{"title":"Kandovan the next ‘Capadoccia’? – A potential public health issue for erionite related mesothelioma risk","authors":"E. Ilgren, Hossein Kazemain, J. Hoskins","doi":"10.2427/10106","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Background:The Kandovan region in Iran is physically and geologically similar to the Cappadocian region in Turkey where fibrous zeolites, including erionite, have been found in volcanic tuffs. In some Cappodocian villages there is strong evidence that erionite, and possibly related minerals, are responsible for the high level of mesothelioma found there. So, although mesothelioma clusters have not been reported in Kandovan, it is a plausible hypothesis that many cases of mesothelioma in Iran may be due to naturally occurring fibrous zeolites.Methods: A detailed study of Iranian geology was made to determine similarities between the Kandovan region and Cappadocia, ‘inter-mountain zones’ in the Western US and Mexico. Areas where mesothelioma cases probably attributable to erionite exposure have been found. Results:Although there is a long history of asbestos use in Iran many cases of mesothelioma do not present with positive asbestos exposure histories. Since fibrous zeolites are so widespread, why have not more mesotheliomas attributable to them been found throughout Iran? Various possible reasons were explored including misdiagnosis, poor surveillance, a general lack of awareness that this tumor may be linked to mineral fibre exposure. There is also the analytical problem of identifying fibrous erionite in lung tissue.Conclusions:There is every reason to believe mesotheliomas due to fibrous zeolite including erionite will be found in Iran. The most likely places to find them are the villages that look very similar to those found in Cappadocia since these are based upon similar geological formations.","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"6","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2427/10106","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Nursing","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 6
Abstract
Background:The Kandovan region in Iran is physically and geologically similar to the Cappadocian region in Turkey where fibrous zeolites, including erionite, have been found in volcanic tuffs. In some Cappodocian villages there is strong evidence that erionite, and possibly related minerals, are responsible for the high level of mesothelioma found there. So, although mesothelioma clusters have not been reported in Kandovan, it is a plausible hypothesis that many cases of mesothelioma in Iran may be due to naturally occurring fibrous zeolites.Methods: A detailed study of Iranian geology was made to determine similarities between the Kandovan region and Cappadocia, ‘inter-mountain zones’ in the Western US and Mexico. Areas where mesothelioma cases probably attributable to erionite exposure have been found. Results:Although there is a long history of asbestos use in Iran many cases of mesothelioma do not present with positive asbestos exposure histories. Since fibrous zeolites are so widespread, why have not more mesotheliomas attributable to them been found throughout Iran? Various possible reasons were explored including misdiagnosis, poor surveillance, a general lack of awareness that this tumor may be linked to mineral fibre exposure. There is also the analytical problem of identifying fibrous erionite in lung tissue.Conclusions:There is every reason to believe mesotheliomas due to fibrous zeolite including erionite will be found in Iran. The most likely places to find them are the villages that look very similar to those found in Cappadocia since these are based upon similar geological formations.
期刊介绍:
Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Public Health (EBPH) is a multidisciplinary journal that has two broad aims: -To support the international public health community with publications on health service research, health care management, health policy, and health economics. -To strengthen the evidences on effective preventive interventions. -To advance public health methods, including biostatistics and epidemiology. EBPH welcomes submissions on all public health issues (including topics like eHealth, big data, personalized prevention, epidemiology and risk factors of chronic and infectious diseases); on basic and applied research in epidemiology; and in biostatistics methodology. Primary studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses are all welcome, as are research protocols for observational and experimental studies. EBPH aims to be a cross-discipline, international forum for scientific integration and evidence-based policymaking, combining the methodological aspects of epidemiology, biostatistics, and public health research with their practical applications.