Environmental exposure to XXXX in New Caledonia: a case-control study.

@entity1 @entity5 @entity2 @entity2615 @entity3620 @entity1355
A case-control study on @entity5 was conducted in New Caledonia (South Pacific), where a high incidence of @entity3620 had been observed. The disease pattern suggested an environmental exposure to @entity1355 . The first results showed that, in some areas, tremolite @entity1355 derived from local outcroppings was used as whitewash (locally named "p  "). All cases diagnosed between 1993 and 1995 (including 15 @entity2615 , 228 @entity2 , and 23 @entity5 ) and 305 controls were included in the study. Detailed information on past or present use of the whitewash, residential history, smoking, diet, and occupation was collected. The risk of @entity2615 was strongly associated with the use of the whitewash (odds ratio (OR) = 40.9; 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.15, 325). All Melanesian cases had been exposed. Among Melanesian @entity1 , exposure to the whitewash was associated with an increased risk of @entity2 (OR = 4.89; 95% CI: 1.13, 21.2), and smokers exposed to po had an approximately ninefold risk (OR = 9.26; 95% CI: 1.72, 49.7) compared with @entity1 who never smoked and had never used the whitewash. In contrast, no association was noted between exposure to p   and @entity2 risk among Melanesian @entity1 , probably because of lower exposure levels. Among non-Melanesians, the numbers of exposed subjects were too small to assess the effect of exposure to po. There was no indication of elevated risks for the other @entity5 sites.
