Institute of Health Sciences, Korea University, Anam-ro 145, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
Department of Health and Safety Convergence Science, Korea University, Anam-ro 145, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 29;19(23):15934. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315934.
Korea was one of the major consumers of asbestos in the late 1900s, and asbestos-related disease patients have been reported continuously to date, owing to long disease latency. Several studies have been conducted to predict the future incidence of malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer in Korea, but little is understood about the latency time. Therefore, the aim of this study is to estimate the latency period of malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer in Korea and its determinants. We obtained information from the Environmental Health Centers for Asbestos in Korea on the history of asbestos exposure and demographic characteristics of 1933 patients with malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer. In our study, the latency periods for malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer were 33.7 and 40.1 years, respectively. Regardless of the disease type, those with a history of exposure related to the production of asbestos-containing products or asbestos factories had the shortest latency period. In addition, we observed that those who worked in or lived near asbestos mines tended to have a relatively long disease latency. Smoking was associated with shorter latency, but no linear relationship between the lifetime smoking amount (expressed in pack years) and latent time was observed. In addition, the age of initial exposure showed a negative linear association with the latency period for mesothelioma and lung cancer.
韩国是 20 世纪后期主要的石棉消费国之一，由于疾病潜伏期长，截至目前，一直有与石棉相关的疾病患者不断报告。已经有几项研究旨在预测韩国未来恶性间皮瘤和肺癌的发病率，但对潜伏期知之甚少。因此，本研究旨在估算韩国恶性间皮瘤和石棉相关肺癌的潜伏期及其决定因素。我们从韩国石棉环境健康中心获取了 1933 名恶性间皮瘤和石棉相关肺癌患者的石棉暴露史和人口统计学特征信息。在我们的研究中，恶性间皮瘤和肺癌的潜伏期分别为 33.7 年和 40.1 年。无论疾病类型如何，与生产含石棉产品或石棉工厂有关的暴露史患者潜伏期最短。此外，我们观察到那些在石棉矿工作或居住在附近的人往往具有相对较长的潜伏期。吸烟与潜伏期较短有关，但未观察到终生吸烟量（以包年表示）与潜伏期之间存在线性关系。此外，初次接触的年龄与间皮瘤和肺癌的潜伏期呈负线性关系。
