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Asbestos exposure has a strong link to lung-scarring conditions that include asbestosis and pulmonary fibrosis.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), scarring of the lungs is a common diagnosis among people who have had very high exposures to asbestos over long periods of time.[1] Scarred and damaged lung tissues can lead to diagnosis of the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis.[2]
Common symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis include shortness of breath, a persistent dry cough, and chronic fatigue. Sufferers may also notice aching in their muscles and joints, unexplained weight loss, or clubbing of their fingers and toes.
If asbestos fibers are detected in lung tissues alongside pulmonary fibrosis scarring, the condition is referred to as “asbestosis.”
Asbestosis is a major cause of deaths after asbestos exposure and one of the most common contributing factors. One recent study found that 35% of recorded asbestos-related deaths in the U.S. either had asbestosis listed as the cause of death or a co-occuring diagnosis with mesothelioma.[3]
If no single known cause of pulmonary fibrosis is detected, physicians will often issue an idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) diagnosis. Both IPF and asbestosis present a medical pattern known as interstitial pneumonia,[4] which is characterized by a progressive scarring of the lung tissue over time.
Studies in data from 1974 – 2012 show that IPF incidence rates correlate with rates in deaths from mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other asbestos-related diseases.[5] In the U.K., the number of IPF deaths in men rose from 500 in 1974 to over 2000 in 2012.4
Since IPF has no specific environmental cause contained within its diagnosis, medical professionals will point to a number of possible past exposures. Exposures known to increase the risk of IPF other than asbestos include cigarette smoke, sand/silica, wood dust, metal dust, and agricultural exposures.[6]
CDC figures show that the occupational groups with the highest risk of exposure to asbestos also risk exposure to the other environmental factors,[7] which means that there could be significant crossover between IPF patient groups and groups that have been exposed to asbestos.
In conclusion, if you have been presenting any of the symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis, including shortness of breath or a history of interstitial pneumonitis, know that your condition could be related to prior asbestos exposures.
[1] https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/health_effects_asbestos.html
[2] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pulmonary-fibrosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20353690
[3] http://www.asbestosnation.org/facts/asbestos-kills-12000-15000-people-per-year-in-the-u-s/#share_popup
[4] https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/831713
[5] https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/157667/idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis-cases-linked-with/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4472384/
[7] https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=29&po=7
