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Asbestos and tuberculosis in Trieste, Italy
Journal of Occupational Medicine. : Official Publication of the Industrial Medical Association
|November 1, 1985
Summary
Asbestos exposure at environmental levels did not increase tuberculosis risk in lung tissue analysis. High asbestos exposure combined with high community tuberculosis rates may be necessary to potentiate risk.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Occupational Health
Background:
- Tuberculosis (TB) mortality has historically been elevated in asbestos-exposed worker cohorts.
- Environmental asbestos exposure levels may differ significantly from occupational exposures.
- The relationship between environmental asbestos exposure and tuberculosis risk is not well-defined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between asbestos body counts in lung tissue and fibrocaseous tuberculosis.
- To determine if environmental asbestos exposure is a risk factor for tuberculosis.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of asbestos body distribution in lung specimens from 25 individuals with fibrocaseous tuberculosis.
- Comparison with age- and sex-matched control subjects.
- Assessment of environmental asbestos exposure in a region with a history of heavy asbestos use.
Main Results:
- The distribution of asbestos bodies in the lungs of tuberculosis patients was similar to that of control subjects.
- Environmental asbestos exposure levels in the studied region were not associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis.
- A combination of high community tuberculosis risk and intense personal asbestos exposure may be required to increase TB mortality risk.
Conclusions:
- Environmental asbestos exposure, at levels found in areas with a history of heavy use, does not appear to increase tuberculosis risk.
- Potentiation of tuberculosis risk by asbestos likely requires both high community TB prevalence and significant personal asbestos exposure.