Occupational Cancer Surveillance System Using Data Linkage Analysis in Korea

Lee, Sang Yun; Kim, Jaiyong; Choi, Seongwoo; Im, Hyungjun; Yoon, Kijung; Kwon, Ho Jang; Cho, Soo Hun; Kang, Daehee

Abstract

To develop the occupational cancer surveillance system in Korea, data linkage analysis was performed on the subjects of Health-monitoring-pocketbook (the list of subjects who were exposed to selected occupational carcinogens) and the retired workers of a cokes manufacturing factory using the Korean medical insurance data, Korean death certificate data and Korean cancer registry data. Study subjects comprised the 822 retired subjects and the 3101 present-post subjects of Health-monitoring-pocketbook and the 182 retired workers of a cokes manufacturing factory. The incidence of cancer of these study subjects was ascertained by linkage of Korean medical insurance data of year 1995-6, Korean death certificate data of year 1992-8 and Korean cancer registry data of year 1993-5. In the study subjects, Eighty seven percent were males and mean age was 39.3+/-8.9 year-old, Average work duration was 8.0+/-5.5 years. Chrome, asbestos and cokes were the most frequent exposed agents. In the study subjects, total 13 cancer cases were ascertained by data linkage analysis. In the ascertained cancer cases, 8 cases were male and 5 cases were female, and 7 cases were aged 40-49 yr, 5 cases were aged 50-59 yr and 1 cases were aged 30-39 yr. The commonest exposure agent in the ascertained cancer cases was asbestos and cokes. By the site of cancer, 3 stomach cancer cases, 2 hematopoietic cancer cases and 2 biliary tract cancer cases were ascertained. The occupational cancer surveillance system using data linkage analysis on the workers exposed to hazardous agents was the most feasible and efficient method in Korea. And to do this, establishment of occupational history information in several disease registry database is needed with the effort of estimating the proper size of workers exposed hazardous agents.