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Early lung disease in asbestos-product workers

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Abstract

We attempted to detect early signs of asbestos-induced lung disease in groups of workers in a factory which manufactured heat-resistant and friction composites. Chest auscultation results, scored on the frequency, persistence, and distribution of rales, were 2+ in 25/79 asbestos-exposed workers (32%) vs. 1/22 non-exposed workers (5%). Vital capacity was slightly but significantly reduced in two of three subgroups of asbestos workers compared to non-exposed workers. Although none of the workers had asbestosis according to clinical criteria, and only 2 had more than slight parenchymal lesions on a 70 mm chest x-ray film, the asbestos-exposed men as a group had signs of early parenchymal lung disease which were absent or minimal in the control subjects. If medical examinations of asbestos workers are to be useful in detecting early lung disease in individuals or are to serve as a "biological monitor" of the work environment, they should at least include chest auscultation, as well as lung function tests which are adequately standardized to allow definition of slight degrees of lung function loss.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University Lung Research Center, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A.

    C. A. Mitchell, M. Charney & J. B. Schoenberg

Authors
  1. C. A. Mitchell
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  2. M. Charney
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  3. J. B. Schoenberg
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Additional information

Supported in part by U.S.P.H.S. Grant HL-14179 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health.

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Mitchell, C.A., Charney, M. & Schoenberg, J.B. Early lung disease in asbestos-product workers. Lung 154, 261–272 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02713542

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02713542

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