Current mortality in the Australian petroleum industry: the healthy-worker effect and the influence of life-style factors

Occupational exposure to gasoline and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a review and meta-analysis of the literature

AIMS

Gasoline comprises over 500 chemicals, including the known or suspected carcinogens benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylbenzene and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). To assess whether work in the production, distribution and use of gasoline is associated with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), we reviewed the published literature on this topic.

METHOD

English-language peer-reviewed articles were identified by keyword searches of bibliographic databases. Twenty-two cohorts and thirteen case-control studies examined the risk of NHL among persons employed in the downstream petroleum industry.

RESULT

No positive associations were found with the exception of one study. The pooled risk estimate from a random-effects meta-analysis was 1.02 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94-1.12). Although there were no estimates available, exposure is likely to have varied by occupation, location and time period; there was no evidence however that risk estimates varied by any of these factors. NHL is a heterogeneous disease, yet no data were reported for NHL subtypes.

CONCLUSION

In summary, there is no suggestion across an extensive literature that exposure to gasoline at the levels workers' experience in an occupational setting increases the risk of NHL.

The detection of at-risk drinking in a teaching hospital

We studied a sample of 302 inpatients from all medical and surgical wards of Westmead Hospital. Twenty-six per cent of patients (47% of men and 4% of women) were identified as past or current "at-risk" drinkers. Current drinkers preponderantly were male and were more likely to be admitted to hospital with trauma. Apart from trauma, alcohol-related disease was not diagnosed commonly, and most drinkers were admitted to hospital with diagnoses that were not related clearly to alcohol abuse. Hospital medical staff members appeared reluctant to address alcohol abuse; a low rate of alcohol problems was identified, and alcohol-related diseases appeared to be underdiagnosed.