Application of Standardized Proportional Mortality Ratio to the Assessment of Health Risk in Relatively Healthy Populations
Using a Study of Cancer Risk in Telecommunication Workers with Excess Exposure to Acid Mists as an Example
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15468841 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ying-Fong Ker (Los Angeles County Department of Public Health), Perng‐Jy Tsai (0000-0001-7933-916X, National Cheng Kung University), Perng-Jy Tsai (National Cheng Kung University), How‐Ran Guo (0000-0003-3343-3446, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 18 |
| Pages | 9870-9870 |
| Publication date | 2021-09-19 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph18189870 |
| PMID | 34574793 |
| OpenAlex | W3200982586 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 18 |
When a study population is relatively healthy, such as an occupational population, epidemiological studies are likely to underestimate risk. We used a case study on the cancer risk of workers with exposure to acid mists, a well-documented carcinogen, to demonstrate that using proportional mortality ratios (PMRs) is more appropriate than mortality ratios in assessing risk in terms of mortality. The study included 10,229 employees of a telecommunication company who worked in buildings with battery rooms. In these buildings, the battery rooms had the highest levels of sulfuric acid in the air (geometric mean = 10.7 μg/m 3 ). With the general population in Taiwan as a reference, a decreased standardized mortality ratio (0.42, p p = 0.01) and cancers of the digestive organs and peritoneum (1.61, p = 0.02), especially stomach cancer (2.94, p = 0.01). The results showed that PMR can detect increases in mortality when a study population is generally healthier than the comparison population and call for further studies on the possible carcinogenic effects of low-level acid mist exposures on the stomach
Cancer · Environmental health · Population · Standardized mortality ratio · Stomach cancer · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Demography · Injury Epidemiology and Prevention · Medicine · Occupational and environmental lung diseases · Epidemiology · Internal Medicine
| Highly cited | No |
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