Results of NIOSH IBM Study Published
The organization publishes the results following a public presentation in Endicott, NY
Following a public presentation in Endicott, NY a few days ago, NIOSH has published the results from a decades-long study of workers at an IBM plant, according to a press release from NIOSH. The study followed over 30,000 workers who were at the plant from 1969 to 2001 and assessed the risk of premature death, testicular cancer, and children of workers born with birth defects.
Published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, the study aimed to determine whether or not employees were at risk for death or cancer from working at the plant. According to the press release, the study found:
- The number of deaths from all causes and all cancers combined were lower among IBM workers in the study than what would be expected from the general population.
- Deaths from certain types of cancer (including rectal, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, mesothelioma and pleural cancer) as well as testicular cancer were more frequent in certain groups of workers than what would be expected of the general population.
- Certain types of cancer were more common in workers who had more potential exposure to specific chemicals or worked longer in certain production buildings.
The study is not entirely complete, as the component aimed at determining whether workers’ children are at a higher risk of being born with birth defects will not be completed until late 2014.
According to NIOSH, “These findings could be due to job exposures, to other factors the researchers could not assess in this study (such as job exposures at other worksites, smoking, or family disease history), or to chance.”
For more information, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-01-06-14A.html