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Cohort Mortality Study of Workers Exposed to Perfluorooctanoic Acid.
- Source :
-
American Journal of Epidemiology . Nov2012, Vol. 176 Issue 10, p909-917. 9p. - Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is persistent in the human body; the general population has serum levels of approximately 4 ng/mL. It causes tumors of the liver, pancreas, and testicles in rodents. The authors studied the mortality of 5,791 workers exposed to PFOA at a DuPont chemical plant in West Virginia, using a newly developed job exposure matrix based on serum data for 1,308 workers from 1979–2004. The estimated average serum PFOA level was 350 ng/mL. The authors used 2 referent groups: other DuPont workers in the region and the US population. In comparison with other DuPont workers, cause-specific mortality was elevated for mesothelioma (standardized mortality ratio (SMR) = 2.85, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 6.20), diabetes mellitus (SMR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.61), and chronic renal disease (SMR = 3.11, 95% CI: 1.66, 5.32). Significant positive exposure-response trends occurred for both malignant and nonmalignant renal disease (12 and 13 deaths, respectively). PFOA is concentrated in the kidneys of rodents, and there are prior findings of elevated kidney cancer in this cohort. Multiple-cause mortality analyses tended to support the results of underlying-cause analyses. No exposure-response trend was seen for diabetes or heart disease mortality. In conclusion, the authors found evidence of positive exposure-response trends for malignant and nonmalignant renal disease. These results were limited by small numbers and restriction to mortality data, which are of limited relevance for several nonfatal outcomes of a priori interest. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Subjects :
- *MORTALITY
*DIABETES
*INDUSTRY classification
*ATTRIBUTION (Social psychology)
*CHRONIC kidney failure
*COMPARATIVE studies
*CONFIDENCE intervals
*CAUSES of death
*EPIDEMIOLOGY
*FLUOROCARBONS
*KIDNEY tumors
*LIFE expectancy
*LONGITUDINAL method
*MESOTHELIOMA
*REFERENCE values
*RESEARCH funding
*STATISTICS
*WATER supply
*DEATH certificates
*OCCUPATIONAL hazards
*DATA analysis
*ENVIRONMENTAL exposure
*SECONDARY analysis
*STATISTICAL models
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
MORTALITY risk factors
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00029262
- Volume :
- 176
- Issue :
- 10
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 83483834
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kws171