Asbestos, ISS: in Italy every year 1545 victims of mesothelioma

Between 2010 and 2020, an average of 1,545 people, 1,116 men and 429 women, died from mesothelioma every year in Italy. Of the deaths observed on average each year, 25 (1.7%) were aged 50 or younger. These are the data reported in the new Istisan 24|18 report on the impact of asbestos on mortality. Italy, 2010-2020′ of the Higher Institute of Health (ISS) on asbestos mortality in our country.

The report just published reports a decrease in the number of deaths from mesothelioma among the under-50s in recent years, a first effect of law 257/92 with which Italy banned the use of asbestos and the production of products containing asbestos.

“The Higher Institute of Health – states Rocco Bellantone, president of the ISS – has been engaged for years on this issue and the asbestos problem remains among the public health priorities. The ISS will continue to contribute to research activities and epidemiological surveillance of asbestos-related diseases, as well as the definition of tools for the detection of sources of asbestos exposure still present in our country, and the implementation of preventive actions, providing support to institutions and citizens, through moments of discussion and sharing” .

The regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, Valle d’Aosta and Liguria have a higher number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants than the national average, but the cases are distributed across the entire Italian territory.

In total, almost 17,000 cases were recorded throughout the national territory in the period 2010-2020. The number of deaths is higher than the expected number based on the regional average in 375 municipalities: these are territories with shipyards, industrial centers, former asbestos-cement industries, former asbestos quarries.

In recent years, as the data of the report indicate, a decrease in the number of deaths has been observed – continues the ISS -, in particular among the population aged 50 or under (31 cases observed in 2010 and 13 cases in 2020). The mesothelioma deaths observed among younger people – as ISS experts explain – are probably due to exposure during childhood in non-occupational environments, given the long latency (up to 30-40 years) of the disease. Most people who have died from mesothelioma have probably been exposed to asbestos in work environments in past decades. But exposure may also have occurred in domestic or environmental contexts, through inhalation of fibers released into homes or into the environment from sources present in the area.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive, highly lethal tumor with a latency of up to 30-40 years, which affects the cells of the mesothelium, the thin tissue that covers most of the internal organs. Approximately 80% of mesothelioma is due to exposure to asbestos. Due to the fact that it releases inhalable fibres, asbestos (also called asbestos) can be responsible not only for mesothelioma but also for asbestosis (a chronic lung disease resulting from the inhalation of asbestos fibres) and, although with a lower and more attributable share difficult to estimate, even for other types of cancer, such as lung and ovarian cancer.

On 27 March 1992, 13 years ahead of Europe, law 257/92 came into force in Italy, establishing a ban on the extraction, import, export, marketing and production of asbestos.

“Deaths and diseases due to asbestos give rise to a great sense of social injustice which calls everyone to the need to intervene – declared Marco Martuzzi, director of the environment and health department of the ISS – in Italy a lot has been done in recent decades, so today we can see the first positive effects. Asbestos remains an environmental and health emergency that requires urgent prevention interventions, eliminating residual exposures to asbestos still present in our country exposed, to asbestos sufferers and their families”. These are interventions that require a synergistic effort between local and national institutions, associations and the world of research.

And the Sepra project (epidemiological surveillance, prevention and research on asbestos), financed by Inail and coordinated by the irccs foundation cà granda major hospital polyclinic of Milan, goes in this direction of synergy. As part of Sepra, the workshop is being held today at the ISS, open exclusively to researchers involved in the project and to representatives of the associations, entitled ‘the health impact of asbestos in Italy: epidemiological surveillance, prevention and support for ex- exhibited: state of the art and innovative research and intervention tools.

During the workshop, the data from the ISS report and the ongoing activities of the project will be discussed between representatives of the associations and researchers involved in Sepra. The aim of the collaboration between the various institutions, academic networks and bodies involved is to share knowledge and data from different information sources, such as mortality data presented by the ISS and data from the national mesothelioma registry in order to strengthen the tools available for the eradication of asbestos diseases in the country and for the support of patients and their families.