Organic cotton dust may reduce lung cancer risk
recent studies report a lower than expected mortality in lung cancer among workers exposed to organic dust.Here are two recent ones with the same remarkable outcome:
Lung and other cancer site mortality in a cohort of Italian cotton mill workers
Evaluation of the mortality from lung and other cancer sites in a cohort of 3961 Italian cotton mill workers, divided into those working with carding (exposed to high levels of endotoxin-containing cotton dust) and other tasks, which generally have lower exposure.
Standardised mortality ratios were calculated using death rates of the regional general population as a reference. Cancer mortality was analysed in relation to the length of employment in the two task groups.
Among workers in carding departments, the incidence of lung cancer mortality was reduced the longer a worker had been employed. No reduced risks were found for other forms of cancer, nor for those working with other tasks. The results support the conclusion that a high and prolonged exposure to cotton dust and other endotoxin-containing organic dusts is related to a lower risk of lung cancer.
Lung cancer risk among textile workers in Lithuania
The purpose of this study was to investigate risk of lung cancer incidence in textile industry workers by the type of job and evaluate the relation between occupational textile dusts exposure and lung cancer risk in a cohort.
Altogether 14650 textile workers were included in this retrospective study and were followed from 1978 to 2002. The lung cancer risk for male in the cotton textile production unit was significantly lower after 10 years of employment and decreased with level of exposure to textile dust.
