The New England journal of medicine
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To estimate the effects on health of occupational exposure to crocidolite, a highly toxic form of asbestos, we studied a cohort of 33 men who worked in 1953 in a Massachusetts factory that manufactured cigarette filters containing crocidolite fibers from 1951 to 1957. Twenty-eight of the men have died, as compared with 8.3 deaths expected. This increased mortality was attributable to asbestos-associated diseases. ⋯ In contrast, the mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases and all other causes were not increased. Four of the five living workers have pulmonary asbestosis; three of them have recently diagnosed cancers, including two additional lung cancers. We conclude that the extremely high morbidity and mortality in these workers were caused by intense exposure to crocidolite asbestos fibers.
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Comparative Study
Disparities in incidence of diabetic end-stage renal disease according to race and type of diabetes.
The incidence of end-stage renal disease in patients with diabetes mellitus is reportedly higher among blacks than among whites. This finding may be explained by the greater prevalence of diabetes among blacks. The relation of the type of diabetes to the risk of diabetic end-stage renal disease is largely unstudied. ⋯ For both races combined, the risk of diabetic end-stage renal disease during the 10-year period we studied was markedly greater for patients with IDDM (5.8 percent) than for those with NIDDM (0.5 percent). Our results indicate an increased risk of diabetic end-stage renal disease among blacks as compared with whites, particularly blacks with NIDDM. Although the risk of diabetic end-stage renal disease is higher in patients with IDDM, the majority of patients with diabetic end-stage renal disease in the population we studied had NIDDM.
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Editorial Comment
Diabetic renal disease in blacks--inevitable or preventable?