Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Induction of Mouse Lung Injury by Endotracheal Injection of Bleomycin
Published on: April 30, 2019
Increased lung cancer risk among bricklayers in an Italian population-based case-control study
Dario Consonni1, Sara De Matteis, Angela C Pesatori
1Unit of Epidemiology, Department of Preventive Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy. dario.consonni@unimi.it
Background:
Bricklayers may be at increased risk of lung cancer, although a firm association has not been established. We examined this association within the EAGLE (Environment And Genetics in Lung cancer Etiology) study, a population-based case-control study conducted in Italy between 2002 and 2005.
Methods:
For men in selected occupations in the construction sector we calculated smoking-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). For bricklayers we estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) and the attributable community risk (ACR).
Results:
We found increased lung cancer risk for bricklayers (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.12-2.21; 147 cases, 81 controls). The PAF was 3.5% (95% CI 0.6-6.3), corresponding to an ACR of 3.6 cases annually per 100,000 men (95% CI 0.6-6.6) [corrected] in the whole community. Among bricklayers, there were increased risks for squamous cell (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.32-3.13, 56 exposed cases) and small cell carcinomas (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.29-4.07, 21 exposed cases), while no excess (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.68-1.65, 41 exposed cases) was found for adenocarcinoma.
Conclusions:
Our findings provide additional evidence of increased lung cancer risk in Italian bricklayers. The association is plausible because they are exposed to several carcinogens, notably crystalline silica.
Related Concept Videos
Brick Classifications
Brick Masonry
For thicker walls, multiple wythes are bonded together using...
Cancer Prevention
Some...
Mortar Joints in Brick Masonry
The process of joint tooling is implemented as the mortar begins to harden. This technique involves compacting and shaping the mortar to enhance both the appearance and the...
Bricks
Soft mud bricks are shaped in molds with high moisture content and can be...
Reinforced Brick Masonry
To fortify brick walls...
