Air Quality Criteria for Lead Volume II of II - (NEPIS)(EPA) - US ...

AX6-201
Table AX6-7.4 (cont’d). Other Studies of Lead Exposure and Cancer
Reference, Study
Location, and Period Study Description Pb Measurement Findings and Interpretation
Europe (cont’d)
Cocco et al. (1994b)
Sardinia
1951-1988
Cocco et al. (1996)
Sardinia
1973-1992
Cohort design.
526 female Sardinian Pb and
zinc miners from the same
mines as in Cocco et al.
(1994a).
Mortality traced through 1992
to determine cause of death.
Mortality among miners was
compared with age- and
calendar-yr-specific regional
rates to compute an SMR.
Cohort design.
1,222 male Sardinian Pb and
zinc smelter workers whose
G6PD phenotypes had been
determined, employed any
time from 1973-1990.
Mortality traced through 1992
to determine cause of death.
Mortality was compared with
regional rates.
All miners were considered to be
exposed to Pb.
All workers were considered to be
exposed to Pb.
Workers were subdivided into
6PD-normal and -deficient groups.
SMR (95% CI)
Liver 5.02 (1.62, 11.70)
Lung 2.32 (0.85, 5.05)
Other cancers showed nonsignificantly reduced rates.
No control for smoking or exposure to silica, radon, or other exposures.
Low statistical power due to small population and paucity of cancers
during follow-up.
All cancer and lung cancer: mortality lower than expected
Stomach cancer: mortality higher than expected
G6PD deficiency had little apparent effect on mortality: cancer and allcause
mortality was slightly lower among G6PD-deficient workers than
among G6PD-normal workers.
No control for smoking or exposure to other agents in the smelter.
Healthy worker bias-evident (all-cause mortality 31 observed vs. 44
expected), brief follow-up, low proportion of older ages (mean age at
entry 30, avg follow-up less than 11 yrs), no cumulative exposure data.