Effects of environmental asbestos exposure on lung health

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Objectives: Environmental asbestos exposure and related diseases are seen in our region. The study was planned to investigate the long term effects of asbestos exposure and to research the frequency of asbestos related diseases in a region that asbestos has been used for many years.Materials and methods: The population aged 30 or older who permanently live in this region were scanned by a microfilm scanning team. The questionnaire was performed to the people to evaluate the level of knowledge about asbestos, the complaints and smoking habits. The physical examinations of the people were carried out, microfilms were taken and spirometric analyses were performed.Results: A total of 102 person, 56 (54.9%) women and 46 (45.1%) men with the mean age of 56.4±12.9 (30-80) years were included. 99 (97.1%) of people had used asbestos previously except for past 15 years. People had used asbestos for 33.1±15.9 years. Significant relationships were found between negative asbestos effects and age 60 years (p 0,001), 30 years of asbestos exposure (p= 0,028), use of oven made by asbestos 30 days (p= 0,015). Coughing (p=0,04), sputum (p=0,03) and dyspnea (p=0,05) were significantly higher in the affected group. Malignant pleural mesothelioma was found in one (0.9 %) person, calcified pleural plaque in 26 (25.5%), pleural thickness in 7 (6.9 %) and prevalences of these disorders were calculated as 204/100.000, 5306/100.000, 1428/100.000, respectively.Conclusion: Environmental asbestos exposure is a serious public health problem in investigated area. Training programs and preventive measures may be beneficial for restrain asbestos use.

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Asbestos , environmental exposure , mesothelioma , microfilming , lung health

Dicle Medical Journal

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Dicle Medical Journal