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The mental health of asbestos-exposed subjects with pleural abnormalities

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Abstract

Purpose

To examine the effect of knowledge of radiographic abnormalities on the mental health of asbestos-exposed people with and without pleural abnormalities.

Methods

Subjects were former asbestos mine and mill workers and residents of the mining town who had participated in an annual health review program. Pleural abnormalities (pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening and asbestosis) were determined from plain chest X-rays. All Participants completed a questionnaire on mental health status (SF-12) and locus of control (LOC).

Results

There were no significant differences between asbestos-exposed people with and without radiographic abnormalities for either the SF-12 mental health score or LOC. However, the asbestos-exposed cohorts had lower mental health scores compared with a random sample of the local population.

Conclusion

The presence of pleural abnormalities did not further affect the mental health of asbestos-exposed people beyond a decrement associated with exposure per se.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the ongoing participation of the former workers and residents of Wittenoom. The study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council; Grant Nos. 403930 and 634458.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Population Health, M431, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Peter Franklin, Patrick Abaogye-Sarfo, Latha Samuel, Nola Olsen, Rob Mina, A. W. Musk & Alison Reid

  2. Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, WA, 6008, Australia

    Monique Robinson

  3. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia

    A. W. Musk

  4. Centre for Medical Research, B Block, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia

    Alison Reid

Authors
  1. Peter Franklin
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  2. Monique Robinson
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  3. Patrick Abaogye-Sarfo
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  4. Latha Samuel
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  5. Nola Olsen
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  6. Rob Mina
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  7. A. W. Musk
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  8. Alison Reid
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Correspondence to Peter Franklin.

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Franklin, P., Robinson, M., Abaogye-Sarfo, P. et al. The mental health of asbestos-exposed subjects with pleural abnormalities. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 88, 343–350 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0960-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0960-7

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