Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Fundus Photography as a Convenient Tool to Study Microvascular Responses to Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Epidemiological Studies
Published on: October 22, 2014
Retrospective cohort mortality study of workers engaged in motion picture film processing
Jon P Fryzek1, Bandana K Chadda, Sarah S Cohen
1International Epidemiology Institute, 1455 Research Boulevard, Suite 550, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. fryzek@iei.es
Objective:
To assess potential health risks associated with work in a large motion picture film-processing facility.
Methods:
A retrospective cohort mortality study was conducted during 1960-2000 among 2646 film workers. Job family categories, created from detailed employee work history information, were used to evaluate chemical exposure patterns.
Results:
Overall mortality was as expected (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0-1.2). Statistically significant associations were found for suicides (SMR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.2-3.0) among the hourly workers and AIDS (SMR = 5.3; 95% CI = 1.7-12.3) among the administrative workers. Film developers had increases of respiratory cancer (SMR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.1-3.0) and suicides (SMR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.0-4.7), whereas film assemblers had an increase in suicides (SMR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.2-4.4) only.
Conclusions:
Excess deaths resulting from suicides and AIDS among the workforce suggest that nonoccupational influences may be involved in the mortality of this cohort and warrant further investigations.
