2004/04/07 by Ben Armstrong, Emma Hutchinson, John Unwin +1 · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Health Professions · Medicine · #Air Quality and Health Impacts #Noise Effects and Management #Occupational and environmental lung diseases
paper · doi:10.1289/ehp.6895
openalex publication_date 2004/04/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Typical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures are established lung carcinogens, but the quantitative exposure-response relationship is less clear. To clarify this relationship we conducted a review and meta-analysis of published reports of occupational epidemiologic studies. Thirty-nine cohorts were included. The average estimated unit relative risk (URR) at 100 Mu g/m (superscript)3(/superscript) years benzo[a]pyrene was 1.20 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11-1.29] and was not sensitive to particular studies or analytic methods. However, the URR varied by industry. The estimated means in coke ovens, gasworks, and aluminum production works were similar (1.15-1.17). Average URRs in other industries were higher but imprecisely estimated, with those for asphalt (17.5; CI, 4.21-72.78) and chimney sweeps (16.2; CI, 1.64-160.7) significantly higher than the three above. There was no statistically significant variation of URRs within industry or in relation to study design (including whether adjusted for smoking), or source of exposure information. Limited information on total dust exposure did not suggest that dust exposure was an important confounder or modified the effect. These results provide a more secure basis for risk assessment than was previously available.