Lung cancer and air pollution

Cohen, AJ; Ca, P III

HERO ID

79193

Reference Type

Journal Article

Subtype

Review

Year

1995

Language

English

PMID

8741787

HERO ID 79193
Material Type Review
In Press No
Year 1995
Title Lung cancer and air pollution
Authors Cohen, AJ; Ca, P III
Journal Environmental Health Perspectives
Volume 1038
Page Numbers 219-224
Abstract Epidemiologic studies over the last 40 years suggest rather consistently that general ambient air pollution, chiefly due to the incomplete combustionof fossil fuels, may be responsible for increased rates of lung cancer. This evidence derives from studies of lung cancer trends, studies of occupational groups, comparisons of urban and rural populations, and case-control and cohort studies using diverse exposure metrics. Recent prospective cohort studies observed 30 to 50% increases in lung cancer rates associated with exposure to respirable particles. While these data reflect the effects of exposures in past decades, and despite some progress in reducing air pollution, large numbers of people in the United States continue to be exposed to pollutant mixtures containing known or suspected carcinogens. It is not known how many people in the United States are exposed to levels of fine respirable particles that have been associated with lung cancer in recent epidemiologic studies. These observations suggest that the most widely cited estimates of the proportional contribution of air pollution to lung cancer occurrence in the United States based largely on the results of animal studies,may be too low. It is important that better epidemiologic research be conducted to allow improved estimates of lung cancer risk from air pollution among the general population. The development and application of new epidemiologic methods, particularly the improved characterization of population-wide exposure to mixtures of air pollutants and the improved design of ecologic studies, could improve our ability to measure accurately the magnitude ofexcess cancer associated with air pollution.
Doi 10.2307/3432314
Pmid 8741787
Wosid WOS:000202841100017
Url http://www.jstor.org/stable/3432314?origin=crossref
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Comments ECRIB.Environ. Health Perspect. Suppl. 103(8): 219-224.
Is Public Yes
Language Text English
Keyword diesel; urban; sulfur dioxide; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; lung cancer; air pollution; exposure; fossil fuels; ambient air; combustion; coal workers; steel mill workers
Is Qa No