In an analysis published last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a significant increase in mesothelioma deaths among women during the period of time between 1999 and 2020.
In fact, in 1999, 489 women died of mesothelioma (as noted on their death certificates), while in the year 2020 that number rose to 614 (with peaks even higher in 2017 and 2019). During the same period, the age-adjusted death rate for women declined overall in the general population, making this increase even more worrisome. Between 1999 and 2020, 12,227 women died of mesothelioma.
While for men the link between occupational exposures and mesothelioma is fairly direct, that is not the case with women. Among men, 85% of mesotheliomas are attributable to workplace exposures, which include occupations such as shipbuilding, construction, manufacturing, and other industrial jobs. For women, the highest numbers of mesothelioma deaths were noted among homemakers, elementary and middle school teachers, and registered nurses.
In the United States, locations with the highest death rate among women were Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin – states with extensive shipyard building economies, states with a history of contaminated vermiculite mining and processing, or northern states that traditionally relied on asbestos products in construction. This suggests that for some women a direct occupational link may exist due to asbestos used in construction materials in school buildings and homes. For other women, mesothelioma is likely linked to secondary exposures tied to the occupation of male relatives in the home who brought fibers home from their job sites.
This article is based on the following CDC report:
Mazurek JM, Blackley DJ, Weissman DN. Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality in Women — United States, 1999–2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:645–649. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7119a1
Image source: CDC Wonder
