TY - JOUR
T1 - A 56-year mortality follow-up of texas petroleum refinery and chemical employees, 1948-2003
AU - Tsai, Shan P.
AU - Ahmed, Farah S.
AU - Wendt, Judy K.
AU - Foster, Delia E.
AU - Donnelly, Robin P.
AU - Strawmyer, Thomas R.
PY - 2007/5
Y1 - 2007/5
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To further investigate the mortality risk of employees who worked in the petroleum refinery industry, we updated an earlier investigation by extending the mortality follow-up by an additional 14 years through 2003. METHODS: The cohort consisted of 10,621 employees with an average follow-up of 34 years. We used the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) adjusted for age, race, and calendar years as a measure of risk. RESULTS: Overall mortality (SMR = 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-0.79), all cancer mortality (SMR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.82-0.93), and most cause-specific mortalities for the total study population were lower than or similar to that of the population of Harris County, Texas. This study did not show a significant increase in leukemia in the total population or in any of the subgroups. The only statistically significant excess of mortality found in this study was an increase in mesothelioma among maintenance employees; the SMR was 4.78 (95% CI = 2.54-8.17) among employees who worked for a minimum of one year and was 7.51 (95% CI = 3.75-13.45) among those with 10 or more years of employment and 20 or more years of latency. CONCLUSIONS: After more than half a century of follow-up, employees at this facility continue to show more favorable mortality outcomes than the general local population. Overall, no statistically significant increase of leukemia or of any of the specific cell types was found. The increased mesothelioma is likely related to past exposure to asbestos.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To further investigate the mortality risk of employees who worked in the petroleum refinery industry, we updated an earlier investigation by extending the mortality follow-up by an additional 14 years through 2003. METHODS: The cohort consisted of 10,621 employees with an average follow-up of 34 years. We used the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) adjusted for age, race, and calendar years as a measure of risk. RESULTS: Overall mortality (SMR = 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-0.79), all cancer mortality (SMR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.82-0.93), and most cause-specific mortalities for the total study population were lower than or similar to that of the population of Harris County, Texas. This study did not show a significant increase in leukemia in the total population or in any of the subgroups. The only statistically significant excess of mortality found in this study was an increase in mesothelioma among maintenance employees; the SMR was 4.78 (95% CI = 2.54-8.17) among employees who worked for a minimum of one year and was 7.51 (95% CI = 3.75-13.45) among those with 10 or more years of employment and 20 or more years of latency. CONCLUSIONS: After more than half a century of follow-up, employees at this facility continue to show more favorable mortality outcomes than the general local population. Overall, no statistically significant increase of leukemia or of any of the specific cell types was found. The increased mesothelioma is likely related to past exposure to asbestos.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34248353577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34248353577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/JOM.0b013e318057777c
DO - 10.1097/JOM.0b013e318057777c
M3 - Article
C2 - 17495698
AN - SCOPUS:34248353577
VL - 49
SP - 557
EP - 567
JO - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JF - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
SN - 1076-2752
IS - 5
ER -