Intended for healthcare professionals

Letters Respiratory disease mortality in the UK

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and asbestos use

BMJ 2019; 364 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l1041 (Published 13 March 2019) Cite this as: BMJ 2019;364:l1041
  1. Christopher M Barber, consultant and honorary reader in occupational lung disease,
  2. David Fishwick, professor of occupational and environmental respiratory medicine
  1. Centre for Workplace Health, Science Division, Health and Safety Executive, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK
  1. chris.barber2{at}sth.nhs.uk

Salciccioli and colleagues note the high mortality from interstitial lung disease in the United Kingdom.1 We found a significant association between mortality from the commonest form of interstitial lung disease (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) and mesothelioma.2 Such a relationship is unexpected, as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has no identifiable cause, whereas most deaths due to mesothelioma can be explained by …

View Full Text

Log in

Log in through your institution

Subscribe

* For online subscription