Asbestos exposure-cigarette smoking interactions among shipyard workers
P. D. Blanc, J. A. Golden, G. Gamsu, D. R. Aberle and W. M. Gold
Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, University of California, San Francisco 94143.
We studied the roentgenograms, pulmonary function tests, and physical
findings of 294 shipyard workers to evaluate asbestos exposure-cigarette
smoking interactions. Roentgenographic parenchymal opacities, decreased
pulmonary diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, decreased flow at low
lung volume, rales, and clubbing were each significantly related to the
number of years elapsed since first exposure to asbestos and cigarette
smoking status when analyzed by logistic regression. A dose-dependent
cigarette smoking response that was consistent with synergism was present
only for parenchymal opacities and decreased flow at low lung volume. These
findings suggest that decreased flow at low lung volume, possibly
reflecting peribronchiolar fibrosis, may be a functional corollary to
smoking-associated parenchymal roentgenographic opacities among some
asbestos-exposed individuals.
