Research
Estimating the incidence of lung cancer attributable to occupational exposure in Iran
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* Corresponding author: Alireza Mosavi-Jarrahi rmosavi@yahoo.com
1 Dept of Public Health and Social Medicine, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Tehran, Iran
2 The Cancer Institute Research Center, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
3 Dept of Health Economic, Medical School, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
4 Environmental health and safety office, The Bureau of Development and Renovation organization of Mine and Mineral industries, Tehran, Iran
Population Health Metrics 2009, 7:7 doi:10.1186/1478-7954-7-7
Published: 12 May 2009Abstract
Objective
The aim of this study was to estimate the fraction of lung cancer incidence in Iran attributed to occupational exposures to the well-established lung cancer carcinogens, including silica, cadmium, nickel, arsenic, chromium, diesel fumes, beryllium, and asbestos.
Methods
Nationwide exposure to each of the mentioned carcinogens was estimated using workforce data from the Iranian population census of 1995, available from the International Labor Organization (ILO) website. The prevalence of exposure to carcinogens in each industry was estimated using exposure data from the CAREX (CARcinogen EXposure) database, an international occupational carcinogen information system kept and maintained by the European Union. The magnitude of the relative risk of lung cancer for each carcinogen was estimated from local and international literature. Using the Levin modified population attributable risk (incidence) fraction, lung cancer incidence (as estimated by the Tehran Population-Based Cancer Registry) attributable to workplace exposure to carcinogens was estimated.
Results
The total workforce in Iran according to the 1995 census identified 12,488,020 men and 677,469 women. Agriculture is the largest sector with 25% of the male and 0.27% of female workforce. After applying the CAREX exposure estimate to each sector, the proportion exposed to lung carcinogens was 0.08% for male workers and 0.02% for female workers. Estimating a relative risk of 1.9 (95% CI of 1.7–2.1) for high exposure and 1.3 (95% CI 1.2–1.4) for low exposure, and employing the Levin modified formula, the fraction of lung cancer attributed to carcinogens in the workplace was 1.5% (95% CI of 1.2–1.9) for females and 12% (95% CI of 10–15) for males. These fractions correspond to an estimated incidence of 1.3 and 0.08 cases of lung cancer per 100,000 population for males and females, respectively.
Conclusion
The incidence of lung cancer due to occupational exposure is low in Iran and, as in other countries, more lung cancer is due to occupational exposure among males than females.