Definition of high-risk groups of workers formerly exposed to asbestos

Status:

completed 12/1992

Aims:

Preventive medical check-ups for early diagnosis of asbestos- related occupational diseases should be intensified for asbestos-exposed workers with a presumably increased health risk.

Activities/Methods:

Data relating to asbestos-exposed workers are stored at the central asbestos office ("Zentralstelle Asbest") of the German Berufsgenossenschaft (Institution for Statutory Insurance and Prevention) for the textile industry. These data have recently been supplemented by the attributes "suffering from the asbestos-related occupational disease no." and "no disease" which stem from the documentation on occupational diseases maintained by the Federation of the German Berufsgenossenschaften (Hauptverband der gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften). The exposed population was split up into approx. one hundred sub- populations for which the rates of already developed occupational diseases were determined. By means of regression analysis the thus obtained disease rate was attributed to the following risk parameters: duration of exposure, age and latency period. The results served to develop a risk model with the exposed workers being ranked according to risk level. The top of this hierarchy was defined to be the high-risk group.

Results:

The risk evaluation model was used to define a population of 636 exposed workers who were included in a study aimed to diagnose asbestos-related carcinoma at an early stage by means of high resolution computer tomography (cv. project no. FF0088 "Early diagnosis of asbestos-related carcinoma by means of high resolution computer tomography (HRCT)).

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