BACKGROUND: From 1946 to 1990, more than 400 000 people were employed by Wismut AG, a Soviet/Soviet-German corporation (German abbreviation: SAG/ SDAG), in the East German states of Saxony and Thuringia. In the early years in particular, employees were exposed to large amounts of radon and respirable crystalline silica. METHODS: In a cohort of 35 204 former underground employees of Wismut AG, mortality was analyzed in comparison to the general male population of East Germany, and the pertaining standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated. RESULTS: 18 510 persons in the study cohort died in the follow-up period 1960-2013. Mortality from lung cancer was 2.36 higher in the study cohort than in the general population (95% confidence interval, [2.28; 2.45]); the associated SMRs rose markedly with increasing radon exposure. Mortality from silicosis and other types of pneumoconiosis was elevated by a factor of 22.62 [21.20; 24.11], and the associated SMRs rose exponentially with increasing exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Mortality from both of these causes was still markedly elevated more than 20 years after Wismut AG had ceased its activities. Mortality from a wide range of other diseases was elevated as well, with the following SMRs: stomach cancer, 1.28 [1.17; 1.40]; liver cancer, 1.34 [1.15; 1.55]; all tumors other than lung cancer, 1.06 [1.02; 1.09]; infections, 1.18 [1.01; 1.38]; cerebrovascular diseases, 1.33 [1.26; 1.41]; and influenza/pneumonia, 1.13 [1.01; 1.27]. Mortality from a small number of other causes was found to be markedly lowered in the study cohort (mental illness, renal diseases, and nervous system diseases). The role of occupational risk factors, lifestyle differences and other reasons for the latter results is unclear. CONCLUSION: Underground miners employed by Wismut AG displayed marked excess mortality due to silicosis/other pneumoconiosis and lung cancer. The contribution of individual occupational risk factors for these and other causes of death with increased SMR are being further investigated in analyses within the study cohort.
BACKGROUND: From 1946 to 1990, more than 400 000 people were employed by Wismut AG, a Soviet/Soviet-German corporation (German abbreviation: SAG/ SDAG), in the East German states of Saxony and Thuringia. In the early years in particular, employees were exposed to large amounts of radon and respirable crystalline silica. METHODS: In a cohort of 35 204 former underground employees of Wismut AG, mortality was analyzed in comparison to the general male population of East Germany, and the pertaining standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated. RESULTS: 18 510 persons in the study cohort died in the follow-up period 1960-2013. Mortality from lung cancer was 2.36 higher in the study cohort than in the general population (95% confidence interval, [2.28; 2.45]); the associated SMRs rose markedly with increasing radon exposure. Mortality from silicosis and other types of pneumoconiosis was elevated by a factor of 22.62 [21.20; 24.11], and the associated SMRs rose exponentially with increasing exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Mortality from both of these causes was still markedly elevated more than 20 years after Wismut AG had ceased its activities. Mortality from a wide range of other diseases was elevated as well, with the following SMRs: stomach cancer, 1.28 [1.17; 1.40]; liver cancer, 1.34 [1.15; 1.55]; all tumors other than lung cancer, 1.06 [1.02; 1.09]; infections, 1.18 [1.01; 1.38]; cerebrovascular diseases, 1.33 [1.26; 1.41]; and influenza/pneumonia, 1.13 [1.01; 1.27]. Mortality from a small number of other causes was found to be markedly lowered in the study cohort (mental illness, renal diseases, and nervous system diseases). The role of occupational risk factors, lifestyle differences and other reasons for the latter results is unclear. CONCLUSION: Underground miners employed by Wismut AG displayed marked excess mortality due to silicosis/other pneumoconiosis and lung cancer. The contribution of individual occupational risk factors for these and other causes of death with increased SMR are being further investigated in analyses within the study cohort.
Authors: Dirk Taeger; Beate Pesch; Benjamin Kendzia; Thomas Behrens; Karl-Heinz Jöckel; Dirk Dahmann; Jack Siemiatycki; Hans Kromhout; Roel Vermeulen; Susan Peters; Ann Olsson; Irene Brüske; Heinz-Erich Wichmann; Isabelle Stücker; Florence Guida; Adonina Tardón; Franco Merletti; Dario Mirabelli; Lorenzo Richiardi; Hermann Pohlabeln; Wolfgang Ahrens; Maria Teresa Landi; Neil Caporaso; Angela Cecilia Pesatori; Anush Mukeriya; Neonila Szeszenia-Dabrowska; Jolanta Lissowska; Per Gustavsson; John Field; Michael W Marcus; Eleonora Fabianova; Andrea 't Mannetje; Neil Pearce; Peter Rudnai; Vladimir Bencko; Vladimir Janout; Rodica Stanescu Dumitru; Lenka Foretova; Francesco Forastiere; John McLaughlin; Paul Demers Paul Demers; Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita; Joachim Schüz; Kurt Straif; Thomas Brüning Journal: Scand J Work Environ Health Date: 2015-07-08 Impact factor: 5.024
Authors: Kaitlin Kelly-Reif; Dale P Sandler; David Shore; Mary Schubauer-Berigan; Melissa A Troester; Leena Nylander-French; David B Richardson Journal: Occup Environ Med Date: 2019-06-05 Impact factor: 4.402
Authors: D B Richardson; E Rage; P A Demers; M T Do; N DeBono; N Fenske; V Deffner; M Kreuzer; J Samet; C Wiggins; M K Schubauer-Berigan; K Kelly-Reif; L Tomasek; L B Zablotska; D Laurier Journal: Int J Epidemiol Date: 2021-05-17 Impact factor: 7.196
Authors: S C Darby; E Whitley; G R Howe; S J Hutchings; R A Kusiak; J H Lubin; H I Morrison; M Tirmarche; L Tomásek; E P Radford Journal: J Natl Cancer Inst Date: 1995-03-01 Impact factor: 13.506