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Extended follow-up of a cohort of British chemical workers exposed to formaldehyde

Extended follow-up of a cohort of British chemical workers exposed to formaldehyde
Extended follow-up of a cohort of British chemical workers exposed to formaldehyde
Background: Formaldehyde is mutagenic and, when inhaled at high concentrations, carcinogenic in rats. Some epidemiologic studies have linked occupational exposure to formaldehyde with cancers of the nose, nasopharynx, and lung, but the evidence for human carcinogenicity has been inconsistent and requires clarification.
Methods: We extended by 11 years the follow-up of an existing cohort of 14 014 men employed after 1937 at six British factories where formaldehyde was produced or used. Subjects had been identified from employment records, and their jobs had been classified for potential exposure to formaldehyde. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were derived using the person-years method and were compared with the expected numbers of deaths for the national population.
Results: During follow-up through December 31, 2000, 5185 deaths were recorded, including two from sino-nasal cancer (2.3 expected) and one from nasopharyngeal cancer (2.0 expected). Relative to the national population, mortality from lung cancer was increased among those who worked with formaldehyde, particularly in men in the highest of four estimated exposure categories (>2 ppm) (SMR = 1.58, 95% confidence interval = 1.40 to 1.78), and the increase persisted after adjustment for local geographic variations in mortality (SMR = 1.28, 95% confidence interval = 1.13 to 1.44). However, there was a statistically nonsignificant decrease in the risk of death from lung cancer with duration of high exposure (Ptrend = .18), and this risk showed no trend with time since first high exposure (Ptrend = .99).
Conclusions: The evidence for human carcinogenicity of formaldehyde remains unconvincing. Although a small effect on sino-nasal or nasopharyngeal cancer cannot be ruled out, a possible increase in the risk of lung cancer is a greater concern.
0027-8874
1608-1615
Coggon, David
2b43ce0a-cc61-4d86-b15d-794208ffa5d3
Harris, E. Clare
3e4bd946-3f09-45a1-8725-d35e80dd7971
Poole, Jason
88c69acd-8ff1-4d82-bd3d-8ea1720557e1
Palmer, Keith T.
0cfe63f0-1d33-40ff-ae8c-6c33601df850
Coggon, David
2b43ce0a-cc61-4d86-b15d-794208ffa5d3
Harris, E. Clare
3e4bd946-3f09-45a1-8725-d35e80dd7971
Poole, Jason
88c69acd-8ff1-4d82-bd3d-8ea1720557e1
Palmer, Keith T.
0cfe63f0-1d33-40ff-ae8c-6c33601df850

Coggon, David, Harris, E. Clare, Poole, Jason and Palmer, Keith T. (2003) Extended follow-up of a cohort of British chemical workers exposed to formaldehyde. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 95 (21), 1608-1615. (doi:10.1093/jnci/djg046).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Formaldehyde is mutagenic and, when inhaled at high concentrations, carcinogenic in rats. Some epidemiologic studies have linked occupational exposure to formaldehyde with cancers of the nose, nasopharynx, and lung, but the evidence for human carcinogenicity has been inconsistent and requires clarification.
Methods: We extended by 11 years the follow-up of an existing cohort of 14 014 men employed after 1937 at six British factories where formaldehyde was produced or used. Subjects had been identified from employment records, and their jobs had been classified for potential exposure to formaldehyde. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were derived using the person-years method and were compared with the expected numbers of deaths for the national population.
Results: During follow-up through December 31, 2000, 5185 deaths were recorded, including two from sino-nasal cancer (2.3 expected) and one from nasopharyngeal cancer (2.0 expected). Relative to the national population, mortality from lung cancer was increased among those who worked with formaldehyde, particularly in men in the highest of four estimated exposure categories (>2 ppm) (SMR = 1.58, 95% confidence interval = 1.40 to 1.78), and the increase persisted after adjustment for local geographic variations in mortality (SMR = 1.28, 95% confidence interval = 1.13 to 1.44). However, there was a statistically nonsignificant decrease in the risk of death from lung cancer with duration of high exposure (Ptrend = .18), and this risk showed no trend with time since first high exposure (Ptrend = .99).
Conclusions: The evidence for human carcinogenicity of formaldehyde remains unconvincing. Although a small effect on sino-nasal or nasopharyngeal cancer cannot be ruled out, a possible increase in the risk of lung cancer is a greater concern.

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Published date: 2003

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 24302
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/24302
ISSN: 0027-8874
PURE UUID: a7d2860d-1ed0-4f1a-95ca-ef1eeb5ec206
ORCID for David Coggon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1930-3987
ORCID for E. Clare Harris: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8037-566X

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Date deposited: 29 Mar 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:53

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Contributors

Author: David Coggon ORCID iD
Author: E. Clare Harris ORCID iD
Author: Jason Poole
Author: Keith T. Palmer

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