where there was potentially heavy exposure to particulates and fumes, experienced a twofold increase in lung cancer risk. In addition, there was a 70% excess of lung cancer risk among men employed in making special products, where the primary production activity was fuel cell manufacturing. The latter two findings were marginally statistically significant.

Adult↗

PubMed1982

Mortality among rubber workers: V. processing workers.

Cause-specific mortality was evaluated among 2,666 men employed in the processing division of a rubber manufacturing plant. The division was divided into two sections: front processing (compounding, mixing and milling operations) and back processing (extrusion, calendering, cement mixing and rubberized fabrics operations). Mortality rates for all processing workers combined and for men in each section were compared with rates for U.S. White males or for workers employed in other divisions of the same plant. Compared with either referent group, men in the processing division had increased mortality from leukemia, emphysema, and cancers of the stomach, large intestine, and biliary passages and liver. An excess number of deaths from stomach and larger intestine cancer was found predominantly among men in the front processing section (33 observed vs. 17.7 expected deaths, based on rates in nonprocessing workers). Increased mortality from leukemia (14 observed vs. 7.3 expected) and from emphysema (22 observed vs. 11.0 expected) was present among men employed in the back processing section. Examination of mortality from these causes according to age and the year starting work, duration of employment, and years since starting work in the relevant sections of the processing division suggested that observed excesses of stomach cancer, large intestine cancer, leukemia, and emphysema among processing workers are related to occupational exposures. These results are consistent with the findings of studies of other groups of rubber workers.

Adult↗

PubMed1982

Mortality among rubber workers: VI. Men with potential exposure to acrylonitrile.

In an analysis of mortality among 327 employees of a rubber chemicals plant who had potential exposure to acrylonitrile, nine deaths from lung cancer were found in comparison to 5.9 expected based on mortality rates for U.S. white males and 4.7 expected based on mortality rates for other rubber workers from the same city. The excess was greatest among men who worked five through 14 years and who died 15 or more years after starting work in the plant (four deaths observed, 0.8 expected).

Acrylonitrile↗

PubMed1981

Mortality and cancer morbidity among workers in the rubber tire industry.

A retrospective follow-up study was conducted to evaluate mortality and cancer incidence between 1954 and 1976 among 1,792 white male production workers employed for at least 2 years at a tire manufacturing plant. There were no marked excesses in overall or site-specific cancer deaths or incident cases. Compared to U.S. white males, men employed for at least 10 years experienced small increases in deaths from cancers of the large intestine, pancreas, and lung. Results obtained by comparing observed incident cancer cases to the numbers expected based on age- and calendar time-specific incidence rates of Connecticut males also suggested excesses of these three malignancies. These findings were based on small numbers and therefore do not necessarily indicate causal associations between cancer excesses and employment in the rubber tire industry. However, because the workers studied comprised a relatively young population that may not have experienced the full impact of carcinogenic occupational exposures, further follow-up is warranted.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Mortality among rubber workers. III. Cause-specific mortality, 1940-1978.

This report describes mortality occurring between 1940 and mid-1978 among 29,087 men and women employed in a rubber plant for at least two years. Mortality patterns for the period July 1, 1974, to July 1, 1978, were compared to previously published findings for January 1, 1940, through June 30, 1974. Expected numbers of deaths were based on U.S. general population mortality data. There were excess deaths from bladder cancer and leukemia among white male union members during both follow-up periods. During recent follow-up of white male union members employed for at least five years, there were excesses in deaths from three additional cancers: esophageal cancer (11 observed/4.8 expected), biliary and liver cancer (6 observed/3.3 expected) and lymphoma and multiple myeloma (14 observed/5.8 expected). Evidence from other studies of rubber workers suggests that observed excesses in deaths from bladder cancer and leukemia are related to work-place exposures. The present findings suggest that occupational exposures etiologically relevant to these diseases may not have been reduced in recent years or that sufficient time has not elapsed for such reductions to result in decreased mortality. Further investigation is required to clarify the contribution of occupational factors to observed excesses in deaths form cancers of the esophagus and the biliary passages and liver and from lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Exposure to epichlorohydrin and central nervous system neoplasms at a resin and dye manufacturing plant.

This study evaluated the relationship between central nervous system neoplasms (CNSN) and exposure to epichlorohydrin (ECH) among 11 CNSN cases and 44 controls who were members of a cohort of chemical workers. Information on area of employment and potential exposure to ECH was obtained from plant personnel and medical records and from interviews with long-term employees. An elevated odds ratio (OR) for CNSN was observed for subjects who worked in the epoxy resin process line (OR = infinity, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-infinity), and in the production of anthraquinone intermediate dyes (OR = infinity, 95% CI = 1.7-infinity) and azo dyes (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 0.6-41). Routine potential exposure to ECH was associated with CNSN (OR = 4.2, 95% CI = 0.7-26). Dose-response relationships were found with duration and with cumulative routine potential exposure to ECH (p = .11 and .08, respectively). Acute exposure to ECH requiring treatment at the plant infirmary also was associated with subsequent CNSN (OR = infinity, 95% CI = 1.5-infinity).

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiologic studies of the petroleum industry.

This paper reviews the epidemiologic studies of petroleum workers published in the English language, focusing on research pertaining to the petroleum industry, rather than the broader petrochemical industry. Types of epidemiologic studies are described, then overall cause-specific mortality and morbidity among workers.

Canada↗