SynthesisBMC public health2016
Occupational exposure to silica dust and risk of lung cancer: an updated meta-analysis of epidemiological studies.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 146 citations in OpenAlex.
- AWMF S2k Guideline: Diagnosis and Assessment of Lung Disease Caused by Occupational Silica Dust Exposure (Silicosis) - Disease No. 4101 as per Occupational Diseases Ordinance (BKV) Annex 1.Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases · 2026Guideline
- The association between occupational silica exposure and leukemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Environmental risk factors, protective factors and lifestyles for lung cancer: an umbrella review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Lung cancer risk and occupational pulmonary fibrosis: systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2024Pooled it
- Occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica and lung cancer: a systematic review of cut-off points.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2023Pooled it
- Risk Assessment of Silicosis and Lung Cancer Mortality associated with Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica in Iran.Journal of research in health sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Socio-economic deprivation and cancer incidence in England: Quantifying the role of smoking.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Artificial Stone Associated Silicosis: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Serum magnesium levels and lung cancer risk: a meta-analysis.World journal of surgical oncology · 2018Pooled it
- Occupational exposure to dust and fumes increases risk for future adverse clinical outcomes.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2026Observational
- Article
- Probabilistic risk assessment of occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica among ceramic workers in an industrial town in Iran: a Monte Carlo simulation approach.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Deposition of Occupational Aerosol Particles in a Three-Dimensional Adult Nasal Cavity Model: An Experimental Study.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Protective Effect and Molecular Mechanism of Tetrandrine on Male Reproductive Damage Caused by Silicon Dioxide.Toxics · 2026Article
- Toxicity of respirable coal dust: An overview of origin, chemistry, mechanisms, and possible remedies.International journal of coal science & technology · 2026Review
- Single versus double lung transplantation outcomes in artificial stone silicosis: a single-centre retrospective cohort study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2025Article
- Global scenario of silica-associated diseases: A review on emerging pathophysiology of silicosis and potential therapeutic regimes.Toxicology reports · 2025Review
- Disentangling the effects of various risk factors and trends in lung cancer mortality.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Risk characterization for silica-related silicosis and lung cancer in communities adjacent to sand and gravel extraction facilities: examining limitations in our current risk methods.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCrystalline silica is considered as one of the most common and serious occupational hazards to workers' health. Although its association with lung cancer has been studied for many decades, the conclusion remains somewhat controversial. Our objectives are to review and summarize the epidemiological evidence on the relationship between occupational silica exposure and risk of lung cancer and to provide an update on this major occupational health concern.
methodsEligible studies up to 29 April 2016 were identified. Pooled effect estimates were calculated according to the reported outcome and the study design. Cohort, case control and proportional mortality studies were examined separately. Studies reporting results according to silicotic status were grouped together and analyzed. Due to the significant amount of heterogeneity expected, random effects models were implemented. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses (both univariate and multivariate) were performed in an attempt to explain heterogeneity. Studies which had adequate exposure characterization were selected to find out whether there was an exposure-response relationship between silica and lung cancer.
resultsThe risk of lung cancer was found to be elevated in both silicotics and non-silicotics. The pooled standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 2.32 with a 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) of 1.91-2.81 and 1.78 (95 % CI 1.07-2.96) respectively. The pooled standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was 2.49 (95 % CI 1.87-3.33) and 1.18 (95 % CI 0.86-1.62) respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that workers in the mining industry had the highest risk of lung cancer with a pooled SMR of 1.48 (95 % CI 1.18-1.86) and the weakest association was seen in potteries with a pooled SMR of 1.14 (95 % CI 1.05-1.23). A positive exposure-response relation was found between cumulative silica exposure and risk of lung cancer.
conclusionThe results of our meta-analysis supported the carcinogenic role of silica on the lungs, which was more pronounced at higher levels of exposure, in the presence of silicosis and in the mining industry. Further research is needed to evaluate whether non-silicotics are truly at risk, whether a predisposing factor would explain this potential risk, and to determine the mechanism of carcinogenicity of silica in humans.
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