Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.,
Volume 162, Number 5, November 2000, 1807-1811
Chest Pain in Asbestos-exposed Individuals with
Benign Pleural and Parenchymal Disease
SUTAPA
MUKHERJEE,
NICHOLAS
de KLERK,
LYLE J.
PALMER,
N. J.
OLSEN,
S. C.
PANG,
and
A.
WILLIAM MUSK
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Australia; Departments of Public Health, Paediatrics, and Medicine,
University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia; TVW Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth; and Perth Chest Clinic,
Health Department of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
Many asbestos-exposed individuals complain of chest pain for
which there is no clear explanation. To determine whether chest pain
is associated with the presence of benign pleural or parenchymal disease on chest radiograph, we studied 1,280 subjects undergoing surveillance because of prior asbestos exposure at Wittenoom, Western Australia. All subjects completed the Rose questionnaire on chest pain and this revealed 556 subjects (43%) who experienced some chest pain. A posterior-anterior chest radiograph was
performed at the same clinic visit and was subsequently graded independently by two experienced readers for diffuse parenchymal
disease and pleural disease. Logistic regression models adjusted for
sex, age, and cumulative asbestos exposure indicated that the presence of chest pain was significantly associated with the presence of both benign pleural disease and diffuse parenchymal disease. Further analysis after stratification of chest pain into nonanginal and anginal pain showed that there was a significant association between anginal pain and the presence of pleural and parenchymal
asbestos-induced radiologic abnormalities and an association of
nonanginal pain with parenchymal disease. We conclude that radiographic evidence of either parenchymal or pleural disease in subjects exposed to asbestos is significantly related to the presence of
chest pain, particularly anginal pain.
