Global Magnitude of Reported and Unreported Mesothelioma

EK Park, K Takahashi, T Hoshuyama, TJ Cheng, V Delgermaa, GV Le, Thomas Sorahan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

134 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Little is known about the global magnitude of mesothelioma. In particular, many developing countries, including some with extensive historical use of asbestos, do not report mesothelioma. OBJECTIVES We estimated the global magnitude of mesothelioma accounting for reported and unreported cases. METHODS For all countries with available data on mesothelioma frequency and asbestos use (n=56), we calculated the 15-year cumulative number of mesotheliomas during 1994-2008 from data available for fewer years and assessed its relationship with levels of cumulative asbestos use during 1920-1970. We used this relationship to predict the number of unreported mesotheliomas in countries for which no information on mesothelioma is available but which have recorded asbestos use (n=33). RESULTS Within the group of 56 countries with data on mesothelioma occurrence and asbestos use, the 15-year cumulative number of mesothelioma was approximately 174,300. There was a statistically significant positive linear relation between the log-transformed national cumulative mesothelioma numbers and the log-transformed cumulative asbestos use (adjusted R(2)=0.83, p
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)514-518
Number of pages5
JournalEnvironmental Health Perspectives
Volume119
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Jan 2011

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