Envir. Health Perspective....air pollution and lung cancer

["Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <asagady@sojourn.com> (by way of "Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <asagady@sojourn.com>)]

> Air Pollution and Lung Cancer in Trieste, Italy: Spatial Analysis of
> Risk as a Function of Distance from Sources
> 
> Annibale Biggeri (1), Fabio Barbone (2,3), Corrado Lagazio(1), Massimo
> Bovenzi (4), and Giorgio Stanta (5)
> 
> (1) Department of Statistics "G. Parenti," University of Florence,
> Florence, Italy; (2) Unit of Hygiene and Epidemiology, DPMSC,
> University of Udine, Udine, Italy; (3) Epidemiology Unit, Aviano
> Cancer Center, Aviano, Italy; (4) Institute of Occupational Medicine,
> University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy; (5) Institute of Pathology,
> Cancer Registry of the Province of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Abstract
> 
> To investigate the relationship between four sources of environmental
> pollution (shipyard, iron foundry, incinerator, and city center) and
> lung cancer risk, we conducted a case-control study of deceased men in
> Trieste, Italy. We identified 755 cases of lung cancer and 755
> controls through the local autopsy registry. Information on smoking
> habits, occupational history, and place of residence were obtained
> from the subject's next of kin. The case-control design was used to
> properly account for subject-specific confounders, which represent a
> major problem in geographical analysis. Spatial models were used to
> evaluate the effect of sources of pollution on lung cancer after
> adjustment for age, smoking habits, likelihood of exposure to
> occupational carcinogens, and levels of air particulate. The models
> are based on distance from the sources and enable estimation of the
> risk gradient and directional effects separately for each source. The
> risk of lung cancer was highly related to the city center (p =
> 0.0243), with an excess relative risk at zero distance of 2.2 and a
> smooth decrease moving away from the source (-0.015), and related to
> the incinerator (p = 0.0098), with an excess relative risk of 6.7 in
> the source and a very steep decrease (-0.176). These results are
> consistent with findings of previous analyses and provide further
> evidence that air pollution is a moderate risk factor of lung cancer.
> Key words: air pollution, epidemiology, geographical analysis, lung
> cancer. Environ Health Perspect 104:750-754 (1996)
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> [Table of Contents]
> 
> Last Update: July 8,
1996http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1996/104(7)/biggeri.html