Asbestos Causes Mesothelioma in Men More Often than in Women
A recent study conducted at the University of Western Australia reports that after asbestos exposure, men are more likely than women to develop malignant mesothelioma.
Reuters Health recently reported the findings of the study, directed by Alison Reid, which involved people exposed to asbestos at Wittenoom in Western Australia. “This was an asbestos mining and milling town that closed in 1966, but still provides us with a legacy of asbestos-related diseases,” Reid told Reuters.
The study followed 4700 former residents of the town who were not employed in the milling and mining industry but were nonetheless exposed to the mineral by virtue of their residency, says Reid.
The study showed that deaths rates from mesothelioma were higher “with increasing length of residence†and were consistently lower for women than for men.
As a matter of fact, men had more than four times the rate of mesothelioma as women, after accounting for cumulative asbestos exposure and age at first residence.
“People who were at least 15 years old when they were first exposed to the asbestos-laden environment were 2.4 times more likely to die of mesothelioma than those who were younger than 15 years at first exposure,†the researchers noted in their report.
“The asbestos epidemic is almost past its peak in the developed world,” Ms. Reid stressed, “but elsewhere it will just be starting. It is still being used in many developing countries — where they have little or no regulation about its use, worker protection, or means of treatment.”
