摘要：The objective of this paper is to investigate mortality among 1247 male asbestos-cement
workers employed in an asbestos-cement plant located in Naples. The cohort included 1247 men
hired between 1950 and 1986. The follow-up began on January 1st 1965. The vital status and causes
of death were ascertained up to December 31 2005. Cause-specific mortality rates of the Campania
Region population were used as reference. Relative risks were estimated using Standardized Mortality
Ratios (SMRs), and the confidence intervals were calculated at a 95% level (95% CI). A significant
increase in mortality was observed for respiratory disease (81 deaths; SMR = 187; 95% CI = 149-
233), particularly for pneumoconiosis (42 deaths; SMR = 13 313; 95% CI = 9595-17 996) of which
41 deaths for asbestosis (SMR = 43 385; 95% CI = 31 134-58 857), for pleural cancer (24 deaths;
SMR = 2617; 95% CI = 1677-3893), for lung cancer (84 deaths; SMR=153; 95% CI = 122-189) and
for peritoneal cancer (9 deaths; SMR = 1985; 95% CI = 908-3769). Non-significant increases were
also observed for rectum cancer (6 deaths; SMR = 157; 95% CI = 58-342). In conclusion, consistently
with other mortality studies on asbestos-cement workers performed in different countries, an
increased mortality from asbestosis, lung cancer, pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma was detected
in the present cohort.
