IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v22y2025i5p787-d1657533.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Epidemiological Trends in Mesothelioma Mortality in Colombia (1997–2022): A Retrospective National Study

Author

Listed:
  • Luisa F. Moyano-Ariza

    (Faculty of Engineering, University of Cartagena, Cartagena 110311, Colombia
    Epidemiology and Evaluation in Public Health Research Group, National University of Colombia, Bogotá 111321, Colombia)

  • Guillermo Villamizar

    (Faculty of Engineering, University of Cartagena, Cartagena 110311, Colombia
    Colombia Asbestos Free Foundation, Bogotá 111211, Colombia)

  • Giana Henríquez-Mendoza

    (National Cancer Institute, Bogotá 111511-110411001, Colombia)

  • Arthur Frank

    (Department of EOH, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA)

  • Gabriel Camero

    (Colombian Red Cross—Cundinamarca-Bogotá Section, Emergencies, Disasters and Humanitarian Aid Research Group, Cundinamarca and Bogotá Red Cross, Bogotá 110211, Colombia)

Abstract

Background: Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer primarily caused by asbestos exposure. In Colombia, asbestos use began in 1942, but mortality surveillance remains limited. Long latency periods and poor documentation hinder public health action. Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using mortality data from 1997 to 2022 obtained from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), including all mesothelioma cases recorded under the five ICD-10 diagnostic categories (C45.0 to C45.9), covering all anatomical sites of first occurrence. Variables analyzed included sex, age, occupation, and place of residence. Mortality rates and trends were estimated using R, Excel, JoinPoint, and Minitab. Results: A total of 1539 mesothelioma deaths were recorded. Most occurred in men (65.1%) and in individuals over 60 years old (62.6%). Urban areas accounted for 92% of deaths. The most frequent diagnosis was unspecified mesothelioma (61.3%). Cities with the highest adjusted mortality rates per 100,000 inhabitants were Sibaté (38.36), Soacha (8.41), and Bogotá (1.89), aligning with historical exposure zones. Conclusions: Mesothelioma is still a preventable public health issue in Colombia, with sustained mortality affecting even working-age populations. The high rate of unspecified diagnoses and weak linkage between morbidity and mortality data underscore the need to strengthen diagnostic capacity, improve surveillance, and implement a national asbestos-related disease elimination strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Luisa F. Moyano-Ariza & Guillermo Villamizar & Giana Henríquez-Mendoza & Arthur Frank & Gabriel Camero, 2025. "Epidemiological Trends in Mesothelioma Mortality in Colombia (1997–2022): A Retrospective National Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(5), pages 1-20, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:5:p:787-:d:1657533
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/787/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/787/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stayner, L.T. & Danhovic, D.A. & Lemen, R.A., 1996. "Occupational exposure to chrysotile asbestos and cancer risk: A review of the amphibole hypothesis," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 86(2), pages 179-186.
    2. Sugio Furuya & Odgerel Chimed-Ochir & Ken Takahashi & Annette David & Jukka Takala, 2018. "Global Asbestos Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-11, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rafael Junqueira Buralli & Regina Dal Castel Pinheiro & Laura Lima Susviela & Sandra Renata Canale Duracenko & Eduardo Mello De Capitani & Alexandre Savaris & Eduardo Algranti, 2023. "The Brazilian System for Monitoring Workers and General Population Exposed to Asbestos: Development, Challenges, and Opportunities for Workers’ Health Surveillance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Powell, Mark, 1996. "The 1983-84 Suspensions of EDB Under FIFRA and the 1989 Asbestos Ban and Phaseout Rule Under TSCA: Two Case Studies in EPA's Use of Science," RFF Working Paper Series dp-97-06-rev, Resources for the Future.
    3. Jaume Ferrer & Galo Granados & Santos Hernández & María-Jesús Cruz & Júlia Sampol & Daniel Álvarez Simón & José-María Ramada, 2020. "Validation of an Asbestos Exposure Questionnaire (QEAS-7) for Clinical Practice," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Luigi Vimercati & Domenica Cavone & Maria Celeste Delfino & Antonio Caputi & Luigi De Maria & Stefania Sponselli & Vincenzo Corrado & Giovanni Maria Ferri & Gabriella Serio, 2020. "Asbestos Air Pollution: Description of a Mesothelioma Cluster Due to Residential Exposure from an Asbestos Cement Factory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Je-Liang Liou, 2019. "Effect of Income Heterogeneity on Valuation of Mortality Risk in Taiwan: An Application of Unconditional Quantile Regression Method," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, May.
    6. Lucia Fazzo & Giada Minelli & Marco De Santis & Emiliano Ceccarelli & Ivano Iavarone & Amerigo Zona, 2023. "The Epidemiological Surveillance of Mesothelioma Mortality in Italy as a Tool for the Prevention of Asbestos Exposure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-16, May.
    7. Xiaorong Wang & Eiji Yano & Sihao Lin & Ignatius T S Yu & Yajia Lan & Lap Ah Tse & Hong Qiu & David C Christiani, 2013. "Cancer Mortality in Chinese Chrysotile Asbestos Miners: Exposure-Response Relationships," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(8), pages 1-8, August.
    8. Powell, Mark R., 1997. "The 1983-84 Suspensions of EDB under FIFRA and the 1989 Asbestos Ban and Phaseout Rule under TSCA: Two Case Studies in EPA's Use of Science," Discussion Papers 10907, Resources for the Future.
    9. Kyeongmin Kwak & Sung-il Cho & Domyung Paek, 2021. "Future Incidence of Malignant Mesothelioma in South Korea: Updated Projection to 2038," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-10, June.
    10. Achyut Aryal & Craig Morley, 2024. "Mitigation of Contamination and Health Risk: Asbestos Management and Regulatory Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-14, November.
    11. Carmen Anaya-Aguilar & Manuel Bravo & Antonio Magan-Fernandez & Ramon del Castillo-Salmerón & Alberto Rodríguez-Archilla & Javier Montero & Eva Rosel & Paco Puche & Rosa Anaya-Aguilar, 2022. "Prevention of Occupational Hazards Due to Asbestos Exposure in Dentistry. A Proposal from a Panel of Experts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-10, March.
    12. Steven B. Markowitz, 2022. "Lung Cancer Screening in Asbestos-Exposed Populations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-15, February.
    13. Michela Bonafede & Antonella Granieri & Alessandra Binazzi & Carolina Mensi & Federica Grosso & Gianluca Santoro & Isabella Giulia Franzoi & Alessandro Marinaccio & Fanny Guglielmucci, 2020. "Psychological Distress after a Diagnosis of Malignant Mesothelioma in a Group of Patients and Caregivers at the National Priority Contaminated Site of Casale Monferrato," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-15, June.
    14. Zhangjian Chen & Jiaqi Shi & Yi Zhang & Jiahe Zhang & Shuqiang Li & Li Guan & Guang Jia, 2022. "Screening of Serum Biomarkers of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis by Metabolomics Combined with Machine Learning Strategy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-15, June.
    15. Mia V. Hikuwai & Nicholas Patorniti & Abel S. Vieira & Georgia Frangioudakis Khatib & Rodney A. Stewart, 2023. "Artificial Intelligence for the Detection of Asbestos Cement Roofing: An Investigation of Multi-Spectral Satellite Imagery and High-Resolution Aerial Imagery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-23, February.
    16. Kwang Min Lee & Lode Godderis & Sugio Furuya & Yoon Ji Kim & Dongmug Kang, 2021. "Comparison of Asbestos Victim Relief Available Outside of Conventional Occupational Compensation Schemes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-21, May.
    17. Enrico Oddone & Jordy Bollon & Consuelo Rubina Nava & Marcella Bugani & Dario Consonni & Alessandro Marinaccio & Corrado Magnani & Francesco Barone-Adesi, 2020. "Predictions of Mortality from Pleural Mesothelioma in Italy After the Ban of Asbestos Use," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-11, January.
    18. Odgerel Chimed-Ochir & Diana Arachi & Tim Driscoll & Ro-Ting Lin & Jukka Takala & Ken Takahashi, 2020. "Burden of Mesothelioma Deaths by National Income Category: Current Status and Future Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-13, September.
    19. Da-An Huh & Woo-Ri Chae & Yun-Hee Choi & Min-Sung Kang & Yong-Jin Lee & Kyong-Whan Moon, 2022. "Disease Latency according to Asbestos Exposure Characteristics among Malignant Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer Cases in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-11, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:5:p:787-:d:1657533. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.