Documents Marinaccio, Alessandro 24 results

"BACKGROUND:
The costs of productivity loss due to occupational cancer mortality are rarely investigated. An estimate of occupational cancer deaths in Italy in 2006 and an approximation of the resultant costs from medical and non-medical expenditures together with figures of remuneration lost are provided.
METHODS:
Occupational cancer deaths, obtained from the application of the attributable fraction (AF) to mortality data (source: Italian National Institute of Statistics), were used to calculate the Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLLs), the Potential Years of Working Life Lost (PYWLLs) and the costs of the loss of productive life. The health care costs for any cancer was applied to the estimated number of occupational cancer cases to obtain the total cost.
RESULTS:
Around 8,000-8,500 deaths/year from occupational cancer are estimated to occur in Italy, corresponding to 170,000 PYLLs and more than 16,000 PYWLLs, leading to around 360,000,000?euros in indirect economic loss. Health care costs of occupational cancer are estimated at 456,000,000?euros.
CONCLUSIONS:
Occupational cancer is of major concern in terms of mortality and economic productivity loss. Preventive efforts in evaluating ongoing risks and current exposures are strongly recommended to health policy-makers."

"OBJECTIVE:
To analyze data stored in the National Register of Occupational Cancers, set up by law at the Italian Institute for Occupational Safety and Prevention.
METHODS:
Statistical analyses were performed on economic activity, cancer site, and carcinogenic agent. Mesothelioma cases were excluded because they were exhaustively recorded and managed in a proper register.
RESULTS:
The number of cancers diagnosed between 1995 and 2008 was 936 (92% men). Lung cancer was the most frequently reported neoplasm (58% of cases). The metal industry had the highest reporting percentage (15%), and silica was the most common causative agent (20%).
CONCLUSIONS:
Despite some limits and incompleteness pertaining to data flow, the results of this study are in accordance with epidemiological findings on occupational cancer risks. The collection of information on occupational cancers is of primary importance to plan targeted prevention programs."

"Objectives:
To estimate cause specific mortality in a large cohort of Italian workers compensated for silicosis.
Methods:
The cohort included 14 929 subjects (14 098 men and 831 women) compensated for silicosis between 1946 and 1979, alive on 1 January 1980, and resident in Tuscany (a region of central Italy with 3 547 000 inhabitants). Mortality follow up ranged from 1980 to 1999. Vital status and the causes of death were determined by linkage with the regional mortality registry and with the national mortality database. The cohort mortality rates were compared to the rates of the local reference population. SMRs and their 95% confidence intervals were computed assuming a Poisson distribution of the observed deaths. Specific SMR analyses were performed according to the level of disability, the year of compensation assignment, and the job type.
Results:
A significant excess mortality was observed in male silicotics for cancer of the lung, trachea, and bronchus and cancer of the liver, respiratory diseases (silicosis, asbestosis, antracosilicosis, and other pneumoconiosis), and for tubercolosis. Statistically significant mortality excess was observed in female silicotics for respiratory diseases (specifically silicosis and other pneumoconiosis) and tuberculosis. Analyses for period of compensation assignment showed a twofold increased SMR for biliary tract cancer among female workers and for liver cancer among male workers compensated before 1970.
Conclusions:
The excess mortality from respiratory tract cancers and respiratory tract diseases detected in Italian compensated silicotics are in agreement with previous epidemiological studies. Although the twofold increased risk for liver cancer among males is suggestive of a possible association with silica dust exposure, the finding needs to be confirmed. "

"BACKGROUNDThe legislative framework for the epidemiological surveillance of asbestos exposure is defined by the obligation of recording exposure as set forth by Legislative Decree no. 277/1991, amended by Legislative Decree no. 626/1994 and, recently consolidated by Legislative Decree no. 81/2008. On the basis of these regulations, the Italian National Institute for Occupational Safety and Prevention (ISPESL) has established an information system for recording exposure to asbestos at work.OBJECTIVES The main aim is to describe the distribution by geographical location and economic activity of the firms that sent data on asbestos exposure to ISPESL as well as the potential and weaknesses of the system.METHODS The criteria for classifying the information received and the main issues encountered during data recording are highlighted in this study. Moreover, descriptive analyses are carried out by economic activity of the firm, type of asbestos, and geographical location of the site. Finally, the time trends in exposure measurements are analysed.RESULTS The ISPESL notifications database contains 112 firms, 1,700 worksites, 1,447 workers, 12,121 exposures and 3,862 measurements of exposure to asbestos. The arithmetic mean of the exposure level is 0.019 f/cc, and the most common occupation reported was “removal of asbestos insulation”, which has a mean level of exposure of 0.021 f/cc."

"Objective The aim of this study is to analyze occupational cancer claims compensated in the industrial sector in Italy between 1994 and 2006. Methods A descriptive analysis of compensated occupational cancers based on the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL) data was performed. Summary statistics were compiled by sex and age of worker, cancer type, workplace agent and economic sector. The temporal trend in the period 1994-2006 was investigated for the most frequently compensated cancers (mesothelioma and lung cancer from asbestos; nasal cavities cancer from wood and leather dust). Results Between 1994 and 2006, 6,243 cancer claims were compensated by INAIL due to occupational exposure in the industrial sector. Most (5,288, or 85%) of these compensated claims occurred in the period 2000-2006, when the annual mean of the most compensated cancers increased approximately four times compared to the period 1994-1999. Conclusions There is an increasing trend in compensation for work-related cancers in Italy in recent years, even if occupational cancers are still widely underreported."

"La loi italienne sur la sécurité au travail (décret-loi 626/94) prévoit l'établissement d'un registre national des cancers professionnels sous la tutelle de l'Institut national de la santé au travail (ISPESL), qui a pour mission d'identifi er à la fois les activités associées à un risque de cancer et les cas de cancers susceptibles d'avoir une origine professionnelle. L'Institut national du cancer de Milan et l'ISPESL ont commencé à travailler ensemble en 2000 afi n d'évaluer le potentiel d'utilisation de la base de données informatisée sur les emplois qui était tenue à jour depuis 1974 par l'Institut national italien de la sécurité sociale (INPS). Ce dernier conserve, année par année, les noms des entreprises et secteurs industriels qui emploient les travailleurs italiens du secteur privé."

"The Italian Occupational Safety Act (legislative decree 626/94) provides for the establishment of a nation-wide occupational cancer registry, under the auspices of the National Institute for Occupational Health (ISPESL), tasked with identifying both activities associated with a risk of cancer, and cancer cases likely to be of occupational origin. With a view to setting-up such a system, the National Cancer Institute of Milan and ISPESL began working together in 2000 to evaluate the potential of using the computerized past employment database kept since 1974 by the Italian National Institute for Social Security (INPS). This stores the name of the employing fi rm and industry sector in which Italian private sector workers are employed for each year of employment."

"L'obiettivo principale dell'epidemiologia occupazionale è quello di prevenire le malattie causate dall'esposizione professionale. Il perseguimento di questo obiettivo richiede indagini approfondite sui nessi causali tra pericoli specifici rischi e specifiche entità patologiche.1 Pertanto, l'epidemiologia occupazionale riguarda principalmente la ricerca eziologica nel quadro di un paradigma osservazionale. Lo scopo del presente articolo è valutare alcuni aspetti dell'attività svolta dagli epidemiologi occupazionali in Italia, con particolare attenzione ai contributi scientifici che hanno avuto riconoscimento a livello internazionale, e di indicare brevemente alcuni sviluppi recenti. Pertanto, in quest'ottica, l'insieme dei riferimenti bibliografici citati non può essere considerato come una revisione sistematica, quanto piuttosto una sequenza di esempi e casestudies che inevitabilmente riflette l'esperienza degli autori."