Nihon Kyōbu Shikkan Gakkai zasshi
-
Nihon Kyobu Shikkan Gakkai Zasshi · Apr 1996
[Epidemiologic survey of pleural plaques among inhabitants of Matsubase exposed to asbestos].
A high prevalence of pleural plaques (41.5%, 148/357) was found during a mass screening for lung cancer in Matsubase town in 1988. The inhabitants of this town were carefully studied each year from 1988 to 1993. The vast majority (81.2%) of inhabitants over the age of 20 years underwent chest roentgenography at least once during this period. ⋯ The death rates and the adjusted mortality rates due to lung cancer in Matsubase were lower than in surrounding towns and lower than in Kumamoto prefecture as a whole. These results indicate that there is now no environmental contamination by asbestos fibers in Matsubase town. No cases of malignant mesothelioma have been confirmed in this town during the past 17 years.