Historical Cohort Study of Male Styrene-Based Products Manufacturers: A 33-Year Mortality Update

This study aimed to evaluate if workers exposed to styrene in the development of styrene-based products experienced elevated cancer mortality or mortality risk.

We added 33 years of mortality follow-up to this cohort of 2903 male workers involved in the development of styrene-based products for at least 1 year from 1937 through 1970. We generated standardized mortality ratios by comparing observed and expected deaths in the cohort based on national- and state-level age-, and time-specific mortality rates.

In national- and state-level comparisons accounting for 20+ years of latency, we identified deficits in mortality due to all causes, all cancers, cerebrovascular disease, and heart disease and found no statistically significant elevations in mortality due to various cancers.

This analysis did not yield any consistent evidence of elevated cancer mortality among styrene-exposed workers.