Comprehensive consideration is necessary for setting guidelines to evaluate evidence of occupational cancer in painters due to work-related exposure to carcinogens in paint (a phenomenon termed herein as “work-relatedness”). The aim of the present research is to perform a comprehensive review and to suggest criteria for the provision of compensation for occupational neoplasm among painters in Korea. In order to perform a comprehensive review, this study assessed and evaluated scientific reports of carcinogenicities from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), as well as reviewed the existing literature about occupational exposure among painters in Korea and the epidemiologic investigations of claimed cases of cancer among painters in Korea. The IARC declares that occupational exposures in commercial painting are classified as Group 1 carcinogens for lung cancer and bladder cancer among painters. The epidemiologic studies show consistent causal relationships between occupational exposure in painters and cancers such as lung cancer [meta relative risk: 1.34 (95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.23-1.41)] and bladder cancer [meta relative risk: 1.24 (95% CIs: 1.16-1.33)]. In reviewing occupational cancer risks for commercial painters, the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) confirms occupational cancer risks for lung and bladder cancer among commercial painters. According to the IIAC, however, the elevated cancer risks reported in existing literature are not doubled in either lung or bladder cancer in commercial painters relative to the risks of these cancers in the general population. Based on our review of existing Korean articles on the topic, painters are exposed to potential carcinogens including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene, hexavalent chrome, crystalized silica, asbestos, and other agents, and relative levels are estimated within commercial painting processes. However, the cancer risks of occupational exposure to Group 1 carcinogens for lung and bladder cancer in painters per se are not fully assessed in existing Korean articles. Total work duration, potential carcinogens in paint, mixed exposure to paints across various industries such as construction and shipbuilding, exposure periods, latent periods, and other factors should be considered on an individual basis in investigating the work-relatedness of certain types of cancer in commercial painters.
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The aim of this study was to evaluate factors associated with increased risk of mortality from pneumonia among patients with pneumoconiosis.
Medical records of 103 pneumoconiosis patients hospitalized for pneumonia were investigated. Seven patients who had lung cancer or other malignancy and 13 patients with insufficient medical record were excluded. Two female patients were excluded due to small number to analyze. The subjects were divided into two groups by clinical outcome of pneumonia, the deceased group and the survival group. The two groups were compared in terms of age, smoking history, episode of recent pneumonia, concomitancy of interstitial fibrosis or fungal ball infection, extent of small opacities, grade of large opacities and results of spirometry. Multiple logistic regression was applied to determine the association between these variables and mortality from pneumonia.
The deceased group showed more frequent history of recent pneumonia (
The concomitancy of fungal ball or interstitial fibrosis, history of recent pneumonia within last 90 days, type of pneumoconiosis, FVC less than 70 % of predicted value, FEV1 less than 70 % of predicted value presented statistically significant association with mortality from pneumonia. More attention should be given to patients who have such factors when treating pneumonia with pneumoconiosis.
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Cigarette smoking is known as the most important risk factor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, occupational exposure to other substances can result in COPD.
A 76-year-old man with occupational exposures to mixtures of silica dust, gas, and fumes for 10 years and with a 25 pack-year smoking history was diagnosed with COPD. His computed tomogram scan revealed some hyperinflation with emphysematous change in both upper lobes. In the pulmonary function tests, his post-bronchodilator forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and FEV1/FVC% were 2.20 L (67% of the predicted value), 1.12 L (52% of the predicted value), and 51%, respectively, indicating moderate COPD. This case of COPD was confirmed as a work-related disease by the Occupational Lung Disease Research Institute in Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service.
Exposure to various substances such as silica dust, gas, and fumes from furnace and boiler installation was likely the cause of COPD in this patient. Thus, occupational exposure should be considered an important risk factor of COPD.
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