Sex-Related Differences in the Risk of Silicosis Among Chinese Pottery Workers: A Cohort Study.

Abstract

To investigate the effect of sex on the risk of silicosis and to explore any interaction between cigarette smoking and sex in the development of silicosis. The cohort was selected from eight Chinese pottery factories. Diagnoses of silicosis were based on 1986 Chinese pneumoconiosis Roentgen diagnostic criteria. Data on cigarette smoking were collected by face-to-face interviews in 1989 and 2003. Eight thousand eight hundred and eighty seven dust-exposed workers were included. Men had a 77% higher incidence of silicosis than women. At lower pack-years of smoking, men were 72% more at risk than women. The latency period was found to be longest in female never-smokers and shortest in female ever-smokers. Men had a higher risk of developing silicosis than women. Cigarette smoking increased the risk in both sexes, more so in women.