Cancer incidence among painters and some allied trades

Abstract

Few studies have been directed toward the identification of occupational hazards in such heterogeneous groups as construction workers. Workers in specific trades such as painters, plumbers and pipe fitters, and insulators have exposures that can be defined and an attempt has been made to assess any excess of cancer and other causes of death in those groups.

Retrospectively, three cohorts were defined: members of the painters' union and employees with certificates for insulation work and plumbing. The cohorts were followed up by record linkage with the yearly death registers kept by the Swedish Central Bureau of Statistics and the Swedish Cancer Registry. Each cohort was compared with Swedish males by comparisons between observed and expected numbers of cases.

The total number of deaths in the painter group was 2740, which did not deviate from the expected number. Nor was there a deviation in the insulation group, with 41 deaths. The number of deaths in the plumber group, 836, was significantly lower than expected. The total number of cancers in the painter group was 647. Those with more than 25 yr between entrance into the painters’ union and the first year of observation had a 15% excess of cancer, in contrast to those with less than 25 yr, who had a 2% excess.

The disease pattern among the painters showed a prominent excess of cancer of the esophagus, larynx, and intrahepatic bile ducts and an excess mortality from nonmalignant disease of the respiratory and the upper gastrointestinal tracts. In the plumber and pipe fitter group there was an almost twofold excess of deaths from cancer of the bronchus and lung and a more than twofold excess of cancer of the larynx.

Certain studies in the Swedish Cancer Registry files matched to the Population Census of 1960 confirmed the reported findings to a major extent. Other solvent‐exposed occupational groups seem to share the painters' experience of esophageal cancer excess.