Asbestos Disease Report: Data Limitations in the CDC Report

Read the report from the CDC regarding the lung diseases associated with exposure to asbestos and other carcinogens. This section details the data limitations noted in the final report.

To comply with current CDC policy, population-based mortality rates for this edition of the Work-Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report have been adjusted to the U.S. Year 2000 Standard Population. This is a change from prior editions in which rates were adjusted to the 1940 standard population. Readers are cautioned that rates are not directly comparable with those shown in earlier editions.

Proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) reported in this edition of the Work-Related Lung Disease Surveillance Report are not directly comparable to those reported in earlier editions because PMRs in the current edition have been adjusted for age (in five-year categories), sex, and race, whereas PMRs in earlier editions were adjusted only for age (in 20-year categories). Readers are also reminded that, because of the lack of smoking information in the national death files, PMRs presented in this report have not been adjusted for smoking.

Over the period covered by data presented in this report, median ages at death have generally increased for all pneumoconioses. The reader is cautioned to realize that this increase is the result of many factors, only one of which may be a general reduction of disease severity (e.g., due to enhanced diagnostic sensitivity and fewer severe cases). Another possible factor is a reduced number of younger workers at risk due to changing employment patterns. Reduced mortality from other causes of death is undoubtedly another important factor.

Data from the Coal Workers X-Ray Surveillance Program (CWXSP) have a number of limitations. The program is restricted to currently employed miners and participation rates are generally low. Disease prevalence estimates may be biased due to selective participation, and missing or inaccurate work history information may affect tenure calculations. Also, radiographic detection of pneumoconiosis is imperfect. Pathologic disease in some individuals may not be detected radiographically and, although rare among working populations, various non-occupational conditions may result in radiographic abnormalities consistent with pneumoconiosis.

The main usefulness of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Annual Survey of Injuries and Illnesses is to assess occupational injuries, because work-attribution of traumatic injuries is typically quite clear to the employers. In contrast, work-related diseases are generally under-recognized and under-reported by employers.

Courtesy of the CDC

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